eSkills

e-Skills for Jobs 2014 was a European Commission initiative directly stimulated by analytical estimates that by the end of 2015 there will be a shortage of as many as 900,000 ICT experts in the EU, caused by an increasing interest of young people in engineering professions

The goal of this initiative was to reverse the exceptionally bad trends among young people and to raise awareness about engineering, primarily computer and IT professions. These professions provide vast employment or self-employment opportunities in exceptionally interesting workplaces, anywhere in the world, and in every national economy they represent a key element in the development of the ICT sector.

The purpose of the initiative was to inform schoolchildren, university students, young experts, entrepreneurs, employers and policy makers about the range of possibilities offered by working in the field of ICT or using digital technologies in other fields, and to raise public awareness about the importance of continuously directing young people towards professions that are in short supply, which offer very good prospects.

The European Commission has chosen DIGITALEUROPE and the European Schoolnet for the implementation of the eSkills for Jobs 2014 initiative/campaign. The campaign was carried out under the auspices of the European Commission body Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, a pan-European multi-stakeholder partnership with the goal of reducing the problem of the shortage of European citizens with ICT professional skills and to investigate the potential of ICT in employment. The industry, educational institutions and public authorities jointly established a comprehensive and diverse programme of events and activities, throughout the year, intended for everyone, regardless of the level of education and skills. The campaign was coordinated by DIGITALEUROPE and the European Schoolnet in cooperation with hundreds of national and pan-European partners, including the European Centre for Women and Technology, JA-YE, Telecenter Europe and some of the leading IT companies.

During 2014, the eSkills for Jobs 2014 campaign took place in 30 European countries.

CARNET’s School portal was actively involved in the dissemination of information about this initiative.