Belgium: a snapshot of digital skills
30.05.2023
Introduction
In the 2024 edition of the Digital Decade report, Belgium has achieved 59.4% basic digital skills coverage, compared to the EU average of 55.6%. This puts Belgium at 74.3% of the overall target for the EU 2030 goal, which aims to have 80% of the EU population possessing at least basic digital skills. The country has seen an annual growth of 4.6% from the previous year.
According to the Digital Decade report 2024, Belgium performs better than the EU average in both digital skills indicators. The percentage of ICT specialists in employment, with a 5.4%, surpasses the EU average of 4.8%.
Digitization in Flemish companies, Business Survey report 2021 was published in May 2023. The SERV/Innovation & Labour Foundation conducts a business survey with a representative sample of over one thousand companies and organisations from Flanders and Dutch-speaking Brussels every three years. The results offer a unique perspective on how companies construct their competence policies, as well as how they deal with digitalization, flexible deployment of personnel, and the effects of the corona crisis. The focus of the report that is published in May 2023 is digitization. Companies in Flanders are becoming increasingly persuaded of the significance of an online presence. More than nine out of ten businesses (92%) have a website or are active on social media, and a quarter of all businesses (26%) sell their products or services online. Digital absence is becoming increasingly rare. In 2018, 18% of businesses lacked a website or webshop; by 2021, this droped to 8%. During the same time frame, the proportion of businesses that combine a website with a web store increased from 15% to 25%.
In 2014, the first Belgium National Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition was formed and relaunched in November 2020 to reflect the altered global landscape. The multi-stakeholder partnership focuses on addressing the digital skills gap and seeks to upskill and reskill citizens and workers in order to facilitate the development of skills for all and the digital transformation of the economy and society. National and regional representatives of academia, education, industry, the public sector, and the not-for-profit sector are invited to participate with valuable contributions to ensure that Belgium joins the European endeavour to capitalise on the benefits of digitalisation. DigiSkills Belgium is a web platform that aims to create an ecosystem of initiatives and training for all Belgian citizens who want to take the step towards the digital society of today and tomorrow. Powered by the Belgian National Coalition for Digital Skills & Jobs, DigiSkills Belgium aims to reduce the digital skills gap at the national level.
Overview of state strategies and national initiatives
State strategies
All levels of government have implemented diverse digital strategies and plans. The federal digital strategy, #SmartNation, was established in 2021. It revolves around five axes that correspond to the DESI indicators (digital transformation of the economy, digital human capital, digital governance, trust/transparency/security, and digital infrastructures and ecosystems). The strategy is supported by the work of a ‘Digital Minds’ committee comprised of 22 academic and business professionals.
Belgium national reform program address the key challenges for the economy, labour market and social cohesion, focusing among others to entrepreneurship, innovation, competition and digitalisation.
On 31 March 2023, the Government of Flanders took note of the Flemish Reform Programme 2023 (FRP 2023). Through this FRP, the Government of Flanders formulates a response to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region as well acts upon the recommendations of the Council of the European Union. The policy measures and reforms pertain to the following themes: Budget. Labour market and education, Entrepreneurship, competition, digitalisation and innovation, Sustainability, energy and mobility.
One of the seven pillars of the Flemish recovery plan (Vlaamse veerkracht) is digital transformation. It is based on three fundamental horizontal pillars, which serve as the common thread between the various digital transformation initiatives: (i) valorization of data as a raw material, (ii) concentration on the government service itself, and (iii) development of digital talents.
Under Digital Wallonia, initiatives are being taken for (i) the development of cyber security research, innovation and training, (ii) the development of artificial intelligence technologies, (iii) the digital transformation of priority sectors, especially construction, and (iv) the digital transformation of schools, local authorities and the provision of broadband to business parks. The government has also decided to strengthen its network of supercomputers. Also, the digitisation of the public administration is being worked on in order to develop data governance; an integrated digital public service has been created as part of this objective.
In June 2021, the Brussels‑Capital Region adopted its regional innovation plan (Plan régional pour l’innovation, PRI / Gewestelijk innovatieplan, GIP) 2021–2027, which focuses investments on six strategic innovation areas: climate resilience, resource optimisation, urban flows, health, social innovation and advanced digital technologies and services. In addition, there is a digitalisation and economic transition project call (Digitalisering & economische transitie / Numériques & transition économique) for to support digital projects that have a positive social and environmental impact. Hub.brussels provides digital support to companies, especially those that are not very digitised, and this has been reinforced since the coronavirus crisis. Support for the digitisation of companies with high digital maturity is provided by several leading organisations, such as the Artificial Intelligence for the Common Good Institute (FARI), and there is financial support through Innoviris and Finance&invest.brussels.
In the Wallonia‑Brussels Federation, part of the structural refinancing of higher education is earmarked for the redevelopment of research, in particular through university research, research in higher education institutions and higher art schools. As part of the ecological transition plan of the management contracts between the Ministry and ETNIC, an important axis aims to introduce electronic document management, in particular through the dematerialisation of administrative documents.
The national and intersectoral “Women in Digital” strategy is aimed against the unequal presence between men and women in the digital field, focusing on five strategic objectives:
- ensure that more women graduate in the digital sector
- promote the integration of women in the world of digital work and/or in the digital sector
- promote the retention of women in the digital sector.
- fight against stereotypes by constructing new images
- eliminate the gender gap in specific target groups.
National initiatives
Digital component of Belgian Recovery and Resilience is focusing primarily on skills and e-government. Key deliverables anticipated over the next 12 months include the rollout of 5G, the initial stages of the justice system’s digitalization, and the provisioning of schools with IT infrastructure and devices.
Digital transformation of education’ of the German-speaking Community is aiming to improve the overall performance of the education system, providing laptops and IT support to all teachers in German-speaking schools in Belgium. By 2024, all students in German-speaking secondary schools will also have received their laptops. The measure will also support the promotion of skills and training for pupils and teachers. This investment receives EUR 5.5 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Digitalisation Federal Public Services of the Federal State funded by 218 million euros from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, seeks to expedite the digitalization of various federal administration services, both internally and in their interactions with citizens. A substantial portion of the investment is dedicated to the digital transformation of civil, commercial, and criminal courts, including the modernization of existing hardware infrastructure and equipment, the deployment of videoconferencing capabilities, and the introduction of a digital case file.
The Learning account reform grants an individual right to five training days per year to each employee in Belgium; introduces tax advantages for companies to incentivise them to provide more training hours to their employees; will improve collaboration between the National Employment Office (ONEM) and the employment services in the regions. This reform will contribute to the training and reintegration into the job market of around 25,000 unemployed workers.
With the support of the RRF, Flanders set up local ‘Digibanks’ to reduce the risk of digital exclusion among vulnerable groups with the following objectives: provide equal access to digital technology, strengthen, through training and knowledge sharing, both personal and technical digital skills, ensure improved digital access to essential services such as the digital government services by providing guidance on the use of such services. Digibanks target adults in Flanders who are at risk of digital exclusion (e.g. people living in poverty, people with low-literacy skills, single seniors, jobseekers). The total budget for Digibanks is EUR 50 million.
Funding opportunities
Funding opportunities for upskilling and reskilling to support the digital competences of individuals and organizations are available in form of loans, grants and financial instruments. For the period 2021 – 2026 most of the activities in digital transformation are financed through Recovery and Resilience facility but also as activities in Horizon, Erasmus+, ESIF and EEA grant schemes. You may find more on the page of Belgian National Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition and in the article on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform.
Details
Website
Target audience
Digital skills for all
Digital technology
Basic digital skills