Digital transitions, job

quality and skill mismatch

New evidence from Cedefop’s ESJS2
Konstantinos Pouliakas
Expert, Cedefop

Powering the European digital transition

9-14 December 2022
Cedefop surveys make it possible to analyse
jobs and skills mismatch from various angles

ECS
European
Company
Survey

ETLS
European
training &
learning
Survey
ESJS2
European
Skills and
Jobs Survey

2
2nd European skills and jobs survey
Digitalisation and skill mismatch
Main research questions: Pillars and conceptual design
 What do EU workers do at work?
Digital job skill needs Job skill needs
 Basic or complex(digital) skills use?
 New digital technologies?
 Skill gaps and remedial learning? New digital technologies

Better measurement of: Upskilling vs.

routinisation
 Job-skill requirements
 Digitalisation/digital work
 (Digital) skills complexity Training/ Skill mismatch
learning intensity Job insecurity
 Work routinization
Automation
 Skill mismatches
Job satisfaction
Wages
3
 #ESJS2
Digital transition key ESJS2 findings

Covid 19 Digitalisation
pandemic and the
Technological change in
digital transformation
EU+ job markets
Compared to pre-pandemic,
more use of… 87%
Adult EU+ workers using
46% digital devices at work
Digital communication

39% 44%
Digital technologies for some work tasks New digital technology
introduced in workplace
29%
Worked more away from employer’s premises 35%
Digital upskilling to sustain
36% job performance
Online job-related learning
4
Remote work: the new digital divide
39% of EU+ adult employees worked away from their employer’s
premises in 2020-21
70% WFH heightened labour market
inequalities
60%
 Low- (18%) vs. high educated (41%)
50%
 High WFH:
40% ICT (63%),
financial (54%),
30% professional services (46%)
20%  Low WFH:
accommodation & food services (12%),
10%
utilities (19%),
0%
health and social work (17%)
SE

LV

FR
EE
BE
HR

SK
ES
IS
IE

PL

CZ

EL
HU
EU27
NO

LU

FI

RO
DK

LT

AT

DE

CY

PT
NL

IT
SI

BG
MT

 Pre-COVID19 laggards smallest WFH rise

5
Digital upskilling of EU workforce
35% of EU+ adult employees had to learn to use new digital
technologies to do their main job in 2020-21

ESJS2: In the last 12 months, did any of the following changes take place in your workplace?
New digital technologies i.e. new computer systems/computer devices/computer programmes (Total, %)
60
58
50 55 53 53
52 52
48 48 48 48 47 46 47
40 45 45 44 44 44 44 44 44 43
42 42 41 41 40
39 39
30 34 33

20

10

0
FI IE SE LU MT AT EL NL PT DK BE LV SI Total HR DE LT RO ES EU-27 IT SK EE HU CZ FR PL BG CY NO IS
6
Digitalisation in EU jobs
Did you use any of the computing devices As part of your main job, did you work with Cedefop Digital Skills Intensity (DTI)
mentioned earlier to do the following activity or operate any of the following computerised index, EU+ countries
as part of your main job in the last month? machinery in the last month?

100%
write programs or code using a
computer language 7% Use digital handheld devices 26%
16%
90%
develop or maintain IT systems,
hardware or software 13%
Use other specialised, sector or 80%
occupation-specific 15%
computerised machinery
manage or merge databases 18% 70%

43%
use advanced functions of 60%
spreadsheets e.g. macros 25% 3D printers 9%
50%
prepare presentations for work 36%
Use computer numerically- 40%
controlled (CNC) machine tools 9%
use specialized, sector- or
occupation-specific, software 48% 30%
28%

Use programmable logic 20%

use spreadsheets 57% 8%
operators (PLCs)
10%
write or edit text 65% 13%

0%
Use robots 8%
use internet for browsing, EU+
sending emails or using social 72%
media Non-users Low Medium High

7
Task automation
(a) Extent to which adults think digital technology can
45% of the EU+ workforce believe that or will do their main job partly or fully

they need or will need new

knowledge and skills because of the
new digital technologies in their
workplace

Mostly affected by task automation (b) Actual change in job tasks resulting from new digital
 Males technology
 Lower-educated
 Manual and low-skilled, elementary, jobs
 Routine jobs
 Larger-sized firms
 Agriculture, finance, utilities sectors

8
Priority target groups
Digital skills training
No technological upskilling Non-digital-users

Training

Routine work

Job-skill requirements

Remote work

SME

Education: high Probability of

Education: medium
being in digital job 26%
Female

Age: 55-64

Age:45-54 % EU+ workers who did

Age: 35-44 digital skills training
-20% -15% -10% -5% 0% 5%
9
© iStock/style-photography
Policy challenges of the digital transition
 (Some forms of) digital technology increase work routinisation & job insecurity
 Non users oblivious to automation risks & low technology acceptance
 Skill underutilisation linked to less digitalisation at work

Fear of job loss Net change in time spent on work activity

(2020-21)
60% 57%
20% Digital upskilling vs. no upskilling
50%
50% 18%
45%
16%
40%
40% 38% 37% 14%
12%
30% 10%
8%
20%
6%

10% 4%
2%
0% 0%
Robots Digital Digital Digital All workers No digital Learning Varrying Reacting to Planning Choosing Follow Repetitive Hazardous
upskilling: upskilling: upskilling: upskilling assignments new methods instructions tasks activities
computerised Tasks computer situations
machinery displaced software
© iStock/gorodenkoff

10
Digital (micro)credentials: a new passport?

A quarter of the EU+ workforce

earned at least one certificate
or award after completing online
education or training in 2020-21
© iStock

ESJS2: Have you earned at least one certificate or award after completing an online education or training activity? (Total, %)

Micro-credentialism in EU+ job markets

 6 in 10 EU+ workers mainly did online education and training
 69% of them earned an officially recognised qualification by national authority or other
online certificate/digital online badge as visual token of person’s learning

11
Thank you

For more information

Konstantinos.Pouliakas@cedefop.europa.eu
www.cedefop.europa.eu
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