In 2006, the Council and the European Parliament issued a recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning. The acquisition of these competences - among many other aims - is intended to ensure that European citizens improve their ability to develop personally, to find their place in the labour market and to stimulate social inclusion and active citizenship. Particularly in a globalised world, access to good quality education proves to be a particularly effective and desirable tool for the redistribution of wealth; moreover, society is changing and with it the skills of citizens should adapt, so that they can always respond promptly to the changes imposed by climate change and the need for innovation. In this context, digital skills take on added importance, firstly because it is estimated that around 90 per cent of job positions require some level of familiarity with technology and the digital world*..

The European framework on key competences for lifelong learning defines eight main and desirable skills:

  • Communication in the mother tongue;
  • Communication in the foreign language;
  • Mathematical competences and basic competences in the fields of science and technology;
  • Digital competences;
  • Learning to learn skills;
  • Social and civic competences;
  • Capacity for initiative and entrepreneurship;
  • Cultural awareness and expression.

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Figure 5 - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018SC0014&from=EN 

The digital competence framework 2. 0 identifies the key digital competence skills and classifies them according to five macro-categories: information and data literacy, i.e. the ability to navigate through the mass of information available to us, filtering and correctly interpreting the information and data we are presented with; communication and collaboration, i.e. the ability to relate to other members of society via digital tools and to manage one's digital identity, as well as reputation digital content creation, i.e., the ability to create and edit content that can be made usable while respecting copyright laws; security, i.e., the ability to protect one's digital environment, as well as one's psycho-physical health, and to be able to understand the environmental impacts generated by digital technologies; problem solving, i.e., being able to solve any problems arising from the use of devices and to have the ability to innovate.

Each macro-category includes further specific competences according to the relevant axis; therefore, a total of twenty-one digital competences useful in the context of lifelong learning and the sustainability of European development are identified.

*Proposal for a Council Reccomendation on Key Competencies for Longlife Learning, 17/01/2018, p. 3, at link