ETUCE joins the “EU digital skills and jobs coalition”

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ETUCE has become an official member of the European Commission’s Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, with a view to particularly contribute to the Working group on Education. The coalition aims to increase the role of ICT and new technologies within education institutions to enhance innovative digital skills. Hence, this coalition is a crucial aspect for the education sector.

ETUCE seeks to influence the Coalition of digital skills and jobs in particular by:

  • Supporting the increase of sustainable public investment within initial teacher training and continuous professional development of teachers and school leaders for the integration of ICT in the classroom.
  • Promoting education social partners’ participation at national, regional and local level for funding digitalisation initiatives.
  • Strengthening social dialogue and the inclusion of education trade unions in policy-making at national, regional and local level with a view to improve quality and effective use of modern technologies in education.
  • Discussing trends in ICT education, the exchange of good practises and experiences in relation to ICT and modern technologies within the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee in Education (ESSDE).
  • Reinforcing the use of ICT for inclusion as a tool for supporting personalised learning needs and promoting individual learning opportunities.
  • Highlighting the importance for education personnel to learn about coding, programming and other innovative digital skills.

The ETUCE position within this coalition builds on the ETUCE Policy Paper on The 21st Century Teaching Profession and the Use of ICT and the ETUCE Position Paper on the EU Digital Education Action Plan 2020. ETUCE advocates for publicly funded ICT education and deplores privatisation and the involvement of ICT companies to prepare and deliver teacher training in digital education. Equally, ETUCE considers vital for governments, employment and education authorities as well as employers to consult and rely on social partners’ expertise on ICT education developments.

For more information on The Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition Member Charter, please click here.

For more information on the EU Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, please click here.