Digital Skills

       

Digital literacy skills

Digital skills are becoming increasingly critical for the general workforce, including those engaged in low-skilled occupations. Seet, et al., (2018) identifies that specialist digital technology skills are important for the integration of disruptive digital technologies, highlighting a necessity to develop generic non-technical skills that will support the successful integration of disruptive technologies.

Skills descriptions such as ‘computer skills’ or ‘ICT skills’ represent the narrowest and basic conceptualisation of digital skills in the scholarly literature (Gekara, et al., 2019, p. 18). Digital literacy skills exist on a continuum with varying degrees of competency required depending on the context within which the skills are applied (Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2020). The following infographic provides a summary of the Australian Workforce Digital Skills Requirements (Figure 5):

Figure 5: Australian Workforce Digital Skills Requirements. Papas, B (2021) 

Digital Skills Domains

The World Economic Forum identifies eight different digital skills domains (Figure 6). Digital skills and knowledge across these domains must be equally developed, leading to an established digital culture where most people are competent, comfortable, confident and safe in their daily navigation of a digitalised work and life environment (Gekara, et al., 2019, p. 19).

The following infographic from The World Economic Forum provides a summary of the 8 digital skills we should be teaching our children.