Making it Happen in the Knowledge Economy

 

The Importance of eSkills

 

Technology has always transformed the way we live. While everyone understands that we need technological developments to operate more efficiently, there is one component that deserves more attention – the skill sets required to make it all happen. And that’s the focus this month in Brussels as the eSkills campaign moves into high gear.

The European Schoolnet organization has collaborated with Digital Europe and 26 other national stakeholders and ambassadors to raise awareness of the eSkills campaign. The campaign began last November and will continue through the course of the year. This week, the eSkills campaign will showcase a number of projects occurring throughout the EU. Several US-based companies are prominent partners in the campaign and are working alongside European companies, national authorities and ICT associations.

Smart Skills

There is a significant need for both basic and more sophisticated eSkills, along with a proper certification process. Research indicates that in the next few years, a number of jobs will be left vacant due to the lack of eSkills. By 2015, analysts anticipate an eight percent shortage in the supply (IDC/Empirica, 2009). The skills in greatest demand include: understanding how systems work, process architecture, monitoring and correcting performance, improving or designing systems (modifications), selecting among technology choices, applying technology to the tasks, and maintaining and troubleshooting problems. More so, developing open source solutions will be a key area in the ICT sector. Finally, there will be a need for communicators who are capable of serving as a liaison and teaching practical, user and e-business skills.
In Europe, the ICT sector represents eight percent of the EU GDP, and accounts for 40 percent of EU productivity growth. As such, it can also act as an enabler for reducing emissions in other sectors. Therefore it just makes sense to prioritize ICT as an area for encouraging the development of eSkills.

For the ICT sector, a key area to focus on will be the power grids. Modernizing our electrical power grids is critical on several fronts, including cost, stability and environmental protection (as newer infrastructure will enable an increased use of renewable energy sources).

Smart grids are actually a collection of technologies that enable simultaneous exchanges of information between the user and the provider via the use of smart meters. This transformation can turn the existing power grid into a communications forum – delivering on demand. According to a Booz & Co. report prepared for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the smart grid market is expected to grow from $69.3 billion in 2009 to $171.4 billion in 2014.

The Search is On

The search for best practices and their corresponding eSkills to achieve interoperability for smart grids has been underway for several years. Only recently have we gained a true understanding of what is needed.

As the eSkills campaign gets attention this week in Brussels, so will such related areas as the commitment to coordinate various curriculums in schools, public/private partnerships and overall levels of commitment from industry, policy makers and educators to make a more intelligent future become a reality.