Digital skills, OECD report: Albania far from the EU and last in the region

Albania, in addition to remaining far from the European Union average in terms of the indicator related to basic or beyond basic digital skills among individuals, also remains the worst performer in the region.

A recent report of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) "Western Balkans, Competitiveness Outlook 2024: Regional Profile" focuses, among other things, on the digital capabilities of the countries of the Western Balkans, where it turns out that Montenegro is at the top of the list. and at the end of it Kosovo and then Albania.

According to the report, as Western Balkan economies embark on the green and digital transition, their skills systems must anticipate future skills needs.

This includes creating the right infrastructure for education and training to develop and adapt the skills that enable and support these transitions.

"Currently, the development of digital skills in the region shows limited convergence towards EU levels, with the proportion of individuals in Western Balkan economies possessing basic digital skills at least 20 percent lower than in the EU.

However, while all economies fall below the EU average, there are significant differences: Montenegro is the best performer in the region, with only 7 percentage points away from EU levels, while Albania and Kosovo reported rates less than 30% – essentially half EU levels.

This reveals the universal need to continue to improve and develop these skills among students and the workforce in the region, taking into account the unique position of each economy," the report states.

Looking at the numbers, the report estimates that the average number of individuals who have basic or above-basic digital skills in the countries of the European Union is 53.9 percent of them. In Montenegro this percentage is 47.2 percent of individuals, in Serbia 41.3 percent, while in Albania this applies to 23.8 percent of individuals.

The report notes that countries have already included in school curricula important aspects of digitalization and this approach not only facilitates the possibility for students or pupils to embrace these skills but also expands the possibilities of their application widely.

“ICT and digital skills development courses are largely included in both primary and secondary education curricula across the region.

Most economies have made it mandatory for students to complete relevant ICT classes, ranging from computer science in Serbia and coding in Albania to computer science in Montenegro and North Macedonia.

Beyond these, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia have integrated the development of digital skills through various subjects in their curricula," the OECD report assesses./ Monitor