Enhancing Innovative Skills

Aims and Scope

The EDSAW project addresses the persisting digital divide in selected Central European countries (the Czech Republic and Slovakia) by focusing on developing digital and soft skills among people older than 50 years of age. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital assets and accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in many sectors. However, it has also exposed and exacerbated the digital divide that persists in Central European countries. This divide is evident in the differences in digital technology integration among European countries, which have widened despite the EU policies. Furthermore, older members of the workforce often lack sufficient digital and soft skills required for the workplace's new technologies and digital paradigms. The negative effects of age on digital skill were identified in several studies. For example, in 2016, Aiyar and Ebeke estimated that a 1% increase in the 55–64 age cohort of the labor force leads to a productivity reduction of about 4/5 percentage points. In an effort to ensure persistent and sound economic growth as well as to enhance employment status and opportunities of aging population segment, it is of utmost importance to focus resources on overcoming the disadvantaged situation of this population group in the workforce. It is essential to ensure that the older workforce can remain competitive and relevant in the rapidly changing digital economy. Addressing the gap in digital and soft skills of the aging workforce will help to reduce the digital divide in Central European countries and thus, promote economic growth. The EDSAW project aims to address this divide through targeted interventions, which include training programs designed specifically for individuals with secondary or tertiary education over the age of 50, who are currently in employment, or unemployed. Thus, the project uses innovative technologies and delivery methods for enhanced accessibility to a broad audience in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but also to people from other countries...