Digital Competence: The Key to Success in Modern Society

Of how many digital competence elements can you say you have?

When digital competence is mentioned, most people probably think of using a computer, chatting, or perhaps working magic with functions in excel. That's not entirely a bad direction, but it doesn't come close to covering everything we call digital competence.

 

„ Digital competence involves the confident, critical and responsible use of, and engagement with, digital technologies for learning, at work, and for participation in society. It includes information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, media literacy, digital content creation (including programming), safety (including digital well-being and competences related to cybersecurity), intellectual property related questions, problem solving and critical thinking.” (European Commission, 2019).

The Digital Competence Framework for Citizen, also known as DigComp, provides a common language for identifying and describing key areas of digital competence to ensure a common understanding across the European Union. This reference framework groups digital competence into five main areas and defines it as a combination of 21 competence elements.

Figure 1: The DigComp conceptual reference model

To make it easier to understand, let's look at some of the competences from the collection shown in Figure 1, using examples from everyday life.

BROWSING, SEARCHING AND FILTERING DATA, INFORMATION AND DIGITAL CONTENT

For example (Foundation): I can identify the keywords that are useful to me from a list of general job search keywords on a job search blog.

MANAGING DATA, INFORMATION AND DIGITAL CONTENT

For example (Foundation): I can determine how and where to organise and track job ads in my smartphone's job app, so I can retrieve them when I need them in my job hunt.

SHARING THROUGH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

For example (Intermediate): For group work, I use cloud storage (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive) to share materials with the rest of my group.

ENGAGING IN CITIZENSHIP THROUGH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

For example (Advanced): I propose and use various micro-blogs (e.g. Twitter) and blogs for a community survey on the attitudinal inclusion and acceptance of immigrants in my place of residence to create a group work theme.

NETIQUETTE

For example (Highly Specialised): When organising an event at work, I can solve problems that arise when communicating in a digital environment (e.g. dealing with inappropriate comments on the event's social media page).

COPYRIGHT AND LICENCES

For example (Intermediate): I can solve certain problems on my own, such as recognising symbols that indicate that an image is copyrighted and cannot be used without the author's permission.

PROTECTING PERSONAL DATA AND PRIVACY

For example (Advanced): I can distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate digital content when sharing it on workplace Facebook accounts, so that my privacy and that of my colleagues is not compromised.

Digital competence is a key competence for lifelong learning, but it is also an important pillar of employability in today's modern world. It is therefore appropriate to carry out a self-assessment, which can be done through the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform, accessible to any EU citizen. The tool is based on DigComp and is available in all EU languages. By taking the test you can find out more about your digital skills and, more importantly, how you can improve them. In addition, the Europass CV Online tool allows you to list and organise your digital skills in the Europass Profile, following the DigComp template, and then add them to your CV. However, be aware that some organisations have reservations about Europass CVs, so use them with caution. However, both tools help to ensure that the elements of knowledge and skills are included in your CV in a well-considered way, which will ultimately help you to secure the position you are applying for.

A detailed explanation of the full list of elements, illustrated with examples, can be downloaded here.

Source:

European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Key competences for lifelong learning, Publications Office, 2019

Vuorikari, R., Kluzer, S. és Punie, Y., DigComp 2.2: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens, EUR 31006 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2022, ISBN 978-92-76-48882-8, doi:10.2760/115376, JRC128415.