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Digital Frontrunners: Designing inclusive skills policy for the digital age

A blueprint and guide that policymakers and other stakeholders can use to design inclusive skills policies for the digital age.

Digital Frontrunners is an experimental programme from Nesta that aims to find solutions to the challenges of digital transformation. It does this by facilitating collaboration between senior policymakers and other stakeholders from six digitally advanced countries in northern Europe. These are Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden.

This report:

  • Explains how the Digital Frontrunners programme equips participants with new competencies for designing effective policy in the digital age
  • Highlights innovative methods that governments are using to solve four key challenges for the creation of skills policy to foster workforces that are fit for the future
  • Presents a ‘policy blueprint’ that policymakers and other stakeholders can follow to make more inclusive and responsive skills policy.

Key findings

To foster an inclusive and adaptable labour market for the digital age, governments should prioritise four key challenges:

  • Anticipate the skills that will be in demand
  • Serve the diverse needs of workers across contexts
  • Discover and promote services that drive people’s intrinsic motivation to learn
  • Build a resilient labour market system that can adapt to changes in demand.

Authors

Jack Orlik

Jack Orlik

Jack Orlik

Programme Manager - Open Jobs, Data Analytics Practice

Jack was a Programme Manager for Open Jobs.

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Juan Casasbuenas

Juan Casasbuenas

Juan Casasbuenas

Curriculum and Content Manager

Juan was a Curriculum and Content Manager supporting the Digital Frontrunners and Global Innovation Policy Accelerator programmes.

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Karoliina Helkkula

Karoliina Helkkula

Karoliina Helkkula

Programme and Research Support, Digital Frontrunners

Karoliina supported Digital Frontrunners, Nesta's programme for future skills.

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