DIGITUP: Digital Upgrade skilling of SMEs and self-enterprises
11/02/2022
Digitalization is amongst the various challenges that European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) face in today’s climate. A major number of SMEs, report that they do not possess basic digital skills, resulting in a positive link between digital skill levels and turnover growth. Digital uptake is indeed consistently lower in smaller firms across countries, and
diffusion gaps are relatively constant across firm size classes (OECD, 2021[14]). SMEs deal with several difficulties towards developing an online presence, they have a lack of awareness about the benefits and opportunities available related to digital resources, they are not familiar with digital platforms implementation, they do not have the solid knowledge to understand and assess digitalization transformation, digital formations, and online tools and platforms, and thus, they do not engage in Industry 4.0. Digital transformation is vital for SMEs as it can present unique opportunities.
However, in order to fully exploit these opportunities, SMEs must invest in training themselves and developing their digital skills in order to overcome existing digital skills gaps and mismatches, and take advantage of an even wider range of opportunities brought about by ongoing advances in digital technologies, platforms, applications, and devices. In addition to this established situation, a new reality has come, namely the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) introducing changes in the employment reality that will last. Teleworking became a very common job alternative and it is a surprise that the former resistance which existed to this
digital change, suddenly evaporates.
WP1 – Project Management
WP2 – Online assessment tool in which SMEs’ managers and self-entrepreneurs can measure their digital skill levels
This Work Package expects to contribute to articulation of required digital skills, by informing and coming closer to SME managers, and/or owners on the potential of several digital skills relevant to specific technological areas which refer to BIC technologies, raising also awareness of both adoption and adaption of SMEs digital transformation.
WP3 – Development of the training course and training materials
The Training Course aims to bringing knowledge, train and empower SMEs’ managers, supervisors, self-entrepreneurs and relevant stakeholders to foster their digital skills and become familiar with cutting edge technologies under the framework of Industry 4.0 and BIC technologies advantages.
WP4 – E-learning platform based on a serious game approach for SMEs’ managers and self-entrepreneurs
The e-learning platform will host DIGITUP serious game, an online game-based learning course for digital skills acquisition in which participants will learn and apply strategies, techniques and tools to develop and improve these skills.
WP5 – Policy brief development upon the digital skills for VET educators & Dissemination
This final WP5 is dedicated to the exploitation, the transferability of the produced knowledge and the dissemination of the deliverables to the direct and indirect target group.
