Why developing our digital skills will be central to success in CEE

PwC recently published a survey revealing Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) business leaders consider a lack of key skills to be the number one threat to growth prospects.  This came as no surprise to me, as it’s a sentiment I’ve often heard first-hand in my meetings with customers. With technologies like AI and automation becoming more prevalent, I believe we all need to work together to close this skills gap if we want to ensure economic success across the region.

The European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) shows that the maturity of digitization initiatives can vary significantly across CEE. Estonia, for example, is often considered as one of the world’s most advanced digital countries. But it will require a continuous stream of new tech savvy talent to continue to drive innovation. Meanwhile, in CEE countries at the other end of the DESI band, digital skills are urgently needed to kick-start their digital transformation process, drive new growth opportunities and increase international competitiveness.

As these developments continue to unfold, and the nature of our jobs change, thousands of people in the region will need to transform themselves and learn the skills that will be of great demand in the future. According to the last WEF Future of Jobs Report, 54 percent of all employees will require significant reskilling. However, the report reveals that many organizations have been prioritizing their upskilling efforts on a narrow set of employees who are already highly skilled, rather than broadly developing new skills across their workforce. Ensuring upcoming generations and today’s workforce are prepared for the workplace of the future is mission critical for governments and businesses alike in CEE. I believe we need to take urgent action to equip people with the skills they need to thrive in this new world of work.

As a hub of innovation, entrepreneurship and education, countries in CEE are already providing examples of how to address this issue – now and in the future. In the Czech Republic, an NGO called Czechitas has had huge success getting more girls to build their computer science skills. Despite a booming tech industry where 10 percent of all new jobs are developers, the past 20 years saw the total number of Czech women working in technology continuously decline. Czechitas, in partnership with Microsoft, addressed this with the launch of a new Academy of Programming providing access to coding, free training and resources for kids as well as teachers. And while getting more girls into coding remains Czechitas’ core focus, the Academy has since opened its services to everyone, encouraging more than 13 thousand youngsters to dive into the fascinating world of coding in just the last four years.

This kind of access to digital resources is central to skills acquisition and retention, but providing role models to inspire people is also vital. Opening Opportunities is a scheme in Romania that connects students with mentors to share both their skills and enthusiasm for technology. The program runs webinars, mentoring sessions and a computer science competition specifically designed to inspire the next generation of tech professionals. Run by Asociatia Techsoup, an organization supporting nonprofits, educators and youth with technology resources, and in partnership with Microsoft Romania and the National Association of Librarians and Public Libraries, the program has engaged over 2,200 students from over 50 schools in mentoring sessions, as well as hosting over 7,000 students at the programs live events.

These initiatives have done a great job at introducing young people to digital competencies, providing a platform for future career success. However, it’s not just the next generation we should be focusing on – in a changing economy we also need to support and reskill the workforce of today, including business leaders who will need to lead with confidence in the age of AI. To address this, we recently launched Microsoft’s AI Business School, a program designed for executives to learn more about AI strategy, culture and responsibility. The business school complements other AI learning initiatives across Microsoft, including the developer-focused AI school and Microsoft Learn AI, which help engineers and others to improve their skills in AI and data science.

As today’s technologies mature, the next step in the reskilling journey will be encouraging people to pair our uniquely human set of skills, such as creativity and empathy, with the new digital capabilities they’ve acquired. Research from McKinsey and Microsoft recently revealed that this mix of socio-emotional and technical skills will be essential to succeed in an AI-driven world. As skillsets continue to evolve, we will increasingly see a world where man and machine come together to produce the best possible outcomes for businesses.

On my travels around Central and Eastern Europe, I am always impressed with the talent and capacity for innovation we have on the ground. I can’t wait to see all the great things this region will achieve as we realize the potential of people supported by AI and other emerging technologies.