DigComp 3.0 introduces new priorities, learning outcomes and proficiency levels to close digital skills gaps and prepare for emerging technologies.
12 years after its initial creation, DigComp, the Digital Competence framework developed by the European Commission (EC), has received a major update. With the fourth revision of the framework, recently published as DigComp 3.0, the EC sends a strong message about the continued importance of digital skills. This message aligns with the Action Plan on Basic Skills, which was released earlier this year (see SwissCore article) and which underlines the importance of basic digital skills for European competitiveness and prosperity. Importantly, digital skills gaps persist, with 56% of adults and 43% of secondary school students displaying low basic digital skills. This is despite the fact that most EU workers (92%) use digital technologies to perform their job, with nearly a third already using AI systems at work. The new edition has been shaped by emerging priorities, including AI and cybersecurity competences, wellbeing in digital environments, as well as the ability to deal with mis- and disinformation.
DigComp is a non-prescriptive framework that enables policymakers, teachers and trainers to develop, update and evaluate initiatives for digital competence development, wherein competences are defined as a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitude. DigComp 3.0 presents 21 competences divided into five broad areas: i) information search, evaluation and management, ii) communication and collaboration, iii) content creation, iv) safety, wellbeing and responsible use, and v) problem identification and solving. Competences are further operationalised as learning outcomes, described as the ‘glue’ between education systems and labour market demands, as they make abstract educational goals actionable for solving tasks in the workplace (and beyond). The new framework defines over 500 learning outcomes, presented as statements describing what a person is expected to know, understand or be able to do at their competence level.
Notably, the framework distinguishes four different levels of proficiency for each competence, ranging from basic to highly advanced levels. Whereas basic proficiency indicates that a person can remember and implement simple tasks under guidance, people with highly advanced skills can assess and solve complex and specialised problems and even guide others. This distinction is important when reflecting on the goals set out by the EU for digital skills: Targets mostly relate to basic digital skills, whereas higher levels of proficiency may be important when it comes to the use, regulation and particularly development of strategic digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). Such skills needs are outlined in recent EC initiatives such as the AI Continent Action Plan, Apply AI, and AI in Science strategies (see SwissCore article).
The framework also considers the proliferation of AI in work, society, and in the private life of individuals and the resulting skills demands. Rather than designating AI as a separate competence area, the authors of DigComp 3.0 acknowledge that AI generally builds on and is integrated in larger digital systems and therefore does not exist in a vacuum. Learning outcomes across all competence areas are thus considered either AI-explicit (e.g. understanding that AI systems and their data centres have a large impact on the environment), AI-implicit [e.g. recognising that digital technologies (including AI applications) can support energy efficiency], or neither. While a quarter of the over 500 learning outcomes defined by the framework are not related to AI, nearly two thirds of learning outcomes are actually AI-implicit and 13% are AI-explicit, further highlighting the importance of teaching and learning about AI.
In the past, DigComp has been well received by the education community and has long proven its worth, including in Switzerland (see SwissCore article). It has further served as inspiration for other competence frameworks, such as GreenComp, focused on sustainability-related competences and, lately, BlueComp, focused on competences for the marine and maritime economy. As these competence frameworks are developed through a rigorous co-creation process across Europe and beyond, they serve as a prime example of best-practice exchange and mutual learning in the European Education Area.