Cyprus Mail 20 September 2021 - byDespina Psilou
Almost one in two adults in Cyprus has limited digital skills. These data place Cyprus in the fourth worst position within the countries of Europe for its digital-technological skills, at the same time that the country occupies the third place with the most adults who interrupted their education before high school. At the same time, it records low participation in lifelong learning for adults with few education/training qualifications.
These findings stem from a recent report by the EU Eurydice Network entitled 'Adult Education and Training in Europe: Building inclusive pathways in skills and qualifications'. It includes the 27 EU member states, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, North Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Serbia, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
In particular, in Cyprus 45% of adults (25 to 64 years old) have limited digital skills, 1% do not have digital skills, while 10% did not use the internet in the last three months during the survey. North Macedonia has the most adults with limited digital skills with 56%. They are followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina with 52%, Romania with 47%, Cyprus and Latvia with 45%, Bulgaria with 44% and Turkey with 41%.
The most adults without digital skills are in Italy with 3% and Spain with 2%. This is followed by 15 countries, including Cyprus, with a percentage of 1%. It is noteworthy that in Belgium, Denmark, France, Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, North Macedonia, Norway and Serbia it is reported that there are no citizens without digital skills.
On the other side, Iceland has the fewest adults with limited digital skills with 11%. It is followed by Norway with 13%, Finland with 15%, the Netherlands with 16%, Switzerland with 19%, the United Kingdom with 20% and Sweden, Germany and Austria with 22%.
According to the report, around 40% of adults in the EU are at risk of digital exclusion. These are adults who either have low digital skills or have no skills at all. Indeed, in 2019, on average, in the EU 30% of adults (aged 25-64) had limited digital skills. It is clarified that it was not possible to assess the skills of a portion of 10% of EU adults, as they had not used the internet for three months before the survey. This group is likely to include people with limited digital skills.
Promoting lifelong learning
There are various financial support measures across Europe that can help cover the costs of adult education and training. However, only a few countries have financial incentives that explicitly target low-skilled adults or offer them preferential treatment compared to other groups. Where such an incentive exists, support is targeted either at low-skilled adults or at employers who invest in the education and training of these adults.
However, in 2016 around 80% of adults across Europe who did not participate in education and training reported that they did not want to. Rates were higher among adults with a lower level of education.
The pandemic has been a brake
As noted in the report, there has been a slow but steady increase in adult participation in education and training, with the EU average rising from 7.9% in 2009 to 10.8% in 2019. However, in 2020, the year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, adult participation in education and training has decreased in almost all European countries. The EU average has taken several steps backwards approaching 2009 levels, reaching 9.2%.
It is clarified, however, that in the first months after the outbreak of Covid-19, public authorities across Europe supported a number of distance learning initiatives in all areas of education and training, including the adult education and training sector. Some of these initiatives may become permanent and institutionalised elements of adult learning systems in the future.
They interrupted education before high school
Among the EU countries with the highest rates of drop-outs before high school (i.e. up to primary school) is Cyprus. The biggest problem is facing Portugal with 27.5%. It is followed by Greece with 13.4%, while in third place is Cyprus along with Spain with 9%. The EU average is well below, at 5.3% of its adults, which is 12.5 million. Citizens.
Nevertheless, Cyprus is at a good level when it comes to stopping education before high school (i.e., up to high school), with a rate of 17.7%, which is lower than the EU average of 21.6%. This places Cyprus, along with Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Serbia, in the countries with the relatively lowest percentages of adults who have not completed upper secondary education (the lyceum). According to the report, one in five EU adults aged 25 to 64 during 2019 (i.e. 51.5 million - 21.6% of citizens) had an educational level below upper secondary education (lyceum).
At the same time, Cyprus has little participation in the lifelong learning of its adult citizens who have few qualifications in terms of education and training. In particular, it is noted that North Macedonia, Serbia, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus record the lowest participation in lifelong learning for adults with low levels of education and training qualifications, with rates not exceeding 1%. By contrast, in Sweden 23.7% of low-qualified adults in education and training participate in lifelong learning. The figure is also quite high - between 10% and 20% - in the Netherlands and other - Scandinavian - countries.
Moreover, Cyprus records zero percentages of adults who succeeded in upper secondary education (lyceum) after their 25th year. In particular, first from the end is North Macedonia with 0.2%. In second place from the end are Cyprus and Bulgaria with 0.3%. They are ahead of Greece and Ireland with 0.4%.
On average across the EU, 3.2% of adults achieved advanced qualifications in adulthood. In some European countries, the number exceeds 10% (Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark in the EU, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland outside the EU). In these countries, adult education and training make a significant contribution to increasing the qualification levels of the population.
