Alliance turbocharging digital capability

The Future Skills Organisation (FSO) and Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance (ADIA) have launched a joint capability paper, kickstarting a campaign to uplift digital capability for all Australians.

FSO CEO Patrick Kidd spoke at the recent InnovationAus Capability Papers event in Canberra, highlighting the three-pronged approach of the co-authored capability paper, titled ‘Turbocharging digital capability’.

“We know how important it is that all citizens develop the digital skills necessary for work, learning and life. By combining a common language for digital skills with simple industry-led benchmarks, it will help us deliver these skills at scale for all Australians, while also providing the mechanism to measure outcomes to inform future decisions,” Kidd said.

The recommended three-pronged approach is as follows:

• A commitment to every person being able to access training that enables them to lift their digital capabilities to at least the point at which they can meaningfully access work, learning and life.
• The adoption of the Australian Digital Capability Framework (ADCF) as Australia’s national common language around what it means to be digitally capable.
• The adoption of an agreed benchmark for digital capability for access to work, learning and life, anchored in the ADCF that then enables measurement.
   

The proposed approach builds on the Australian Government’s White Paper on Jobs and Opportunities, which recognised that the ADCF can “align and strengthen a wide variety of efforts to build the digital capability of the nation’s workforce”.

ADIA Convenor and paper co-author Ishtar Vij stressed the importance of ensuring that all Australians are included in this mission, reflecting on data highlighting that 23.6% of Australians remain digitally excluded in 2023.

“We know that those experiencing digital exclusion, including in relation to their digital capability level, are groups already facing barriers to education and employment: First Nations Australians, those with a disability, living in public housing, who’ve not completed schooling, senior Australians. Digital capability transcends a typical ‘tech job’.

“It extends to being able to engage and participate in all aspects of work, learning and life. The Measuring What Matters framework released by Treasury in August identifies digital preparedness as a key indicator of a prosperous Australia. It is critical that we bring everyone along with us,” Vij said.

Every worker now needs digital skills, and the opportunity of a digitally skilled population is considerable. It will increase productivity and enable people to realise their potential in work and life. The ability to use these technologies opens new career pathways for people from all backgrounds.

Kidd believes that agreeing on a benchmark based on the ADCF will help to stimulate the digital skilling opportunity.

“Ensuring that all Australians have the digital skills required is a large and ongoing effort. We need to build on what we already know, and we will only get there if there is close collaboration between industry, government, training providers and learners,” he said.

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