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Sustainability

Towards a digital Society-Ireland's digital index

March 25, 2022 3-MINUTE READ

RESEARCH REPORT

In brief

  • Accenture launch’s new Digital Index to measure traction on key digital behaviours revealing a significant gap between social classes and age.
  • The research reveals both positives and pitfalls in digital interactions that have accelerated since the start of the pandemic.
  • There has been a positive increase in everyday digital skills, with only 32% rated themselves to have below average skills, compared to 42% in 2020.
  • 35% of respondents say there are no areas of digital skills that need improving and 24% say there is nothing that would motivate them to get better.

Working in tomorrow’s world

The research examines the state of the digital divide in Ireland – the gap between the digitally engaged and disengaged – revealing long-standing issues around the ‘haves and have nots’ in an emerging digital society have become more nuanced. All signs point to one direction of travel, towards a more digitally engaged society. What the Accenture Digital Index shows repeatedly is that Millennials and Gen Z, who have grown up with digital technologies, are the most skilled and the transition to a digital society will only accelerate.

People did more online since the pandemic with 68% increasing their internet usage, with video calls, online shopping and social media driving greater engagement. The pandemic has played a part in advancing everyday skills, but a quarter of respondents aren't comfortable creating and editing documents and the same are struggling to update CVs and use websites for job searches. This creates a big challenge for the future workforce.

People are at risk of being left behind

This research shows that people are capable of integrating digital into their daily lives. The caveat is that advances are confined to everyday skills and a smaller appetite for acquiring advanced skills. Around a third of people don’t see a need to improve their digital skills and a quarter of respondents say there is nothing that would motivate them to get better.

A lack of interest in improving skills could be interpreted as apathy or it might be that a large group of people are satisfied that they have all the level of skills needed. This is a problem for industry, education, and government stakeholders looking to upskill people to work in an emerging digital economy. The research shows that a desire to learn more and be part of an emerging digital economy appears to be absent from a large cohort of people and they risk being left behind.

Barriers to digital engagement are coming down but skills gaps persist and the motivation to improve is low which increases the risk of people being left behind.

Supporting Ireland's progress ensuring no one is left behind

View Transcript

28%

of people have problems with using websites for job searches or updating CVs

35%

of people don’t see a need to improve their digital skills

24%

of people say there is nothing that would motivate them to get better

Building bridges and breaking down walls

Pandemic lockdowns have driven adoption, but they have also highlighted inequalities and issues in the development of digital skills. There is now a challenge of engaging people who show little appetite for learning more. So we created an Index scoreboard called PACE to explore digital traction around key behaviours, grouped in four categories; Protect, Access, Connect, Educate.

Scoring reveals a significant gap between the social classes with better-off social groupings more skilled and engaged. This inequality is most pronounced when it comes to Access and least pronounced in relation to Connect. Age is proving to be a consistent barrier for digital inclusion across all categories of our PACE Index and is of particular weakness for those aged 55+. When it comes to skills levels by age those aged 55+ significantly under-performed.

Protect

covering security-related behaviours, such as untrustworthy sources, fake news, and fraudulent emails.

Access

covering levels of comfort accessing online resources, such as online banking, job searching and engaging with government services.

Connect

covering usage of communication technologies, such as video, text, and messenger services.

Educate

covering the search for information and knowledge, and the ability to manage and collate information digitally.

A safer digital future

When it comes to attachment to technology and the internet, 45% are trying to reduce the amount of technology they use each day, with 20% of people actively shutting down after work. One negative issue was low comfort levels in installing applications and changing privacy settings on social media sites. Millennials and Gen Z are driving the transition to a digital society but their confidence may be misplaced with research showing tech-savvy younger people are more susceptible to misinformation than older age groups.

There are many positives in terms of people being comfortable with the move towards a more digital society. A greater demand for more digitally skilled people and an emerging trend in digital jobs, businesses, government and educators need to work together to prepare people for the future. This will require a focus on the cohort who are being left behind to encourage incentivise and upskill them, so we prepare people for the future digital workplace.

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