Belgium – Digital Decade strategic Roadmap 2030

• July 17, 2024
• admin

The Belgian strategic roadmap for the Digital Decade developed by the Ministry of the Economy Belgium has defined a clear objective to digitalise Belgian society. The measures in this roadmap reflect the different levels of powers and responsibilities within the federal organization of Belgium.

The report uses the data in the Digital Decade Report 2023 on the National Base Value of the Digital Decade Targets, the EU baseline value for Digital Decade Targets in 2023 and the EU target value for 2030. Belgium is scoring around the EU average as regards population with basic digital skills, and above the EU average as regards the share of ICT specialists. 54% of people have at least basic digital skills, which coincides with the EU average. Moreover, Belgium scores at the EU average for citizens with above basic digital skills and at least basic digital content creation skills (67% compared to 66% at EU level). 

Priorities for the development of digital skills

Belgium has taken notice of the recommended actions that have been proposed by the Commission in the Digital Decade repot 2023. The main directions for achieving digital goals are:

• BUSINESS

• INFRASTRUCTURE

• E-GOVERNMENT

• SKILLS

The proportion of people with at least basic digital skills matches the EU average, however, it is below the EU average for young people, in particular for those with a low level of education. The rapid increasing shortage of skilled teachers in this respect is also a potential threat to be monitored closely. Additional efforts to elevate adult training could help to attain the targets of the skills cardinal point towards 2030.

Measures contributing to the achievement of the target

Belgium is currently implementing several measures that are expected to help increase the level of basic digital skills. At the federal level, the BeCentral digital campus has since 2017 trained more than 425 000 students to reducing the digital skills gap. Belgium continues to pursue work regarding the 2021 Digital Inclusion and female representation in the STEM and digital sector through its national and intersectoral strategy Women in Digital 2021-2026.

The Roadmap includes 63 strategies, measures and actions to achieve the digital target. The Digital Decade Working Group (which coordinates different digital strategies at a federal level) will invite all competent entities both federal and federated in a “skills working group (IEC/CEI)” where entities can exchange best practices, raise awareness and share expertise.