FutureFit: Digital skills training has a positive and lasting effect
Employees with little or almost no digital experience who take part in a digital skills training say they experience a positive and lasting influence. This is one of the conclusions of the evaluation of the FutureFit project in the Netherlands. Researchers from the Future of Work hub at Utrecht University asked participants about their experiences.
Through the international FutureFit project, led by the British foundation Nesta and supported by Google.org, a group of trade union members of FNV in the Netherlands were trained in basic digital skills. FNV organised the courses in cooperation with training agency SBI Formaat. Researchers from the Future of Work Hub at Utrecht University followed the participants through questionnaires, observations and interviews to find out what works best for them. What is the effect of such a training course?
The course participants were people who, because of their age, their practical profession or other reasons, had few digital skills. Some said they participated because they feared they would have difficulty finding work in the future. The study shows that the training does indeed have a positive and lasting impact on the digital skills of the participants. However, it does not significantly affect their overall job outlook or employment perception.
A side note is that this project was held during the corona pandemic and partly during strict lockdown measures in the Netherlands. These had an impact on the operation of the project and on its participants. Some people felt more insecure already regarding their job due to the pandemic, which might have overshadowed the effect.
Training during lockdown
The training consisted of four half-day meetings and offered participants an introduction to the most basic digital skills, such as switching on and operating a computer and surfing the Internet. Afterwards, participants went a step further, for example opening an e-mail account, using digital identification tools to communicate with government services. Besides observing the improvement of people's digital skills and their willingness to use technology, the researchers also evaluated other things. For example: to what extent does the training contribute to job prospects and resilience on the labour market. They did this by interviewing participants.
The second lockdown in the Netherlands made this research more difficult. For a long time, it was not permitted to meet in a classroom, for example, and part of the training had to continue online. Some participants dropped out. Someone that stayed said: "I did not like the online training at all. You lose your attention more quickly because you are at home. You are more distracted, you grab a coffee faster or go to the toilet during a lesson. Behind the screen there is less social control than when you are in a classroom with other people."
I did not like the online training at all. You lose your attention more quickly because you are at home. Behind the screen there is less social control than when you are in a classroom with other people.
Many participants did say that they have gained more self-confidence with digital technology and use it more often: "Looking up information on the internet or buying a train ticket online is something I can do myself now, thanks to this training. Before this I would have asked someone else to do it for me.' One participant said, "I feel like I want to learn even more now, apply for jobs more often and have more contact with other people." The researchers from the Future of Work hub also made recommendations for such courses in the future.
Buying a train ticket online is something I can do myself now. Before, I would have asked someone else to do it for me
I feel like I want to learn even more now, apply for jobs more often and have more contact with other people
Without digital skills, you lose connection with society
FNV union managers Sandra ter Maat and Wilma Daams were involved in the courses for employees in the construction sector and the butcher sector, which were made possible through FutureFit. 鈥淲e have really seen the added value and therefore want to continue the project. About two million people in the Netherlands have few digital skills. And those who are not digitally skilled lose their connection with society. This project shows that with a little support we can make the change. Participants have overcome their fear of digitisation, have become more resilient and even more motivated to continue learning.鈥
We have seen the added value and therefore want to continue the project. Participants have overcome their fear of digitisation.鈥
These skills should be tangible, relevant and easy to obtain
"Many people in the Netherlands lack basic digital skills to do their job, learn new things or access basic services and information", says Dr. Chrystalla Kapetaniou, Principal Researcher at Nesta. "The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how important these skills are so that people are not excluded from society and able to progress in their work. With the support of Utrecht University, we were able to design a unique and very complex project that addressed learning barriers in groups of workers that had no-low digital skills. Furthermore, FutureFit in the Netherlands, allowed us to identify solutions that both practitioners and policymakers can use to transform adult learning so that it is responsive to the labour market and skills learned are tangible, relevant and easy to obtain."
With the support of Utrecht University, we were able to design a unique and very complex project that addressed learning barriers.
About FutureFit
Although the Netherlands is a frontrunner in terms of the number of household internet access and the quality of those connections, there are still people who do not easily keep up with the digitisation of society. Digital skills are essential for full participation in society these days. The COVID-18 pandemic has further increased this need: education, work, shopping, contact with health care and the government: almost everything had to be done online. In a society that has become so digitised, we run the risk of creating inequalities between those who are digitally savvy and those who are not.
Adult education can provide a solution, but there is little empirical evidence on the effectiveness of digital skills training programmes on learning and working. , led by the British foundation Nesta, is trying to change this in several European countries, in cooperation with employers, trade unions and researchers, among others. The aim of FutureFit is to help employees become more confident about their digital skills. And also to gain more confidence with learning in general. Many participants in the Netherlands were afraid upfront to learn but the training showed them that they still are able to learn. The project also aims to see how employees develop in the labour market after completing such training.
About the researchers in the Netherlands
The following researchers from the Future of Work hub participated in this study: Sergio Lo Iacono, Feline Wafelaar, Linde Bekkers and Thomas Martens. They were supported by Anne van der Put and Jos Slabbekoorn. Other colleagues of the Future of Work hub and of the strategic research theme Institutions for Open Societies at Utrecht University were also involved: Tanja van der Lippe, Joop Schippers, Eva Knies and Linda Westerink.