Strategy and Action Plan for Digital Employability - Message from the Education and Science Minister

Our society has changed very fast over the last decades. The so-called Information and Communications Technology have contributed decisively towards these changes, which we imagine, will be even faster in the future.

We want, and we should, move with those changes. The current Estratégia e o seu Plano de Ação para a Empregabilidade Digital 2015 – 2020(Strategy and Action Plan for Digital Employability) will set measures that will increase the supply of qualified ICT professionals, thus it will close the gap for these professionals in the present and future labour market.o.

There are still many challenges to face and overcome. We estimate that there will be over 15000 vacant ICT positions in Portugal, in 2020. Therefore, we need more and more qualified human resources in this area.

This is what we all want: to prepare our youth to be the qualified professionals of the future. To be the leaders of digital areas and to help our companies to invest more and more in a technological future, hence benefiting from the creation and growth of new jobs in different economic sectors.

Nowadays, we have an education that is more demanding, more autonomous, more focused on obtaining results, and, therefore, more equal and capable of responding to professional training needs. But that is not enough. In order to prepare for a more advanced role in the digital world, we need the right incentives and right ideas. This is all discussed in the digital employability strategy.