Bridge the digital gap: basic digital training of the adult population
About this good practice
The “Bridge the digital gap” project is part of Hungary’s Digital Education Strategy. It aims to provide training in basic digital skills to 260 000 people by 2020, covering all regions of Hungary except Central Hungary, where Budapest is located and levels of basic digital skills are higher. The Digital Competence Framework (DigComp) can help with self-evaluation, setting learning goals, identifying training opportunities and facilitating job search. The project included a pilot phase, which translated Dig- Comp 1.0 into Hungarian and developed a training package for the two basic levels of the framework, with study materials and a self-assessment tool, approved by the National Office for Vocational Training and Adult Learning in May 2016. The training package IKER I-II was tested by three pilot groups before it went public. IKER is the acronym of the Digital Competence Reference Framework in Hungarian. IKER I-II is a certified, 35-hour, adult training course, open to the low-skilled working age population (16-65 years old) and financed by the 2014- 2020 Economic Development and Innovation Operative Programme (GINOP). The course content is in line with Europass digital proficiency levels based on DigComp and consists of the following:
• IKER1: “First steps into the digital world”, addresses Europass A level basic skills.
• IKER2: “I use information tools on my own independently”, addresses Europass A level more advanced skills.
Resources needed
22,9 million HUF
Evidence of success
By the end of January 2019, almost 149 000 people -including 102 000 women - had received training from some 280 training providers.
Participants were satisfied with the content and the speed of the training, and many recommended the course to others in a similar situation. It made them more confident in
the basics of using a computer.The value for the labour market was to enable people to take the first steps towards having the flexibility needed in a rapidly-changing digital world.
Potential for learning or transfer
Transferability potential
DigComp 2.1 has been introduced in several Member States already. The Hungarian approach could be interesting for those countries where there are a relatively large
number of low-skilled adults still lagging in terms of basic digital skills.