In Scotland, one in five adults lack essential digital skills. These are the skills of communicating, handling information and content, transacting, problem-solving and being safe and legal online that make up the essential skills framework. These skills allow everyone to fully participate in modern day to day life. There is a direct correlation between digital exclusion and social isolation and the people more likely not to have these skills are older, poorer and facing other forms of disadvantage. In order to tackle exclusion and inequalities, we want everyone to benefit from the education and training available online, to understand how to find work and flexible working, to access healthcare, and increase social interaction.
SOME FIGURES:
- 800,000 people in Scotland do not have essential digital skills
- 90% of jobs in all industries require people to have good levels of essential digital skills
- Those without essential digital skills are more likely to be older, poorer and facing other forms of inequality
The Tech Partnership developed a heatmap which explores digital exclusion in the UK and in it, East Lothian scores highly in digital exclusion. The combined digital indicator is made up of four metrics that indicate digital exclusion. These are infrastructure, the number of people who have never been online, Basic Digital Skills and Basic Digital Skills used.
You can view the map here and explore the indicators in more detail.
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