Digital literacy and skills are key to building strong and competitive economies now and will be even more so in the future. Traditional ways of doing business have undergone a digital transformation in the last couple of decades, creating added value and impact, from manufacturing to textile production, from technology to health. For economies to keep running and operate competitively in the global market, they need workforces with the digital skills required to respond to new trends.

Our project in Kosovo began in January 2020 and is designed to help build a skilled workforce for the country’s economy and prepare various sectors, especially ICT, for global competition.

Certified workforce created

European Commission began a large-scale transformation programme in 2022, supported by other European bodies, to empower businesses and people to operate in a human-centred, sustainable, and more prosperous digital future. The 2030 Digital Decade policy programme has four main pillars: improved digital skills; digitalised businesses; secure and sustainable infrastructures; and digitalised public services. (https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/europes-digital-decade-digital-targets-2030_en).

Taking the lead from this strategy, our project in Kosovo is helping create a skilled workforce and digital professionals. In February 2022, over 5,000 people were in the training programme, 38% of them female. We trained over 1,200 people in various tech disciplines, including:

• Cyber Security
• Web Application Development
• Enterprise Java and Mobile Application
• Python 1-2-3
• Big Data Analytics
• Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence

B2B cooperation established

In 2021 and 2022 we organised over 200 events to promote B2B exports, bringing businesses from Kosovo, Greece, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Italy together. These led to the creation of business networks in different sectors as well as numerous partnership agreements and contacts.

We also facilitated peer-to-peer learning and study visits for many professionals in Kosovo. Participants were given the opportunity to listen to experiences gained in various technology centres, ranging from innovation hubs to incubators, technology parks to commercial chambers.

We also helped increase the knowledge of the workforce through workshops delivered by experienced professionals and experts.

The Western Balkans Digital Summit

On 17 May 2018, the European Commission launched the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans at the Digital Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria. This aims to support the transition of the region to a digital economy and deliver the benefits of digital transformation, such as faster economic growth, more jobs and better services. Part of the agenda involves organising the Western Balkans Digital Summit (WBDS) each year in different capital cities of the members countries. We organised the WBDS in Pristina, Kosovo, on 21 and 22 of September as one of our project activities. We engaged very competent speakers to discuss the challenges and latest developments in the region and beyond and we used technology-related competitions and youth-orientated activities to encourage young people to engage in the summit. In addition, DS partners ran innovative events during both days of the conference.