General

Digital competences

Skills for life and work in the digital age.

How the laws define this

National policy frameworks consistently define digital competences as a structured set of skills and knowledge—ranging from basic or baseline proficiency to advanced capabilities—designed to enable the effective use of digital tools through formal education, training, and upskilling. Where these instruments primarily diverge is in their targeted operational scope and audience. Broad national initiatives, including the Digital Croatia Strategy for the period to 2032, the Strategy for the Digitization of Poland to 2035, and Digitalna Slovenija 2030, define competences across general citizen populations and workforces to advance wide economic transformation and inclusion. In contrast, the Digital Education Strategy 2024–2030 (Ministry for Education, Youth, Sport, Research & Innovation) restricts its focus entirely to educational contexts, tailoring its skill progressions specifically to learners and educators across tasks ranging from office-suite proficiency to programming and data management.

Synthesised from the 4 statutory definitions below. Each one is quoted in full, with its source.

How jurisdictions differ

What is distinctive in each definition, binding law in force first.

Jurisdiction	Instrument	Status	What is distinctive
Croatia	Digital Croatia Strategy for the period to 2032	Adopted	Emphasizes population-level literacy, scaling ICT education, professional training, and retraining to enable participation in the digital economy.
Slovenia	Digital Slovenia 2030	Adopted	Includes attitudes alongside knowledge and skills for confident, critical, and responsible use across life, work, and learning, framing it as a pillar for inclusion.
Malta	Digital Education Strategy 2024–2030 (Ministry for Education, Youth, Sport, Research & Innovation)	Adopted	Focuses on progression-based skills, knowledge, and attitudes for learners and educators in educational contexts, from basic proficiency to advanced programming.
Poland	Strategy for the Digitization of Poland to 2035	Draft	Provides a tiered classification of baseline, medium, and advanced skills to guide education, training, and workforce development programs.

Definitions (4)

The set of basic and advanced digital skills, education, retraining and professional capabilities aimed at enabling citizens and the workforce to participate in and drive the digital economy; the Strategy targets population‑level literacy as well as scaling ICT education and professional training.

Strategija digitalne Hrvatske za razdoblje do 2032. godine (Digital Croatia Strategy for the period to 2032)Definition 1 of 4

A tiered classification of skills (baseline, medium, advanced) describing the knowledge and abilities citizens and the workforce need to effectively use digital tools and services. The strategy uses these levels to guide education, training and workforce development programs.

Strategy for the Digitization of Poland to 2035 (Strategia Cyfryzacji Polski do 2035)Definition 2 of 4

The knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for confident, critical and responsible use of digital technologies across life, work and learning contexts; this includes formal education, lifelong learning and upskilling initiatives to close skill gaps. The strategy frames digital competences as a pillar for inclusion and economic transformation.

Digitalna Slovenija 2030 (Digital Slovenia 2030) - National strategy for digital transformationDefinition 3 of 4

A progression-based set of skills, knowledge and attitudes enabling learners and educators to use digital technologies effectively, responsibly and safely across educational contexts; spans from basic office-suite proficiency to advanced practices like programming and data management.

Digital Education Strategy 2024–2030 (Ministry for Education, Youth, Sport, Research & Innovation)Definition 4 of 4

Not to be confused with

digital pedagogical competencies

Digital pedagogical competencies are specifically educators' skills for teaching and using digital technologies, while digital competences apply more broadly to citizens, workforce, and learners.

Basic digital skills

Basic digital skills cover only safe, confident everyday online use, whereas digital competences encompass basic to advanced levels across various contexts.

intermediate and advanced digital skills

Intermediate and advanced digital skills refer to specialised ICT competencies for employment and advanced tasks, while digital competences include baseline skills and broader applications.

Questions and answers

What does Croatia's Digital Croatia Strategy say about digital competences?

It defines them as basic and advanced digital skills, education, retraining, and professional capabilities to enable citizens and the workforce to participate in the digital economy. The strategy targets population-level literacy and scaling ICT education and training.

How does Slovenia frame digital competences in its strategy?

Digital competences are the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for confident, critical, and responsible use of digital technologies across life, work, and learning. It includes formal education, lifelong learning, and upskilling as a pillar for inclusion and economic transformation.

Are digital competences tiered in Poland's digitization strategy?

Yes, it classifies them into baseline, medium, and advanced levels describing knowledge and abilities needed to use digital tools and services. These tiers guide education, training, and workforce development.