Mapping DigComp digital competences to the ESCO skills framework for analysis of digital skills in EU online job advertisements

This study maps the DigComp framework (European Digital Competence Framework for citizens) to the skills descriptors of ESCO (European Skills, Competencies, Qualifications and Occupations), the classification of skills which is used in the Skills-OVATE, the database of European online job advertisement (OJA). This experimental mapping allows to reconcile the “demand side” of digital skills sought by employers with the “supply side” of education and training for digital skills, through the lens of DigComp, which is used in many EU digital skills initiatives at international, national and regional levels. To date, out of nearly 14,000 skills listed in ESCO, 2,670 have been detected in OJA data. We find that 732 of ESCO skills map to one or more DigComp competences accounting for 54.5% of all skills mentioned in Skills-OVATE OJA between 2018 and 2022. However, coverage across DigComp competence area is uneven, with a higher emphasis on information and data literacy; content creation; and communication and collaboration, than on safety (which includes data protection and privacy, and environmental sustainability) or problem-solving. In line with existing research, DigComp-related skills are more often found in job advertisements of “white-collar” occupations, than of the other occupation groups. The extent to which DigComp-mapped ESCO skills descriptors are explicitly or implicitly in digital environments varies across DigComp competences. For example, information and data literacy skills were more likely to feature explicit digital environments than communication and collaboration skills. Some implications for the developers and users of the three sources of information are considered.