Youth lacks IT education

MORE than 80 percent of Slovaks between the ages of 18 and 26 have experience with commonly available information and telecommunication technologies (ICT). But as many as 40 percent of youths are dissatisfied with how schools have prepared them in this field. This is one of the findings of the digital literacy survey that the Institute of Public Affairs conducted in cooperation with Microsoft.

MORE than 80 percent of Slovaks between the ages of 18 and 26 have experience with commonly available information and telecommunication technologies (ICT). But as many as 40 percent of youths are dissatisfied with how schools have prepared them in this field. This is one of the findings of the digital literacy survey that the Institute of Public Affairs conducted in cooperation with Microsoft.

According to the survey’s results, young people scored 60 percent higher than the average of the population, while they improved their skills in the most commonly available ICTs. But shortcomings persist, for example, in searching for information and data, transferring data and working with databases.

Among young people, students and white collar workers have the highest level of digital skills. They are followed by businesspeople, the self-employed and manual youth. The unemployed and young women on maternity leave demonstrated the lowest level of digital skills.

The survey revealed that schools insufficiently prepare students for using ICT in both everyday life and the labour market, citing insufficient school hours, overly formal teaching of informatics, obsoleteness and ignoring of the latest trends.

“These are serious objections, which should motivate us to change,” said Marián Velšic, analyst with IVO, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

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