Compared to residents of other EU countries, the level of digital competences of Poles remains very low – according to the latest Eurostat data. Less than half declare having at least basic digital skills, and 20 percent – more than basic. This stands in the way of the digitization of the economy and increasing the productivity of enterprises.
In 2014, the European Commission created a tool to monitor digital progress indicators among the Community countries. The DESI index, because that's what we're talking about, is an index of the digital economy and society. Currently, 32 indicators are monitored in four areas, including digital competences. According to DESI 2024 data based on research conducted by Eurostat in 2023, 44.3% of Poles had at least basic digital skills in the 16-74 age group. Only Bulgaria and Romania are behind us. Against the background of the European average – which is 55.65% – we are very average. We are almost 40 percentage points behind the leaders, the Netherlands and Finland. What's more, only 20% of Poles have above-basic digital skills, which gives us 21st place in the EU ranking (out of 27 countries surveyed).
– According to some more or less objective rankings regarding Poland's digitalization status in the European Union, we are at a fairly low level. The main reason for this is low digital competences. There is simply still a large proportion of Polish citizens who do not have digital competences and this distinguishes us from other highly developed countries, so there is still room to catch up here – Przemysław Kania, CEO of Cisco Polska, tells the Newseria agency.
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The expert points out that the consequences of the gap in Poles' digital competences are primarily difficulties in consuming and implementing digital technologies. He emphasizes that this is a big problem for Polish business and entrepreneurs.
– This is what entrepreneurs cite as the main barrier. Not money, lack of determination or strategy, but the ability to implement technology, to adapt it. We have a quite clear connection here – explains Przemysław Kania.
This is also visible in Eurostat statistics. For example, in 2023, only 2.9% of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland used artificial intelligence. The EU average was 7.4% at that time, and in the leading countries – around 14%. For comparison, 45.4% of SMEs have already implemented cloud technologies, with which Polish companies are already more familiar, with the EU average of 37.9%.
– It seems to me that AI is a bit like the Internet was at the initial stage of its development. The Internet was a catch-all word. Companies built their value based on it. Then, there was a certain rationalization and today it is obvious to everyone what the Internet is for, how we use it. I think it will be the same with AI – we are now at the point of defining what it can be used for, and soon some good models and good practices will be created on how to implement this AI – the expert explains.
He adds that as Poland we have a chance to compete with other countries in the field of artificial intelligence, but the race is not the most important thing here.
– If we are a leader in AI adaptation, in implementing this technology in such a context that our business processes are faster, more effective, and we are more productive, this will already be a great benefit that will cause Poland to continue to develop well – predicts Przemysław Kania. – We all have to realize that the measure of our success as Poland in the context of digitalization is not only that we have one, two or three companies that are very innovative and very competent. Of course, we have many – dozens, hundreds of such companies, but the point is for everyone to equalize to the appropriate level. The productivity of all Poles must increase by a dozen or so percent so that our gross domestic product grows by a few percent. It is about the effect of scale, not the effect of individual cases.
The government is involved in improving the digital competences of Poles. The Ministry of Digital Affairs, together with the Digital Poland Project Center, provides trainings financed from the KPO funds as part of the “E-competences” investment. They will cover teachers, officials, citizens, as well as people at risk of digital exclusion – a total of about 254,000 Poles who have expressed their willingness to participate. The area of digital skills will also be included in the Digitalization Strategy of Poland until 2035, which the Ministry of Digital Affairs is working on. According to the project presented in October 2024, which was then submitted for consultation, by 2035 85% of citizens are to have at least basic digital competences, and half of companies are to use AI tools . In parallel, the ministry is also working on updating the Digital Competence Development Program.
– The strategy draws attention to the fact that competences need to be improved and shows the areas that need to be focused on. When it comes to the strategy, the creation of documents, they are done very professionally, the problem is to simply implement them, put them into practice – the expert emphasizes.
IT and new technology companies operating on the Polish market also strive to bridge the digital competence gap in society.
– My company is an example of such an organization, which has been organizing the Cisco Networking Academy program for many years. We educate tens of thousands of graduates a year. We think that we have a positive impact on these digital competences – says the CEO of Cisco in Poland. – I know that other companies are doing the same, there is a growing determination to, for example, rebuild technical schools or vocational schools in general. Over time, the new generation, which is already “digital native”, will naturally have these digital competences. However, these are people who are 20 years old today, so it will probably be another 20 years before they start making decisions in business, so you can't wait for it, you have to act here and now.
