Lasting attention for digital skills is still missing in the teaching programmes of schools. As of 2021, it will become compulsory to include digital skills. According to VodafoneZiggo this is too late, which is why it has already started with the Future Ready teaching package for schools. In this way, the company aims to prepare children for the future.

Mismatch in skills
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 65% of the children will have jobs that don’t even exist yet – jobs in which digital skills are most likely of fundamental importance. In spite of that, research by Kennisnet shows that only few schools pay attention to teaching digital skills. In addition, VodafoneZiggo already observes a shortage of people with adequate digital skills. This is something the teaching package cannot solve of course, but at least it ensures the problem is addressed in the future.

The ‘Future Ready School Programme’ consists of three parts. Pupils attend workshops during a so-called Experience Day that familiarizes them with technology at a VodafoneZiggo location. They can also follow the teaching programme Online Masters for free, which includes a guest lecture as well. For the teachers training is provided on howto teach digital skills. The programme not only focuses on technical skills, but also on dealing with digital developments taking place in society. 

“It’s crucial that children can keep up with society and for that they require the proper digital skills. We want to familiarize pupils with the technology from an early age onwards and make them digitally skilled to increase their chances on the job market. Embedding these skills in the curriculum turns out to be a major challenge for schools. The Future Ready School Programme offers a great opportunity to start. We are looking forward to preparing a whole new generation,” says Marieke Dekker, Executive Director at VodafoneZiggo.

The past school year, VodafoneZiggo trained over 100,000 pupils acquiring digital skills. This was done by means of the Online Masters programme. A free teaching programme about the digital world, aimed at the senior years of primary schools and the first few years of secondary education. The organization also welcomed nearly 2,000 youngsters to one of the monthly Experience Days. The ambition for the coming school year is to reach 200,000 pupils. From across the country, dozens of schools have already registered for the new programme of VodafoneZiggo which is offered in cooperation with JINC and Delft University of Technology.