Blog

In 2022, Portugal marked Digital Skills Month for the first time. Four years on, it may be fair to ask: in a world where we work, learn, communicate, shop, access services and relate to one another through digital means, does it still make sense to dedicate a month to digital skills? 

The answer, perhaps more than ever, is yes. 

We have grown used to technology so quickly that it is hard to imagine our daily lives without it today. Digital technology runs through practically every dimension of our lives, and artificial intelligence has accelerated this transformation even further. 

But technology does not move at the same speed as people. 

The latest Digital Decade data show exactly this. In Portugal, 59.15% of people aged 16 to 74 have at least basic digital skills. Despite the progress, we remain far from the European target of 80% by 2030. In other words, around four in ten people still lack the skills considered basic to participate fully in an increasingly digital society. 

And this gap matters. It matters when looking for a job, accessing a public service, managing a bank account, studying, working or simply communicating requires skills that not everyone has. The digital transformation opens up opportunities, but it can also create new barriers for those who cannot keep up with it. 

Artificial intelligence makes this challenge even more evident. In just a few years, we have gone from talking about AI as a technology of the future to using it in the present. In Portugal, 38.7% of people have already used generative AI tools, but 35% point to a lack of training or skills as one of the main obstacles to using them. 

We are therefore facing a new layer of digital inequality. It is no longer just about having access to the Internet or a computer. It is about knowing how to use technology, understanding its risks, evaluating information and, increasingly, knowing how to use artificial intelligence critically, safely and consciously. 

Gender equality, too, still has a long way to go. Women account for only 22.3% of ICT specialists in Portugal. 

We cannot accept that the technologies shaping our future are conceived, developed and decided without the participation of half the population. 

That is why continuing to invest in digital skills for everyone is not just a matter of qualifications. It is a matter of equal opportunities. 

We need to empower those who are still distant from the digital world, prepare children and young people to use technology critically and safely, support the updating of skills throughout life, bring more girls and women into ICT and STEM fields, and ensure that artificial intelligence does not create a new divide between those who know how to seize the opportunities it offers and those who are left on the sidelines. 

In 2026, Digital Skills Month still makes sense. Perhaps even more than when it began. 

Because true digital transformation is not measured solely by the technology we manage to develop or adopt. It is measured by our ability to ensure that everyone has the skills and the same opportunities to take part in and help build the digital future.