Abstract:

The employers across the EU have the critical voices that educational institutions inadequately prepare the students for developing the ICT skills and do not implement modern trends in the field of education. The reaction is the support of building the digital coalitions. The main reason for supporting this initiative is the development of digital skills of the population as a basic tool of the digital society. The Industry 4.0. and the Single Digital Market require re-qualification of citizens so they can be further applied to the labor market. Nowadays the rapid changes in the society also require the ability to adapt quickly these trends by educational institutions. At the same time, the lifelong learning and digital inclusion process have to be taken in account regarding the improvement trends. The reduction of digital divide helps to engage in economic and social life for the broad public. The Digital Coalition began to involve a large number of specialists in IT sector, in order to improve gradually the interconnection between the labor market and the preparation of graduates and the unemployed people for the future career in IT sector. The current IT Academy – education for the 21st Century brings together 3,000 undergraduate students and more than 33,000 elementary and secondary school students, together with 2,100 people of professional staff. The article maps the current ways of acquiring digital skills on an example of the students of the University in Žilina by a questionnaire survey. The authors of the paper identify the restraints in the educational process of the learning process regarding the employers' demands. The results of the research point to the level of digital skills as well as to the lack of teaching of analytical, creative and other sophisticated skills required by job seekers. The long-term cooperation between educational institutions, employers and the state institutions contributes to the formal education concept in the area of information and communication technologies. Continuing to identify the requirements for key student skills is a way how to promote the development of economy of countries in the digital era. The paper emphasizes the importance of implementing digital IT skills by professionals in the education process at the universities. The cooperation between academic environment and the practical sphere helps students to become more motivated in acquiring skills in the field of ICT and so that the building up an advanced information society is increased.

Keywords:

Digital skills, educational institution, digital coalition, job market.