Two ways to digitally upskill

It is expected today by employers that all workers are digitally competent. There has been an "accelerated technological development in the labour market [which] has resulted in digital competences and skills being seen as basic and essential" (Buhl et al., 2023, p. 14), "on par with reading and writing". 

In the USA, "92 percent of all job ads requir[e] definitely digital or likely digital skills" (Bergson-Shilcock et al., 2023, p. 92). According to the OECD, those with good digital skills have a greater chances "of being employed and, if employed, of earning higher wages” (OECD, 2016, p. 26), with “New Zealand stands out as the one [nation] whose adults use almost all information-processing skills the most frequently at work” (p. 116). For most roles – 90% - in New Zealand, digital competence above Level 3 is expected; which is undertaking "tasks [...requiring] generic and more specific technology applications [with] navigation across pages and applications [and] The use of tools [possibly] involv[ing] multiple steps". Users define goals and troubleshoot both structured and unstructured problems, with "Unexpected outcomes and impasses [being] likely to occur [and] information [requiring evaluation] in order to discard distractors. Integration and inferential reasoning may be needed to a large extent" (p. 53). That is a pretty steep set of requirements. 

However, a number of workers in Aotearoa are not yet digitally competent. One issue is that we no longer have any formal tertiary teaching of digital skills. Digital technologies have been integrated into primary, secondary and tertiary education, so if we are someone who graduated some years ago and missed out on digital technologies, we have now missed the educative boat. There are no longer formal training courses because there are few needing it.

But, in my experience as a career practitioner, there is still a digital competence gap 'tail'. And that tail is formed largely middle-aged men. This worker group has held blue collar roles: perhaps heavy machinery drivers, crane drivers, construction workers, agricultural contractors, quarry work, mining, drilling, and heavy industries. They may not have been academically comfortable at school and see classroom learning as forming significant barriers. They may have struggled within the school system when they were forced to participate in it; until they could 'escape' at the leaving age ...or before, in some cases. They do not see themselves as able to be successful in learning something as difficult as computing.

This group has been largely left behind, digitally speaking. However, there are a couple of avenues we can explore for our older clients who are not digitally savvy. 

1. Firstly, there is a group called SeniorNet. This is a New Zealand not for profit where volunteers teach those who need to learn digital skills. It is usually free, but providing some quid pro quo of hours, skills or similar wouldn't go astray. Providing we can persuade our clients to accept that they need to upskill, then I have found this group to be very supportive. This group works well with new learners, who are completely at sea.
   
   
2. Secondly, there is a series of courses, collectively termed the Digital Passport, developed by the Ministry of Social Development and academyEX - the latter being a private IT training provider (Digital Passport, 2026). While we have to create a log in, once we have done that, access to the course material is free for all New Zealanders. We can work through the available courses as we feel like it, there being a range of video, text and image content. Currently there is a job search course; a digital skills course, and an AI course; with all courses having three levels (Digital Passport, 2026). It is organised in a bite-sized way. I have personally completed a couple of the courses and have also provided some feedback where I felt the material could be improved. This resource works well for those who already have some familiarity with the online environment, and have developed a level of digital problem solving skills. 

However, the most difficult aspect I have found in working with this client group is to get them to see that, by not participating in using digital technologies, they are opting out of society; and how dangerous a place that is. 

Sam

References:

Bergson-Shilcock, A., Taylor, R., Hodge, N. (2023, February 06). Closing the Digital Skill Divide. National Skills Coalition. https://nationalskillscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/NSC-DigitalDivide_report_Feb2023.pdf

Buhl, M., Dille, M. H. B., & Kårstein, A. (2023). The role of lifelong learning for inclusion in the digital transformation – Work life of tomorrow. Nordic Network for Adult Learning/Aalborg University. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1811339/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Digital Passport. (2026). Intro to Digital Passport. Ministry of Social Development  & academyEX. https://www.digitalpassport.co.nz/

OECD (2016). Skills Matter: Further results from the survey of adult skills. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en

SeniorNet. (2026). SeniorNet Digital Courses For Seniors And Older Adults. https://seniornet.nz/about-us/seniornet-digital-courses/