Spain faces the challenge of closing the digital divide created by covid

We have all heard these words over the past twelve months: digitization, Coronavirus, and Teleworking. The covid-19 has made a 180-degree change in the lives of citizens.

But did digitization really reach all? According to the National Observatory of Technology and Society's (ONTSI) latest report, "The rapid adoption of technology by the public in the past year has not been homogeneous sex." It adds, however, that 2020 "has been a year in which digitization accelerated most quickly in the past decade", while "the gap in frequency of internet usage has pulverized".

The current pandemic has demonstrated that caring for others (elderly, minors and dependents ) continues to be a feminine-dominated profession. A further concern is the need to encourage STEM vocations among young women. 80% of ICT jobs are still held by men. Another important fact is that the digital divide in Spain remains a major problem.

The latest Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) shows that Spain is not a top 10 country in terms of human capital. The 91% of Spanish citizens who use the internet regularly is 3.5 percentage points higher than the 2019 level. It is still the 16th worst in the EU, out of 27 countries. It is also a point lower than the European average of 43% who lack basic digital skills between 16 and 74.

If it heals, this gap will be able to create more than 220,000 new jobs over the next decade. This is evident in the report "Upskilling to Shared Prosperity" by PwC, and the World Economic Forum that was made public at the Davos Forum. It is clear that automation and digitalization are creating a huge problem around the globe. This includes a shortage of digitally skilled workers for available jobs.

Absolute terms, an increase in digital skills would result in a 6.7% increase in Spain's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It would be around 108,615 millions euros more in Spain's 2030 Gross Domestic Product (GDP). New jobs would result in an increase of employment by 1.2%, and productivity would rise by 9.5%. Similar results were found in another Deloitte/Vodafone study, which shows an additional 4.4% economic growth, which in turn would lead to a 7.7% increase in productivity in the country.

According to analysis by PwC, the World Economic Forum, the most benefitted sector in Spain is business services. It currently accounts for 22% GDP. However, it would grow by 7.3% or 26,335 millions euros. This would be followed closely by industry with a growth rate of 7%, an additional 13,987 million, as well as consumption which would rise by 6.5% to 18,101 million. However, all sectors would see growth.

According to the cited study, Spain would be the fourth most preferred country in the EU (and fourth among the developed economies (OECD),) in terms of economic growth as well as employment. This line shows that the United States of America, India, Spain, and China would all earn the highest absolute profits. This classification would include Australia (5.9%), India (6.8%), Spain (66.7%), and China (7.5%).

Germany and Japan, on the other hand, would have the lowest economic growth rates of 0.3% and 0.2% respectively due to their high productivity and their excellent training. professionals. The European Commission presented their idea for a European digital compass. It sets a series ten-year objective to confirm the increase in investments in digital development projects in the EU.

The Government at the national level focuses its efforts on the Digital Spain Agenda 2025. This roadmap focuses on the SME Digitization Plan (the Public Administration Digitization Plan) and the National Digital Competence Plan (the National Digital Competence Plan).

These programs will see a public investment of over 11,000 million euro for the next three-years. This is in order to promote the reforms necessary to accelerate the digitalization process of Spain. Although the development of 5G technology is one lever of that desired change in Spain, the Executive of Pedro Sanchez still needs to confront the connectivity issues that Empty Spain has and that teleworking has highlighted.

The 2014 General Telecommunications Law establishes a universal service which guarantees an internet connection of no less than 1MB per second. It is not sufficient to complete work tasks or for leisure.

In its Digital Agenda, the Government has committed to offering 100 MB speed for 100% of the population by 2025. The SME Digitalization Plan also envisages a public investment of nearly 5,000 million between 2023 and 2025 to help accelerate the digitalization of 1,500,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises. The fine print also stipulates that at least 80% of the benefited SMEs will be self-employed or micro-enterprises.

To meet the challenges of the future, the Government's digital connectivity plans will require an additional 4,320 million dollars. This includes the strategy to promote 5G. According to Nadia Calvino (second vice president), this is to create more opportunities, not new biases and gaps.

Banks are the best student of digitization. Banking is the most prominent student of digitization. Traditional financial institutions have embraced the technology wave to avoid losing business due to the infiltration of 'fintech'. The bank, which sells more than half its products and services online on an average, has 12.1 million customers. The country's five largest companies have 96 million internet users, with Santander and BBVA at the top. This is 12 million more than a one-year ago. Funcas and Finnovating have found that 63% of mobile users use mobile apps to pay in shops, while 75% use them to transfer money. However, 69% of users still don't use electronic wallets or 'wallets'.