Empowering adult learners: Navigating digital skills in the AI era

According to the World Bank, one-third of the global population, roughly 2.6 billion people, live in “digital darkness,” meaning they lack access to the internet.  Even European Union countries are facing a stark reality, as nearly half of all adults struggle to navigate the digital landscape. At the same time, job markets are evolving at breakneck speed—demanding advanced skills in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and data science.

But does this mean these individuals are destined to be left behind in a rapidly advancing world? Absolutely not.

Contrary to popular belief, age is not the biggest obstacle to acquiring new digital skills—even in regions like Europe and Central Asia, where populations are aging rapidly. Evidence indicates that people maintain their cognitive capacity as they age. In fact, rather than age, lack of access to training, fear of technology and negative past experiences might influence adults’ desire to learn digital skills to an even greater extent. While adults are capable of learning, sustained engagement and practice through engaging and relevant training programs are crucial for retaining and applying digital skills. This is especially relevant with the rise of AI. This technology demands that people of all age groups revisit and update traditional digital skills.

What can countries do?

While the shift to a digitally driven economy presents challenges, it also offers a major opportunity to enhance competitiveness, inclusion, and innovation. To enable digital transformation and equip individuals with foundational digital skills, countries can take targeted actions through the ACTS framework:

1. Action strategy design: Develop a vision and a national roadmap supported by an implementation plan with clear roles and responsibilities to relevant actors. For instance, the World Bank is supporting Azerbaijan in developing a comprehensive Digital Skills Roadmap– a strategic plan aligning government policy to define digital priorities and improve coordination. The roadmap serves as a bridge between the government's digital vision and the concrete actions needed to achieve it.
2. Coordination and collaboration: Ensure alignment among government, public and private education institutions and industry stakeholders. In Türkiye, the Bank is working with the government to advance one of the country’s key priorities towards accelerating digital development to produce skills required in the current and future labor market. A new initiative will equip over 10,000 schools with ICT labs, benefiting up to 3.7 million students nationwide.
3. Train and upskill: Offer a range of training formats (remote/in-person, individual/collective, short- and long-term), which target different learner profiles. In Romania, the Digital Stars Project, a large-scale capacity-building initiative, will enhance the digital skills of 100,000 low-skilled citizens. Through an online training course delivered by 700 librarians across 560 newly established and modernized libraries, the program will develop digital skills and new employability opportunities.
4. Systematic progress monitoring: Use standard indicators and evaluate outcomes to inform policy improvements. In Kyrgyz Republic, the Bank-funded Enhanced Digital Skills for Lifelong Learners grant under the Learning for the Future Project supports an impact evaluation of an technology teacher training program which benefited 150 lower secondary informatics teachers and improved students’ digital skills across schools in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. The results will help inform future policy discussions.

With the rise of AI and automation reshaping the world of work, today’s digital landscape presents challenges but also remarkable growth and development opportunities for adult learners, young and older. Implementing targeted actions through frameworks like ACTS—focusing on strategy design, collaboration, diversified training, and progress monitoring—can help equip adults with the necessary tools to stay competitive, resilient, and engaged in the digital economy.

The time to act is now, as investing in adult digital skills is not just about addressing an urgent need but also about seizing the chance to drive inclusive growth and innovation across our societies. To succeed, we must learn from evidence and practice, adapt to the fast-changing digital world, and scale proven solutions so that no learner is left behind.