Digital training starts with skills [Hosted by Ministry of Communications and Information Technology]

Empowering Tomorrow’s Workforce: Qatar’s Digital Skills Framework and Academy

(This article was generated with AI and it’s based on a AI-generated transcription of a real talk on stage. While we strive for accuracy, we encourage readers to verify important information.)

The masterclass, hosted by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) at Web Summit Lisbon 2025, commenced with Ms. Duha Al-Buhendi, Director of Digital Society and Digital Competencies, emphasizing the critical role of digital skills in shaping the world. She highlighted that the success of any digital transformation hinges on the capabilities of the people driving it.

Qatar has an ambitious goal to create 25,000 jobs by 2030. The central challenge is not merely job creation, but ensuring the workforce possesses the necessary skills to fill these emerging roles. This requires a clear understanding of current digital skill levels and identifying existing gaps that need to be addressed for future readiness.

To tackle this, MCIT launched the Digital Skills Framework. This initiative aims to establish a common language for digital skill assessment across Qatar, enabling individuals and organizations to understand their proficiency levels. Following an assessment, participants gain access to the Qatar Digital Academy training program, designed to facilitate upskilling.

These combined initiatives ensure that learning is strategic, measurable, and forward-looking. Ms. Al-Buhendi underscored that digital skills are no longer confined to specific IT roles but are fundamental across all departments, including HR, finance, and policy, with leaders increasingly utilizing AI tools for decision-making.

The global landscape reinforces this necessity. The World Economic Forum projects that 60% of employers anticipate digital advancements will transform their business operations by 2030, making digital proficiency an indispensable requirement for every job. The market reflects this demand, as evidenced by the Qatar Digital Academy receiving over 10,000 training requests for AI and digital fundamental courses within a single year.

Globally, Coursera reports a nearly 200% surge in demand for digital and AI skills. Despite this eagerness for learning, a significant problem persists: technology evolves faster than traditional training programs, leading to a widening digital skills gap. Projections indicate that 60% of the global workforce will need upskilling by 2030, with many potentially missing out.

This creates an “upskilling paradox,” where training based on assumptions rather than actual needs incurs serious hidden costs. For individuals, misaligned training can lead to beginners not gaining sufficient depth, advanced learners becoming disengaged, and critical skill gaps remaining unaddressed.

Organizations also face substantial hidden costs, investing heavily in training without a tangible return. They often observe high course completion rates but uneven capabilities across teams, with crucial digital deficiencies persisting. This results in wasted budgets and a failure to achieve desired outcomes.

Conversely, targeted training yields significant benefits. Research demonstrates that precisely aligned training can boost productivity by 17% and profitability by 21%. The shift must be from training based on volume or assumptions to training by design, where skills are first understood, and then tailored programs are implemented with clear intent.

Qatar’s Third National Digital Strategy aims for over 46% of its workforce to be in skilled and highly skilled roles by 2030. MCIT’s Digital Society and Competencies Department is central to this vision, focusing on equipping the current and future workforce with essential digital skills and attracting highly skilled talent.

The Qatar Digital Academy and the Digital Skills Framework work synergistically. The framework defines skills and levels, identifying individual and organizational gaps, while the academy provides targeted training programs, currently for government employees. This integrated approach ensures that learning is precise, akin to a medical checkup guiding treatment.

The ultimate goal is to ensure every learner receives the appropriate digital courses at the correct level and time. The framework’s assessment tool helps identify current skill levels and recommends necessary next steps. This data-driven approach benefits both individuals, by providing clear career paths, and organizations, by enhancing team performance.

For organizations, the ministry can assess digital skills across teams, pinpointing specific gaps, such as in cybersecurity or data, and then delivering precise training. This data-driven workforce development leads to smarter strategies, improved organizational performance, valuable workforce intelligence for leaders, and enhanced national digital competitiveness.

The core message is to prioritize digital skills visibility through assessment and then implement training with digital intent, leveraging the Digital Skills Framework and Qatar Digital Academy to empower Qatar’s workforce for the future. During the Q&A, it was clarified that the framework links to over 140 job titles, with continuous improvement and a refresh cycle every two years.

MCIT is collaborating with the Ministry of Labor to integrate the framework for job seekers, allowing employers to assess digital skills of potential hires. The assessment process is designed to gauge experience levels through targeted questions, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of an individual’s capabilities.