Determinants of Digital Skills use: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

• May 8, 2026
• neelam

This paper examines the determinants of digital skills use among employees in eight Central and Eastern European countries using data from the 2024 PIAAC (Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies) survey. The study argues that digital competences have become essential for productivity, labour market participation, and economic competitiveness. The authors analyse how socio-demographic characteristics, organisational context, and national differences shape the likelihood of using both basic and advanced digital skills in the workplace.

There are significant cross-country differences in digital skill use, with Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, and Latvia generally outperforming Croatia across most indicators of workplace digital activity. Higher education emerges as the strongest and most consistent predictor of digital skills use, while employment in larger firms is associated with more advanced digital tasks such as specialised software use and programming. The findings also reveal sectoral and gender differences: workers in the public sector tend to use computers more frequently for routine tasks, whereas advanced digital competences are more common in the private sector. Women participate more in basic digital activities but are underrepresented in technically demanding digital roles, especially programming and specialised software use.

According to the paper, digital competences are shaped not only by individual motivation but also by structural and institutional factors such as education systems, labour market organisation, company size, and national digital ecosystems. The authors confirm that higher education substantially increases digital skill use and partially confirm that private-sector and large-firm employment support advanced digital competences. Moreover, they argue that policymakers should prioritise lifelong learning, targeted digital training programmes, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and measures addressing gender disparities in advanced ICT fields.