As part of the “Strengthening Digital Literacy Skills and Competencies and Promoting Gender Equality in Cultural and Creative Sectors in Central Asia” project funded by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Korea, UNESCO Almaty recently carried out an online survey with people who work in creative sectors in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The main goal was to find out what kind of digital skills and gaps are, and where they might need more training.
The survey had participants from all four countries, but most of them were from Kazakhstan (73.8%). Also, a good number were from Uzbekistan (15.5%), with fewer participants from Kyrgyzstan (7.8%) and Tajikistan (2.9%). We noticed that more women (71%) took part in the survey than men (29%).
Most people who filled out the survey were aged between 25 and 44. Fewer people were from the 18-24, 45-54, and 55+ age groups. Lastly, we found that nearly all the creative workers who took part in the survey live in cities (97.1%), with very few (2.9%) living in rural areas.
After the above-mentioned general questions, the respondents were asked to provide some information on their educational background.
Here’s an interesting fact from our survey: most creative workers are either working solo or are part of large teams in big organizations with more than 20 people. However, there aren’t as many people working in medium-sized organizations, those with 2 to 20 employees. They just aren’t as common in this field.
The last part of our survey focused on the digital skills that creative professionals use and need for their work. Interestingly, many of those who participated said they use a wide range of digital skills in their day-to-day tasks. However, there’s a gap in regional education systems – most of these digital skills are not being taught in our universities or colleges. In fact, more than 80% of the people who filled out our survey said they never took a university of college course on specific digital skills. Instead, most of them have learned these skills through informal means, like attending workshops, training sessions, or short courses outside of a traditional classroom setting.
Source : UNESCO