The digital skills of older workers in Italy [Le competenze digitali dei lavoratori anziani in Italia]

Digital skills play a key role in a labour market characterised by a growing spread of ICT technologies. In this context, particular attention must be paid to older workers who are usually less inclined to use them. The aim of this study is to investigate the digital skills of Italian older workers, with a specific focus on their professional characteristics. To pursue this goal, we used the 2019 data from the Multipurpose Survey “Aspects of Daily Life”. We found that digital skills, specifically the more complex ones, decrease as people age. We also found a positive association between the level of digital skills and skilled non-manual professions and the industry sector. The results highlight the importance of investing in the quality of human capital to avoid some older workers being excluded from the ongoing digitalisation process.