Open AccessICT Intentions and Digital Abilities of Future Labor Market Entrants in Finland
Author(s) -
Meri-Tuulia Kaarakainen
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nordic journal of working life studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.322
H-Index - 15
ISSN - 2245-0157
DOI - 10.18291/njwls.v9i2.114803
Subject(s) - information and communications technology , popularity , cognitive dissonance , digital native , digital era , field (mathematics) , work (physics) , psychology , business , public relations , political science , social psychology , the internet , engineering , computer science , mechanical engineering , mathematics , world wide web , pure mathematics , law
Daily lives of citizens in current societies have changed with the spread of digital technologies, online services, and digital communication. Alongside this, the information and communication technology (ICT) labor force is expected to grow massively over the next years, requiring in- creased number of applicants for digital education and sufficient digital skills from every labor market entrant.This study examines the digital abilities of Finnish upper secondary school stu- dents (N = 3206) and the students’ intentions to study/work in the ICT field in the future.The results highlight a dissonance between the growth expectations and the popularity of the ICT field among young Finns.The students’ future intentions are also strongly gendered; for about 9% of males, but only about 1% of females in secondary education are planning to apply in the ICT field in the future.The students’ ICT intentions were predicted most strongly by being a male and possessing strong technical abilities