- Solution area:Organisations ,Processes ,Quality assurance and certification ,Social participation and engagement ,
- Аdministrative level:Municipality ,District ,State ,Federation ,
- Solution process:Digitization and technology ,Employment and education ,Integration, inclusion, diversity ,Science and research ,
- Technology:Artificial Intelligence ,Automation and robotics ,Blockchain (incl. NFT) ,Information technology ,Internet of Things ,Platform technology ,
#digitallyfit with fit4internet
Empowering digital competence across Europe
Digital transformation is advancing rapidly—driven by technological developments such as generative AI—and it affects not only companies and individuals but entire societies, institutions, and states. To actively shape this change, digital skills are essential at every level. Since 2018, the initiative fit4internet has been addressing exactly this: with the best-practice solution “Digital (up)SKILL(ing) with DigComp,” the initiative leverages the European Commission’s Digital Competence Framework (DigComp) to systematically assess, qualify, and certify digital skills—for people of all ages, regardless of profession or background. This method provides a standardized foundation that ensures comparability across Europe, facilitates labor mobility, and supports both national and international partners in developing strategies, accompanying analyses, governance models, and training programs. In doing so, fit4internet not only promotes inclusion, equal opportunities, and transparency but also strengthens the innovation capacity and competitiveness of Austria and Europe in the digital age.
Download PDF
Quick Facts
How it works
fit4internet uses the European Commission’s Digital Competence Framework (DigComp), which has been further developed in Austria as DigComp AT, to systematically standardize, assess, qualify, and certify digital skills. The method enables individuals to capture their digital competencies through more than 30 self-assessment tools (CHECKs & QUIZes) and receive tailored training offers—regardless of their initial skill level. This offering is complemented by the EU-wide recognized certificates Dig-CERT and DigComp-CERT.
fit4internet connects certified trainers with learners—working in cooperation with established educational institutions such as the Enterprise Training Center (ETC) and WIFI Vienna. Since its founding, fit4internet has played a central role in implementing Austria’s national digital skills strategy and in building the “Alliance for Digital Skills and Jobs” (ADSB), Austria’s first national Digital Skills and Job Coalition. The later initiative DKO (Digitale Kompetenzoffensive) builds on fit4internet’s foundational and developmental work.
The results speak for themselves: over 200,000 people have used fit4internet’s self-assessment tools, more than 50,000 have been trained through various partner programs, and by the end of 2025, around 15,000 people are expected to be certified in exam mode. With social offerings like “Kaffee digital” and the “Smartphone Driving License,” fit4internet specifically targets digital beginners and fosters their confident participation in the digital society. So far, roughly every second citizen in Austria has been reached with products, services, and awareness-raising measures—a significant contribution to the country’s digital transformation. Experts from fit4internet are involved in the further development of DigComp 3.0 at the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (expected release end of 2025) and in the rollout of DigComp frameworks in other EU countries, most recently in Romania with DigCompRo on behalf of the World Bank organization (2024/2025).
The Big Picture
Digitalization is one of the most important growth drivers of our time—for companies, institutions, and every individual. Digital skills are the key: they strengthen company competitiveness, secure the economic location in the long term, and enable people of all ages to participate socially—whether through Digital Government services, online banking, or contact with family and friends.
fit4internet addresses the shortage of digital skills in the population in a targeted and practical way: through national standards, competency profiles, appropriate training offers, and EU-compliant certifications. Since 2018, national and international partners—including ministries, educational institutions, companies, and individuals—have benefited from comprehensive expertise in governance model development, DigComp-based target group analyses, digital education strategies, competency measurement, and training programs.
Public institutions receive support for implementing targeted digital education measures at national, regional, or sectoral levels from experts who lead Austria’s holistic DigComp implementation. Companies analyze their employees’ skill levels using proprietary tools and develop tailored further training offers. Individuals gain transparent proof of their digital skills through CHECKs, QUIZes, and Dig-CERTs. And educational providers can clearly structure their programs and make them connectable at the European level through the DigComp referencing method—a real lever for digital equal opportunities, labor mobility, and location attractiveness.
