Beacons of hope: Estonia

Estonia is identified as a pioneer in digital transformation of public services.

The Estonia Government and Enterprise Estonia launched the e-Estonia initiative in 1997 which has successfully digitised 99% of public services. In 2000, the Estonian government declared Internet access to be a human right, ensuring that even people living in rural areas could get online. During the COVID 19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, the digitisation of the curriculum across different learner groups enabled high participation levels.

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• The EstWin project, funded by European Regional Development Funding, has built over 6000km of cables to provide fibre optic internet to 98% of households, companies and institutions .
• As part of Estonia’s Strategy 2020, the government digitised schools in Estonia through £40m of investment creating the e-Koolikott or e-School bag portal for kindergarten, primary, secondary and vocational learners. This involved a mapping of the vocational curriculum from construction, to digital, to personal services, manufacturing and business administration.
• Estonia already provided remote career guidance and counselling via email, phone and Skype. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the Estonian public employment service was able to quickly develop e-learning for care workers who were in high demand during the crisis.

What do you think about skills and employment in rural and town communities in Estonia?

What other programmes and places should I include in my research?