Advancing digital skills will be needed in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In a globalized digital age, learners’ digital skills must be comprehensive and inclusive because technology allows an organization’s services, production, and processes to become automated. New digital competencies will be expected of the workforce in the knowledge economy requiring new types of learners, and modes of learning such as personalized learning systems. In this era of emerging technology, AI, and the IoT, learning will need to be adaptive and individualized to meet the needs of learners. Education should be self-organizing in a smart learning environment where learners will assume control over their own learning. Besides, experience in the classroom may also impact the digital competence of workers.

Moreover, emerging technology is presenting new teaching and learning solutions that aim to improve learning outcomes. Testing new approaches is underway in many institutions guided by ideal visions of a ‘smarter university’ using ‘smart classrooms’ and a ‘smart campus’. The potential exists to replace a monotonous teaching mode and lack of learning interaction with precise individualized learning, rich interactive communication, and much flexibility. These innovations could result in the cultivation of sharper minds, better preparation for the digital workforce of the future, and a more enjoyable experience integrating humans with technology. This couldn’t come at a better time because advancements in digital technologies and data literacy seem to be shaping the desired skillset of workers in the digital age. The current and emerging skills gap in the workforce globally that includes certain job types in various sectors may be more easily addressed by new learning and teaching solutions. This is important because skills deficits could become key barriers to gains in productivity and profits, and in obtaining a competitive advantage. Skill shortages may be experienced when recruiting and could be in an existing workforce.

This study will make a contribution by developing a competency profile for the digital educator of the future, in addition to identifying particular digital skill training needs of students. In May 2025, a focus group will explore respondents’ experiences teaching digital skills, using digital tools, and the impact on students. The focus group will consist of six business colleagues ranging in teaching experience from 4 to 20 years. Focus group participants are selected based on their expertise using innovative technologies and digital tools to teach students and willingness to share their experiences. The study also uses semi-structured interviews to collect data from up to five organizations between January and April 2025. The interviewer has an interview guide based on the McFarlan Strategic Grid Analysis with a framework of themes to be explored. Most participants are known to the author, such as a BPO, hospitality operators, and digital tool vendors so that a purposive sampling method will be applied to select key interviewees. The author will conduct the interviews and take notes. Interviews via face-to-face, over the telephone, or Zoom, last for 45 minutes on average, and are recorded. After the focus group and interviews are concluded, content analysis will be performed including coding, categorizing, searching for patterns, themes, and commonalities. Findings and insights will be reported at Edulearn 2025.

Keywords: Adaptive learning, data literacy, digital age, digital skills, knowledge economy, personalized learning, precision education, skills gap, smart learning environment.