Undoubtedly, the 21st century has presented us with numerous demands. In the field of education, the role of teachers and trainers has significantly evolved. This is to prepare a generation capable of navigating globalization, new challenges, and leveraging knowledge and science to confront the challenges of the future. This poses a challenge to educational systems, prompting some to explore the requirements of the 21st century and identify the necessary skills for students to meet and effectively address the demands of the job market.

What are 21st-century skills in general? And why do we need them?

21st-century skills are defined as "a set of skills necessary for success and work in the 21st century, such as learning and innovation skills, information, media and technology literacy, and life and career skills."

We need 21st-century skills due to several changes, most notably:

1. The wide gap between the world inside schools and educational institutions and the job market. This gap costs the business sector significant amounts to find skilled labor and retrain new employees.
2. The massive transformation in technology and communication.
3. Increased competition and heightened global challenges such as the collapse of economic conditions, global warming, wars and other security threats, and population inflation, which necessitates developing students' thinking skills to face these challenges.
4. The knowledge economy which requires the age of knowledge to have a constant supply of well-trained workers, and workers who use mental abilities and digital tools to apply good knowledge skills in their daily work.

When identifying the most important skills needed in the 21st century, whether for teachers or learners, we find that they consist of:

1. Life and career skills which consist of: flexibility, adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social skills, productivity and accountability, leadership and responsibility.
2. Learning and innovation skills which consist of: creativity and innovation skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and communication and collaboration skills. ¹  
   1. anddesignmagazine.blogspot.com

   anddesignmagazine.blogspot.com
3. Information, media, and technology skills which consist of: information literacy, media literacy, and technology literacy.

From the foregoing, it is clear to us that acquiring digital educational skills in the education and training sector is inevitably reflected in our adaptation to advanced technology and its greater utilization the more proficient we become in it. Possessing such skills has a positive impact on learning processes and teaching methods and enhances the professional competence of teachers and trainers.

So how do digital skills contribute to enhancing the educational process? What are the digital skills for teachers and trainers? Let's find out together in the following lines.

The importance of acquiring digital skills for teachers and trainers

It is very important now for every teacher or trainer to be aware of the digital tools that help him apply technology in the teaching process, whether face-to-face or remotely. This is what we always strive for in TechnoClass through our publications or through the periodic training events that we conduct for our audience or in cooperation with other educational and training institutions around the world.

Among the advantages that accrue to the education sector as a result of the digital transformation process are:

1. Increasing the scope of knowledge for students Modern technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality can help in areas of knowledge and even improve the learning experience, and students are able to explore and interact with 3D content and simulate reality in a way that enhances participation and real practical learning.
2. Enhancing the effectiveness of the educational process When the teacher uses digital technologies, the effectiveness of the learning process will increase and make it closer, more interactive and exciting for learners who speak the digital language and understand it well and interact with it spontaneously, which means better absorption of the educational content you provide to them.
3. Developing students' collaboration and communication skills The use of technology greatly affects the process of self-learning for students. For example, you can suggest some e-learning platforms for self-learning or cooperation in the implementation of joint educational projects and the exchange of knowledge online, which improves communication between them and builds a strong network of relationships between everyone.
4. Improving the teacher's professional competence There is no doubt that your acquisition and learning of digital skills and the use of appropriate digital tools will positively reflect on the professional competence of teachers. For example, the use of modern technologies in analyzing educational data, providing instant evaluations, and creating diverse and innovative educational content. This will necessarily affect the quality of education and the learning experience.
5. Preparing students for the future job market When we introduce technology into the learning process, we put students in front of the option of using it and dealing with it, and learning how to work on it and use it correctly, which increases their job opportunities in the future.

As long as you have reached this point in reading, you are interested in developing your digital skills. To help you with this, we offer you from our experience in TechnoClass in the field of digital learning.

The question that arises now: What are the basic digital skills in the education and training sector?

This is what we will learn about in our next article, God willing.