Today, Cosmic’s CEO, Julie Hawker MBE, joined educators, trainers and skills leaders from across South Africa as part of a major symposium hosted by the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC) in partnership with the British Council. The event focused on entrepreneurship, employability and alternative pathways into the labour market for young people.
This international exchange put digital inclusion and the development of digital and AI skills at the heart of the conversation about future work and opportunity.
Julie delivered an international masterclass entitled “Opening Up a World of Possibilities: Empowering People with Essential Digital and AI Skills for a Work-Ready Future”, exploring how digital and AI capabilities are becoming fundamental to participation in work, learning and entrepreneurship.
Digital Skills Are No Longer Optional
Across the world, technology is reshaping how we learn, work and connect. While conversations about AI often focus on technological advances, the reality is that success depends on people having the skills, confidence and support needed to participate.
Building essential digital skills and confidence can help people participate more fully in work, learning and everyday life.
Drawing on Cosmic’s experience of supporting thousands of people and organisations across the South West of England, Julie highlighted how digital capability is increasingly becoming a baseline requirement across almost every occupation.
From administration and customer service to technical and professional roles, employers increasingly expect people to possess essential digital skills and confidence.
The session explored:
- How digital and AI technologies are changing the world of work
- The risks of digital exclusion and who may be left behind
- The Essential Digital Skills framework and practical workplace skills
- The growing importance of AI literacy
- Evidence showing the impact of targeted digital skills interventions
- Practical approaches educators can use to embed digital and AI skills into learning programmes.
A Shared Global Challenge
One of the key messages from the session was that the challenge of digital inclusion is not unique to one country.
Whether in the United Kingdom, South Africa or elsewhere, many people still face barriers to accessing technology, building confidence online and developing the skills needed to thrive in modern society.
Digital exclusion often overlaps with wider social and economic disadvantage, creating barriers to employment, education, health and financial wellbeing.
At Cosmic, we see digital inclusion not simply as a technology issue, but as a people issue. Ensuring everyone can access opportunities in a digital world is fundamental to creating more inclusive communities and stronger local economies.
Learning Through International Collaboration
The symposium provided an opportunity to share practical learning from Cosmic’s work in digital inclusion, employability and workforce digital skills while also learning from colleagues tackling similar challenges in different contexts.
Through discussion and action-planning activities, participants explored how digital and AI skills could be embedded into:
- Existing curricula
- Employability programmes
- Entrepreneurship support
- Work placements and employer engagement
- Careers guidance
- Community learning initiatives
- Staff development programmes.
These conversations reinforced the importance of collaboration between education providers, employers, communities and policymakers in preparing people for an increasingly digital future.
Connecting Skills to Real Outcomes
A central theme of the workshop was that digital skills should never be viewed as an end in themselves.
Instead, they are a means to achieve broader outcomes:
- Better employment prospects
- Stronger workforce participation
- Greater confidence and independence
- Improved access to services and opportunities
- Increased entrepreneurial activity
- More resilient communities.
This is why digital inclusion and practical AI skills for work matter: they connect technology with real opportunities for people, employers and communities.
This aligns closely with Cosmic’s vision of creating a world where everyone can use digital to succeed.
Looking Ahead
Reflecting on the session, Julie said:
“A work-ready future should not be defined by the technology people can access, but by whether every person has the skills, confidence and opportunity to use it successfully. As digital and AI become increasingly important in work and life, we have a collective responsibility to ensure that technological change creates opportunity rather than deepening exclusion.”
Cosmic is proud to contribute to international discussions on digital inclusion, workforce skills and employability, sharing learning developed in the South West while learning from partners around the world.
As we approach our 30th anniversary year in 2026, partnerships and knowledge exchange such as this demonstrate how local impact can contribute to global conversations about creating a more inclusive digital future.
Cosmic will continue sharing its experience of digital inclusion, essential digital skills and AI learning to help create opportunities for people and organisations in the UK and internationally.
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