Launched: June 2025
The challenge
The Lisbon Metropolitan Area is one of Portugal’s most dynamic, innovative and entrepreneurial hubs. Yet, the region faces a growing digital skills gap, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and underrepresented groups. While Portugal’s Digital Transition Action Plan 2021–2026 recognises the need to accelerate digital maturity, progress remains uneven.
Only 21% of SMEs in Lisbon use advanced digital tools such as artificial intelligence, cloud services or big data. Nationally, under 4% of the workforce are computer specialists, and fewer than a third of adults have above-basic digital skills. Women make up only 20.4% of digital technology specialists, while the participation of older adults in digital upskilling is under 10%.
Three main barriers are holding back digital transformation:
- many professionals and SMEs underestimate the speed and scale of digital disruption
- learning opportunities remain fragmented, making it hard to navigate pathways and find relevant training
- most training programmes are small in scale and limited in impact, even where public funding is available.
Without a more inclusive and strategic approach to digital upskilling, the region risks falling behind Europe’s innovation leaders.
The ambition
The Metropolitan Lisbon Area Regional Skills Partnership (MLA RSP) aims to strengthen the region’s digital economy by closing the gap between skills supply and labour market demand.
Its goal is to develop concrete, modular pathways for upskilling and reskilling in digital and entrepreneurial competences, supporting individuals at all stages of their careers.
The MLA RSP focuses on five key groups:
- non-tech students: providing digital skills for all disciplines
- science and tech students: embedding entrepreneurship and innovation capabilities
- SME managers and teams: enabling digital transformation through practical training
- professionals aged 45+: promoting lifelong learning and bridging talent shortages
- women in tech and leadership: improving gender balance and supporting career advancement.
By uniting actors from education & training, business and civil society, the Partnership will create a more coordinated, inclusive approach to digital learning and talent development across the Lisbon region.
The commitments
The MLA RSP takes a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach and commits to the following actions:
- co-design a modular digital skills learning framework tailored to regional needs and aligned with labour market priorities
- scale the NOVA FCT entrepreneurship programme to reach more science and tech students
- launch an awareness-raising campaign to highlight reskilling opportunities for professionals aged 45+
- promote inclusive, accessible learning pathways, particularly for women and older adults
- use scalable digital platforms to connect learners with training, mentorship and job opportunities
- organise bootcamps and start-up competitions to support innovation, team building and career development.
In addition, the Partnership will establish a dedicated steering committee and hold regular stakeholder meetings to guide progress, gather feedback and ensure continuous improvement. By embedding digital skills into education, career transitions and business operations, the MLA RSP will help Lisbon become a more competitive, inclusive and digitally resilient region.
View the document below to learn more about the MLA RSP.
