• The Ministry of Labor and Social Economy is rolling out a digital literacy program for rural women through the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.
• The objective is to promote digital training of the rural female population for social and economic integration.

Today, a significant part of the social and economic fabric requires a certain level of digital competence, making it essential to design training programs for adults with a non-digital culture.

Women, especially agricultural workers and rural residents, are less likely to access digital training courses, which reduces their chances of actively participating in social life, becoming independent, and/or finding satisfactory employment.

In this context, the digital literacy program for women was born, part of the Agricultural Employment Promotion Program (PROFEA) , an initiative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy developed through the State Public Employment Service .

What does it consist of?

The program is aimed at 180,000 rural women who are or have been employed under the Agricultural Employment Promotion Plan.

It is delivered through a digital course composed of five training modules delivered in person, each lasting 26 hours. This allows the digital training to be tailored to the women's starting level, as well as their needs and personal and professional trajectories:

1. Introduction to basic digital skills.
2. Basic digital skills for employment.
3. Basic productivity and collaboration tools on mobile devices.
4. Search, manage information, and complete procedures on mobile devices.
5. Digital tools, social networks and e-commerce.

The approach is eminently practical and participatory.

Geographical areas

The program is funded through a public tender with a budget of €61 million. The budget allocation is divided into eight already awarded lots:

• Lot 1: aimed at 4,450 rural women in Aragon, the Canary Islands, Castile and León, the Valencian Community, and Murcia.
• Lot 2: for digital training for 4,170 rural women in Castilla La-Mancha.
• Lot 3: intended for 14,710 rural women in the Extremadura province of Badajoz.
• Lot 4: for the digital training of 7,720 rural women in the Extremadura province of Cáceres
• Lot 5: intended to train 27,465 rural women in digital skills in the Andalusian province of Córdoba.
• Lot 6: for digital training for 50,040 rural women in the Andalusian provinces of Jaén, Granada, and Almería.
• Lot 7: intended for digital skills training for 38,170 rural women in the Andalusian provinces of Malaga, Huelva, and Cadiz.
• Lot 8: For the digital training of 33,275 rural women in the Andalusian province of Seville.

Bridging the digital divide

The Agricultural Employment Promotion Program (PROFEA) seeks to accelerate digital transformation, particularly among the rural population , by strengthening the new digital capabilities and skills needed for the workplace, personal development, and social inclusion.

Therefore, it aims to bridge three digital divides by addressing:

1. Provide employment opportunities for working people to reduce the digital divide between those employed and those unemployed, thereby mitigating the perpetuation of unemployment and promoting the ongoing training of workers.
2. Mitigate the digital gender divide by ensuring women's participation in the new digital society.
3. Reducing the territorial gap in rural areas .