Warsaw, July 2025 — The USMED project has published its comprehensive research report identifying urgent digital skill gaps in the Accommodation and Food (A&F) sector. Based on a robust, multi-method study led by the University of Warsaw’s Digital Economy Lab (DELab UW), the report lays the research foundations for the project’s two key innovations: the Digital Skills Assessment Tool (DSAT) and a tailored Methodological Framework for digital upskilling in the sector.

Drawing on the report’s findings, the USMED team is now moving forward with concrete tools to support role-specific, practical learning for SMEs with low digital intensity.

The challenge: uneven digitalisation and widening skill gaps
Although digital transformation is gaining momentum across accommodation and food services, many businesses — especially small ones — struggle to keep up. Larger firms are exploring AI, IoT, and automation, but most SMEs are held back by structural barriers and limited digital skills among staff.

“Our research shows that it's not just advanced capabilities like data analysis, cybersecurity, or CRM tools that are lacking — even basic digital skills remain unevenly distributed across the sector,” says Prof. Renata Włoch from the University of Warsaw, lead author of the report. “There is a clear disconnect between the pace of technological change in the sector and the everyday digital readiness of those working in it.”

A research-based approach to real-world problems
The 170-page report integrates:

• Eurostat-based statistical analysis

• literature reviews from 7 countries (Italy, Poland, Romania, Germany, Turkey, Ireland, Spain)

• text mining of 5,000 job ads using ESCO and NLP

• and analysis of the focus group interviews with workers, managers, VET teachers, and students carried by the consortium partners in each country.
  
  

These inputs provided the empirical and conceptual backbone for the development of DSAT and the Methodological Framework. Each chapter ends with a dedicated section showing how findings were translated into the tool’s structure and role-specific logic.

DSAT: Role-specific, practical, accessible
The Digital Skills Assessment Tool (DSAT) is a mobile-accessible, self-paced tool that allows users to map their digital strengths and training needs in a job-relevant way. Built on DigComp 2.2, DSAT has been fully adapted to the realities of the A&F sector. It distinguishes between four user profiles — frontline workers, managers, students, and VET teachers. 

“DSAT is designed to speak the language of real work, not abstract frameworks,” says Prof. Katarzyna Śledziewska, co-author of the report. “It doesn’t ask whether someone ‘knows digital communication tools’ — it asks if they can update an online menu or handle a booking system. That’s the difference between theoretical competence and actionable skill.”

Read the full research report: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16361860

Review the Digital Skills Assessment Tool: https://zenodo.org/records/16366619 

Explore the Methodological Framework: https://zenodo.org/records/16365766