MADRID, March 14 (Xinhua) -- A conference here on Tuesday looked at how Spain could prepare for the structural transformations caused by the digital revolution, and how economic policy can assure the digital transformation produces inclusive growth.
OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said the digital transformation needed a "political response which strengthened investment in digital infrastructure," highlighting that in Spain only 40 percent of companies used the digital cloud.
Gurria said there was a need for a digital transformation in the public sector and believes that this would help both companies find the best employees and for workers to find satisfactory work.
He highlighted the need to ensure privacy is protected to allow "companies and individuals to maintain faith in the digital revolution," and that regulations needed to be revised in order to maintain competition, which "brings the best out of companies and gives sovereignty to consumers."
Gurria added workers need the skills and also the protection to be able to take advantage of the digital economy, commenting that "people have to be able to adapt and develop their skills as technology advances," because if not, they will become "obsolete."
He revealed that 25 percent of Spaniards have a total lack of knowledge of the field and that automation would soon threaten 12 percent of jobs in Spain.
Spain's Minister for Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda Alvaro Nadal also said there were two revolutions, which were digital and in energy, replacing fossil fuels with renewables.
"Technology has made us progress," he commented, explaining that the digital revolution would speed up in the next 20 years, with a major contribution from small companies, which were at times flexible when it comes to transformation and new technology.
Nadal highlighted the need for regulation in issues of security, privacy and also intellectual property.
"We need to defend the new reality, which is the digital revolution," he commented, adding that greater connectivity went hand-in-hand with the use of renewable energy in questions of energy management and also in tourism, which produced "millions of pieces of client data."
