Abstract

Creativity may be the single most important skill in our increasingly ‘online’ society. Pre-Covid, it had already been established that creativity is key to the acquisition of ‘future-proofing’ digital skills. Through 2020 and 2021, ‘lockdowns’ forced by the Covid pandemic brought wider attention to the value of creativity in the context of digital upskilling – but what exactly is ‘creativity’ in this context, and, how can it be enabled with measurable effectiveness? These questions are the subject of this chapter, which makes three main contributions to the understanding of how digital skills are acquired and developed. Firstly, in presenting findings from a small-scale longitudinal study that was conducted May 2020–May 2021 during Covid lockdowns, it provides evidence that creativity can be deployed to enable ‘future-proofing’ (i.e. sustainable and resilient) digital skills acquisition. Secondly, in a theory and policy context in which it is known in general terms that creativity is important but specificity regarding how is lacking, it provides emergent findings that improve understanding of the role of creativity in digital skills acquisition and retention. Thirdly, it presents a new theoretical position on the role of creativity in developing resilience in the digital sphere, with associated policy implications.