The OECD has concluded that the lack of digital specialists and digital excellence is a bottleneck for innovation and growth for Swedish SMEs, while the needs are expected to increase further in the coming years as new technologies such as AI have an increasing impact. The Government has also stated that the goal of Swedish digitalisation policy is for Sweden to be the best in the world at harnessing the opportunities offered by digitalisation. In Kronoberg there are about 600 IT companies that already have extensive recruitment needs, both of junior and senior character. Added to this are all other sectors where demand for digital excellence is growing. The project aims to analyse the need for digital skills and excellence among regional SMEs to find a way forward and ensure long-term skills. Based on the work, the Academy, other education providers and promotion organisations can meet the needs that exist to reduce the skills shortages that exist and hamper SMEs’ growth and competitiveness. The project is unique in that it does not focus on selected industries but rather is aimed at SMEs as the primary target group. We do this because we believe that there are great synergies with working across sectors. During the way forward, we start from different parties‘assignments and focus in order to present an overall picture where those who are best suited support SMEs’ digital transformation and competence building.