Take a look at the figures
According to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), UK companies are battling with a shortage of digital skills, this is affecting productivity.
A total of 1,400 businesses across the UK were involved in the survey, 84 per cent of those questioned said IT skills are more important to their business than two years ago. Half (51 per cent) said these skills were significantly more important.
The survey also found that more than three-in-four businesses are facing a shortage of digital skills in their workforce.
Some of the key findings of the survey are that the skills most important to companies are basic computer skills (72%), communicating and connecting through digital channels (71%) and management of digital information (69%).
Skill shortages means there are increasing workloads on existing staff (52%), higher operating costs (29%), and its causing difficulties in meeting customer requirements (28%).
Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “The evidence is clear: better digital skills make firms more productive, and a lack of digital skills holds them back.”
“Businesses themselves need to do a lot more to tackle the digital skills shortages they face, and their leaders need to be alive to the fact that a failure to tackle this issue will have an impact on their bottom line. Too many firms are stuck in an unproductive cycle, where the failure to take action has serious consequences.”
“Training providers can give firms a helping hand, by engaging with companies on their digital needs and helping them to free up resources for growth. Government must help as well, by recognising that some of the high-level digital skills businesses need will come from overseas so a pragmatic immigration system needs to be in place to provide firms with access to the workers required to fill the gaps.”
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