What are digital skills and how can you develop them?
If there is one thing that the fourth Industrial Revolution is teaching us is that jobs are changing and with them job requirements.
A company no longer needs people to transport goods - drones can do this just as efficiently (obviously operated by a human) and if we look at the one good thing that the global pandemic brought, is to accelerate the digitalization train and get more companies on board.
Somewhere between hyperloops, blockchain, and electronic noses, it has become imperative for us as the workforce to adapt our skillset and begin thinking about the new jobs that are coming from this Revolution. Employers are interested in finding employees who possess the elusive digital skills.
Ok, so before we look at a list of the more common digital skills, what are they exactly? A digital skill is the ability of using digital platforms and devices to create content, share information, and access networks to collaborate and communicate. Very loose definition, right? Basically, it is your ability to use your Gmail account to connect to your team, Zoom for staff meetings and navigate successfully in the digital world.
So what are some of the digital competences that employees are looking for? These skills really depend on what the role and industry are, but we have taken the liberty and listed some of the more common ones that we have noticed. Depending on the job you are applying for or already doing, we recommend that you do a thorough research of the industry and look at job descriptions to get a better grip of what they’re looking for in a candidate.
Communication - how good are you at emailing? Sending out virtual meeting invites? Sharing information virtually?
Analytics - can you create and read dashboards? Do you know how to collect data?
Digital Marketing - do you know about SEO? Social media? Targeted marketing based on device and/or demographics?
Problem-solving - are you able to find online tutorial/FAQs/forums/best usage cases to answer questions?
Online safety and compliance - do you know how to protect company property? Do you know about cyber security?
We bet you already have some of these skills. And even if you don’t, worry not. Thanks to the digital era, you can easily develop or improve your skill set. Here are some methods that can help you build up your digital skills.
Self-Learning: if you Google “improve digital skills'', there are about 886 million articles with great tips and tutorials. Acquiring basic skills has never been easier. The important thing to remember is that you need to stay motivated. Staying motivated to complete things on your own can sometimes be hard, however if you do it right, it is one of the most effective forms of studying.
Ask a colleague: I bet you have a co-worker that is really good at SEO marketing - ask them to teach you a thing or two during their free time.
Free Online Courses: if you’re looking for something more structured than we suggest you use one of the hundreds of online platforms that offer free online courses, designed for you to go at your own pace.
Certificate Programs/University degree: and if you want something that really goes in-depth, then you can always find a college/university near you and sign up for a class, certificate degree or complete a full degree.
Even though technology is changing many industries, there are still some limits that come with using it. Just look at what happened in 2021 with Zillow’s algorithm. Its house-flipping algorithm proved to be less than accurate in predicting the value of houses. The algorithm was not able to account for the social factors that go into home buying such as the layout of the space, aesthetics, and other emotive, hard to quantify aspects proving that though technology will always be a prevalent enabler of work, but not an absolute.
Despite the fact that the technological revolution might make some occupations obsolete, new imaginative/critical thinking, complementary ones will also emerge. Companies will be needing well-trained individuals to operate the newly applied technologies and products, but will also have a need for those who can provide a critical-thinking, human approach.The future of work is leaning towards digital and the need for digital skills will only continue to grow, so now is the time to invest in yourself and learn more about the digital transformation and how to stay competitive in it, but don’t forget to bring your human side!