When it comes to brushing up our expertise, for many of us it’s digital skills that are top of the list. No wonder IT courses are one of the most popular choices.
More than three-quarters of businesses have some degree of shortage of digital skills, affecting the bottom line in 29% of cases, a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed.
But how can you know what employers really value when it comes to computer skills? Luckily, the BCC asked its members, so you can find out just how to use IT knowledge to climb the career ladder.
- Basic IT Skills
More than 10 million of us lack the basic skills in tasks such as word processing, emails, spreadsheets and presentation software. Although this figure is declining, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) estimated that 7.9 million people will still lack digital skills in 2025
Businesses know it’s a problem: 72% told the BCC that these fundamental tasks are among the most important digital skills that they were looking for in recruits.
Maybe you haven’t worked in an office job. Or perhaps you’ve always tried to hide that your Microsoft Excel skills are a little shaky. Either way, you can check out our IT courses to become the kind of worker that businesses are looking for. View a list of our IT courses here.
- Communicating and connecting through digital channels
Companies in the UK (and across the globe) now spend more money advertising on digital media than on TV. Much of this goes through social media, where skill at connecting with audiences and encouraging them to engage and share content is paramount.
That’s why communication through digital channels is a skill that employers value so highly. In the BCC survey, 71% of employers said it was one of the most important skills for their business.
For some young people who’ve grown up over the internet, communicating on social media is second nature. But it can be learned too: one of the best ways to gain this valuable skill and discover what really works in digital communication is to search for social media marketing courses. View our digital marketing courses here.
- Management of digital information
The information revolution means we’re now swamped with data. Google’s chief economist, Hal Varian, has said that people create the same amount of data now in just five days that we did for all of human history up to the year 2003.
So, it’s no wonder that there’s huge demand for workers who can help to store, organise and understand it all. According to Tech Republic, data science roles saw an increase of 56% in the USA last year and it’s a similar story in the UK, with booming demand for data specialists.
Check out all our IT courses here.