Digital skills are needed more than ever
Digital skills are needed in the work place much more than many people realise. In this day and age, not having these essential skills can, in short, be a barrier to you getting a job, hold you back career wise and impact on your earning potential, too.
As digital skills provider Clickworks, who run a Digital Skills for Work course, point out, “we live in a digital world where just about every job requires a certain degree of digital knowledge.”
Whether you are looking to work in a hairdressers, boutique or even a fruit and veg shop, there’s a need for staff to be IT savvy.
For example, you may not associate working as a carer as requiring digital skills. Yet the people you care for will be registered on a digital database and this information will need to be accessed, checked and updated on a regular, if not daily, basis. Today’s carers will need the IT skills to fulfil that side of the role.
The High Street is another place where you may not realise the importance of having a range of digital skills. Retailers and businesses of all sizes are taking advantage of the digital opportunities of the online world. Being able to use social media to promote products and services using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are essential skills in today’s job market.
And it’s not just about promoting a business or service online; being able to manage the online booking system at a beauty salon or dental surgery is vital, as will being able to monitor and order stock whether you work in a coffee shop, retail outlet, garage or in manufacturing – all of which is online and computerised.
These days, all admin jobs and first point of contact reception positions require the ability to update electronic diaries, databases and send documents and raise invoices.
By now you should get the point – having a range of digital skills is a good thing, and will help you get a job.
To emphasise that point even further, last year Lloyds PLC conducted a survey into the state of the UK’s workforce’s digital skills level and discovered that 4.3 million people in Britain had zero basic digital skills and over 11 million adults do not have all five basic digital skills.
The five basic digital skills are:
- communicating
- handling information and content
- transacting
- problem solving
- being safe and legal online
As outlined above, not only will a lack of digital skills hinder your ability to find a job, the Lloyds survey also discovered that not having the five basic digital skills effects earning potential too. In fact, people without the five basic digital skills earn up to £13,000 less than those with the full range of skills. That’s a lot of money!
How can Clickworks help you?
If you fall in to either of the above categories, then maybe now is the time to consider enrolling on a Clickworks run, Digital Skills for Work course.
This course is designed to improve your digital skills and on completion you will have gained a nationally recognised qualification to show potential employers that you have the digital skills needed for work.
Digital Skills for Work will develop your confidence and online skills, whether you use them for study, work or everyday life.
Completing this course will enable you to demonstrate your competency in digital literacy skills and help you to progress to job roles where digital literacy skills are required.
Clickworks offers many free digital training courses that can help people gain skills they may not have initially realised they needed.
Clickworks, which was officially opened in October, provides free digital training to both employed and unemployed people, with the aim to increase digital skills levels.
Clickworks gives people the opportunity to study in a supported environment, at a time and pace that suits them. To help make digital skills accessible to everyone Clickworks has a range of facilities and equipment including the latest computers and tablets, virtual reality and 3D printing.
A range of training is currently available at Clickworks, covering key IT and digital marketing skills, with courses starting each month.