Strengthen your digital skills now
As machines become more accurate and intelligent, we humans will have to hone our skills. One of your primary responsibilities as a Learning & Development leader is to hone your skills and ensure that you enable staff to four sets of skills essential to thrive in 2030. I’ve put together a series of articles titled eLearning Skills 2030 to explore the key skills to future-proof your career and lead your team. This article examines digital skills, why they are critical and what actionable steps you can take today to strengthen them.
What are digital skills?
As discussed in my related article on digital literacy, digital skills focus on which digital tool should be used when and how it should be used. Digital literacy, on the other hand, focuses on why one platform should be used over another and the associated opportunities and risks associated with that particular digital platform. So if we use a basic example of a digital platform like Linkedin, digital skills focus on how to use Linkedin, how to use it to create a profile, post a comment, connect with others or a Linkedin learning course, etc. Digital literacy focuses on why you should use Linkedin instead of another platform like Twitter to expand your network, learn new skills and post articles, and what are the opportunities (e.g. a professional create platform, learn from others) and risks (e.g. bots or fake Linkedin profiles) to do this. Growing up in a digital world, Gen Y, Gen Z and now Gen Alpha inherently have all the basic digital skills and more using the well-known platforms. Digital skills for 2030 include sharpening skills around more complex tasks such as creating digital content using User Experience (UX), developing algorithms and integrating technologies to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR).
Why are digital skills important?
Digitization has changed the way we work in processes and supply chains, making these skills indispensable today. According to research conducted by the Rand Corporation, 69% of all job openings in economies worldwide, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore, all require digital skills. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for these skills has far outstripped supply, leading to a skills gap that in turn affects global GDP growth. According to Accenture, the digital skills gap could cost the G20 countries an estimated $11.5 trillion in total gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 2028.
How can you strengthen your digital skills?
According to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, the basic digital skills [1] include research information online, handling sensitive information in digital ecosystems, creating and managing online documents, and using shortcuts when navigating platforms. In addition, you must be able to navigate ecommerce platforms, manage social media platforms, use basic coding and programming, navigate the network and information security, manage content and UX design, develop and edit videos, use data analytics and data visualization, and data storytelling. You can strengthen your digital skills by learning through free online courses, tutorials and certificates, increasing your online presence, practicing on the job, keeping abreast of digital trends and pursuing formal certificates.
Learn with free online courses, tutorials and certificates
Some of the best resources you can use to increase your digital skills are websites that have free online courses that teach you, especially if they have interactive tools and videos to help you learn. Online learning platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, Pearson, Coursera, Udemy, and many others also provide access to in-demand skills. Dedicated certificate programs at universities Stanford, UNLV, and several others can help deepen your digital skills and provide you with the training you need to successfully navigate today’s workplace. You can also search YouTube for specific how-to videos on specific steps or skills you want to improve.
Cultivate your online presence
People increasingly rely on an online presence to communicate with each other, and to keep each other informed about their daily activities. By having a social media presence on popular websites such as Linkedin, Twitter or Instagram, you can connect and expand your personal and professional network.
Practice at work
The best way to improve these skills is to incorporate some basic skills into your daily routine at work. As you gain more digital skills, small daily steps can have a big impact. Create a new social media profile as a starting point. Once you’re comfortable with that, consider using an app to organize all your notes, tasks, and important documents and information in one place. Learn a few shortcuts and apply them as you navigate your organizational platform like Microsoft365.
Stay on top of digital trends
Staying on top of digital trends is an important part of keeping your digital skills up to scratch over time. There are several websites you can use, including:
Digital Trends – contains broad technical news and reviews of the latest software and hardware.
lifeline – provides digital skills tutorials, guides and thousands of product reviews from tech industry experts.
cnet – offers a variety of digital resources, including product reviews, best practices, and software and hardware reviews, in addition to general digital trends.
Conclusion
The volume, speed and complexity of change, along with the impact of the pandemic, has accelerated digital transformation and forced organizations to rethink who they connect with their employees, customers and stakeholders. According to research conducted by Salesforce, only 17% of global survey respondents consider themselves “advanced” in digital skills in the workplace [2]underlining the gap between workplace demand and digital skills supply.
Digital skills are fundamental because they help people communicate and collaborate, develop and share digital content and solve problems in a world where you can work from anywhere. You will need to strengthen your own digital skills by taking advantage of the many learning resources available online, cultivating your online presence, practicing small steps at work every day, and staying on top of digital trends. In addition, as a leader, you also have a responsibility to also inspire and empower your team to cultivate their digital skills so that they can continue to grow and prosper today, in 2030 and beyond.
References
[2] Salesforce Launches Global Digital Skills Index: Deep Insights from 23,000 Employees