Have you ever noticed how the skill graph has grown exponentially over the past few decades? At one time, typing or data entry used to be a valuable skill. However, those attributes have run their course with the invention of voice translators or AI algorithms.
With the rise of digital transformation and drastic changes
in workplace scenarios, anyone must have digital skills. It is quite surprising
that 52%
of employees don’t really possess such skills.
As such, it is essential to be open to consistent learning.
However, if you don't know much, it can be confusing to understand what these
skills exactly are. So, read on to know more about the topic!
What are Digital Skills?
If we talk about a fixed definition, it will be hard to club
different skills together into a vast category of digital attributes.
However, UNESCO defines
digital skills as a "range of abilities to use digital devices,
communication applications, and networks to access and manage
information."
In simple words, any skill can be termed digital if it helps
you efficiently operate electronic devices and work seamlessly in the digital
world. For example, knowing how to reply to an email or upload company files on
cloud storage will fall under basic digital skills.
With such varied skills, people can get into top industries
and establish successful careers. Here are a few examples of basic and advanced
digital skills applicable in the current working scenarios.
Basic Digital Skills:
● Word processing
● Emailing and instant
messaging
● Data handling and entry
● Operating social media
handles
● Conducting web research
● Setting up online
meetings
Advanced Digital Skills:
● Search engine
optimization
● User experience design
● Web programming
● Web development
● Data analysis
● Digital marketing
● Search engine marketing
Why are Digital Skills Important?
It is safe to say that the pandemic accelerated the growth
of digital transformation significantly. Most industries that might have taken
years to adapt to technologically powered working processes had to change their
ways in no time. Needless to say, this dictates the importance of digital life
skills. Some expected benefits of these skills are:
Digital Literacy Empowers Students to Learn Conveniently
With increasing competition, students must stand out amongst
their peers and be technically relevant. If not, it can be hard to bag an
excellent job in the future, thus significantly reducing the chance of having a
fruitful career. Digitally skilled students can learn remotely, regardless of
where they stay.
Additionally, they can sign up for free courses and establish
a solid academic profile. Doing so will help them learn and get the right job
through multiple online portals. Not being digitally literate will slow their
progress and limit them to work options nearby their current location.
Employers Can Seamlessly Run Their Organisations
Think about it: how many billable hours do employees in your
company spend on tasks that can be easily automated? Once you ponder over this,
imagine if you could cut down those hours and have the workforce focus their
attention on core tasks instead. Doing so will significantly improve team
productivity, thus ultimately boosting your organization's ROI.
Updating the company's operation will also allow you to
establish online brand awareness. Doing so will bring you more customers and
skilled employees. Hence, you should always focus on skills like SEO and SEM to
stay on top of the latest industry trends.
Secures the Job of Employees in the Long Run
There's plenty of debate around how manual jobs are
gradually going to be automated, thus leaving most people unemployable. But did
you know that having suitable digital
skills will help reduce the risk of job loss by 59%? Additionally,
contributing significantly to the current company’s growth can help employees
feel more motivated than ever. It will inspire them to perform better in
different personal and professional aspects.
Having the right digital skills will also accelerate an
individual’s career growth and allow them to bag higher salaries. Being
technologically literate can help a person earn more while not indulging in
manual work.
Wrapping Up
As the work culture evolves, it has become vital for
everyone to know about technology basics and have the right digital skills. If
not, you are bound to lose opportunities to people more tech-savvy and updated
with the industry trends.
Digital skills help you work efficiently in a digitally
charged workplace and communicate via smart devices. Doing so will ultimately
save you time, connect you with multiple people worldwide, and unlock a
goldmine of opportunities.
Some basic digital skills everyone must have are social media management, emailing and instant messaging, data entry, etc. On the other hand, some advanced skills include SEO/SEM, web programming, etc.
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