Digital skills are more important than ever in hiring decisions

Today, being skilled in digital technologies can save you a job, land you a job, and even get you a promotion. This is according to a new report from the charitable skills initiative Make It Click.

Polling more than 500 UK business leaders about their perception of digital skills among employees, Make It Click found that among multiple candidates for a role, leaders will almost by default choose the one with superior digital skills.

The same goes when it comes to vying for a promotion. Almost half of respondents said it’s hard to get promoted without digital skills, and they were cited as a deciding factor in 40% of cases.

With Covid-19 forcing many businesses to downscale and let some people go, it’s also often those without digital skills that head for the exit.

But despite digital skills being considered vital, business leaders don’t see themselves as responsible for their employees’ upskilling or training. Instead, they believe the employees themselves, or the Government, should be responsible for it.

Make It Click, which is delivered by social change charity Good Things Foundation, encourages businesses to take advantage of its free digital learning resources to help them upskill their workforces without burning a hole in their pockets.

“Mastering and accessing digital skills can have a hugely positive impact on employees and benefits their overall wellbeing, confidence and workplace performance,” said Helen Milner OBE, CEO of Good Things Foundation.

“Investing in digital technology and skills makes overall business sense too – those that do have a considerably higher annual turnover. That being said, we understand that skills investment isn’t always possible, especially as businesses’ budgets and time are under more strain now than ever before. Make It Click can help.”

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