While the English football team might be winning, it is not a sign that all is well in Blighty, according to a new report out by IDC and Salesforce.
The report shows the scale of the UK’s growing digital skills crisis and calls on government and businesses to prioritise reskilling to boost post-pandemic recovery.
As the UK economy looks to post-pandemic recovery in a new, digital-first world, the changing nature of jobs poses challenges for workers in every industry.
According to IDC, one in six UK workers have low or no digital skills. By 2030, nine out of 10 workers will need to learn new skills to do their jobs, at the cost of £1.3 billion a year.
COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation of all aspects of society, and businesses have had to pivot to serve customers online. Next year, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of global GDP will be driven by digitised products and services. This need to go “digital-first” is felt by 89 percent of CEOs who say they are under increased pressure to transform their business due to the pandemic digitally; one in three UK organisations are planning to create new digital tools and services.
Salesforce UK and Ireland CEO Zahra Bahrololoumi said that the accelerated shift to digital is having a major impact on the jobs we do and the skills we need for a resilient and prosperous future.
“Speaking from my own experience, a lack of formal digital education is not a barrier to career success in that future. On the contrary, digital skills are much quicker and easier to gain than many people realise. This new IDC report captures the need, and opportunity, for business and government to step up and partner on dynamic programs that drive a life-long love of digital learning and engage everyone. By upskilling and reskilling across our society, we will unlock greater potential for productivity, innovation and happiness.” Happiness.
In what IDC has previously coined the “Salesforce Economy,” the growth and jobs impact of Salesforce and its ecosystem of partners and customers will, between 2020 and 2025, create 81,500 direct jobs through its cloud technologies. While 58,300 of these will be in technical roles that require specialist skills, many others including those in sales and marketing, HR and finance, will require enhanced levels of digital proficiency.
Salesforce has seen a 50 percent increase in Trailhead users learning skills for marketing based roles in the past year. Trailhead, its free online learning platform, democratises digital learning by taking participants from a low level of technical knowledge to a Salesforce role in as little as six months.
The IDC Skills Infobrief report highlights the significant opportunities for the digital transformation of the UK’s economy and workforce, but true recovery will require investment from government and business.
The report identifies ICT and non-ICT professionals as key target groups for upskilling and reskilling but also points to tackling the UK’s growing unemployed population with support. Notably, 37 percent of the UK’s unemployed have an advanced education with relevant, adjacent skillsets that make them good candidates for quick and effective reskilling. Without appropriate action to address the digital shortage, the report warns that the post-pandemic UK economy runs the risk of being undermined.
TechUK President and Chair of the Fast Forward for Digital Jobs Taskforce, Jacqueline de Rojas, said the pandemic accelerated digital transformation tenfold – thousands of technology jobs have been created during the past 16 months. This trend is set to continue in the years to come.
IDC Vice President, European Skills Research Marianne Kolding said that the lack of IT and digital skills is impacting organisations across all business measurements, such as revenue growth and delays in rolling out new products and services.
“According to our research, on average, organisations are seeing a delay of 8.1 months in their digital transformation efforts – and that’s costly. IDC estimates that by 2024, this will result in lost revenues of around £192 billion annually for European organisations. This is an issue that needs to be addressed.”
