We are all surrounded by technology and digital skills are now more important than ever before. However, there is a very clear skills gap facing the public sector in particular.
What Is The Digital Skills Gap?
This is a term that is used to describe the absence of the skills that workplace employees need to have in order to successfully keep pace with the sector’s increasing technological and digital demands.
Digital skills is an umbrella term that refers to a range of different activities, including something as simple as understanding how to communicate via email to markedly more complex activities, such as how to use digital data to inform strategic marketing tactics.
As technology continues to develop, businesses are facing the prospect of needing to find ways to handle even more data.
How The Skills Gap Is Impacting The Public Sector
Organisations across all sectors need direct access to digitally literate employees who understand how to use technology to drive productivity. However, the lack of relevant skills is proving to be a significant challenge for many public sector bodies across the country.
Government research highlights that almost 50% [1] of businesses interviewed as part of an information gathering study were actively recruiting to fill data and digital roles. In real terms, the same study found that there are as many as 230,000 data roles [2] that need to be filled in order to ensure businesses are in the best possible position to drive growth and future success.
Research also shows that organisations in the public sector have been finding it more difficult to recruit digitally literate employees in the past two years when compared to businesses in the private sector. There are a number of reasons for this, however, 26% [3] of public sector bodies highlighted that one of the most significant obstacles is the inability to meet the salary expectations held by potential new hires.
The public sector is particularly struggling to onboard digitally skilled ‘communication’ employees, with the gap here currently sitting at around 24%, which is significantly higher than the 18% UK average [4]. Additionally, the public sector is finding it difficult to recruit for roles that will help organisations to integrate emerging solutions and technologies into their operation, with 25% [5] of employers actively looking for experienced individuals compared to the UK average of 18%.
Bridging The Skills Gap
There are numerous known barriers to improving the digital literacy of workforces in the public sector, including costs, difficulties accessing high-quality training, and decision-makers failing to appreciate the importance of investing in data skills.
Tackling the digital knowledge gap is becoming increasingly important and there are several strategies that should be explored. In addition to ensuring that roles in the public sector are more clearly defined, it is imperative to look at how the sector can appeal directly to graduates through graduate schemes, bootcamps and fellowships.
It is also clear that the public sector must take steps towards ensuring that teams are diverse, as research indicates that only 15% [6] of data scientists across all sectors identify as women. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is likely to be through offering tangible, real-life examples of digital careers in the sector and highlighting the value of each of these roles to the future of organisations.
What Can Individuals Do To Enhance Their Own Skills
There are numerous training courses online, including several that are free to access, such as the Barclays Digital Wings [7] program, which covers many of the in-demand skills that companies are looking for. Think everything from cyber security to internet literacy and digital marketing. The future of public sector work is going to become even more reliant on digital skills, so putting in the work now will certainly put you in the best possible position to develop and flourish in your career.
If you are looking for a new digital transformation role, Data Careers can help you find a position that will help you to achieve your career aspirations.
