Monalisa Biswas
The 21st-century business landscape solely relies on digital technologies to thrive and survive. Consequently, digital skills are gaining the upper hand in the current job market. These competencies are essential for an individual’s personal or professional advancement, as well as ensuring an organisation’s long-term success. Hence, to stay ahead of the pack, forward-thinking companies are increasingly embracing a future-ready workforce equipped with cutting-edge digital skills.
A recent report by Amazon Web Services sheds light on the remarkable surge in the need for digital skills among Indian workers. Over the next year, an estimated 27.3 million employees, roughly 7% of India’s workforce, will likely require digital skills to execute their job responsibilities effectively. Without digital skills, companies cannot stay relevant or drive innovation. Thus, it has become imperative for businesses to embrace a digitally adept workforce to keep pace with the changing times.
A digitally adept workforce is one that has proficiency in core digital skills. Furthermore, candidates with proficient digital abilities hold higher value for employers, as it minimises training needs and facilitates smoother integration into their roles.
Here are some digital skills that are highly sought after by forward-thinking organisations:
Digital Marketing: Modern businesses are increasingly leveraging digital marketing tactics to reach out to global audiences. Digital marketing involves brand promotional activities via digital channels to engage with customers. Recently, tech giant Meta entered into a 3-year partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to empower young students, teachers, and entrepreneurs by training them in digital marketing skills via Meta platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Data analytics: Data analytics experts are highly preferred by modern business leaders as they know how to extract meaningful insights from data to understand customers and help leaders make informed business decisions.
App/web development: This lucrative career option lets you explore the domain of programming for developing web applications and mobile apps.
· Digital content creation: Digital content creators are in huge demand for creating engaging and informative online content for online audiences.
Digital design: This in-demand skill teaches you to enhance the visual appeal of the content that people view on their mobile devices.
Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity experts are in huge demand for organisations seeking ways and means to safeguard digital assets and information systems from potential cyber threats.
UX design (user experience): UX designers are highly preferred by organisations for enhancing the user experiences within their digital products and platforms.
These core digital skills can collectively empower professionals to drive innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness in the modern tech-driven workplace.
Favourable government initiatives
The Government of India is taking stringent steps to promote digital literacy skills for students across India. For instance, global organisational consulting firm Korn Ferry predicts a substantial global talent shortage of over 8.5 trillion by 2030. To address this looming challenge on a global scale, India is taking proactive steps to establish global skills partnerships for rolling out digital training initiatives. Furthermore, through the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), India’s efforts to integrate skills with education will enhance the talent pool that can contribute to the global economy. Additionally, India’s G20 presidency comes at a critical point characterised by a global skill shortage. India, in its G20 presidency, has sought support from fellow G20 nations to address the challenges associated with the global skills gap. To that end, the labour ministers from G20 nations have jointly decided to develop a global occupational classification system based on skills and qualifications. This initiative aims to enhance cross-border comparability and mutual recognition of skills and qualifications among nations.
Bottomline: Embracing advanced digital skills is no longer a choice but an indispensable criterion for success in the modern business world. If you want to keep pace with the changing times, you must consider upskilling yourself with these new-age digital skills to thrive and survive in this digital world.