Digital technology has permeated every facet of working life,

from customer service and collaboration to product design and

strategy. If organisations are to thrive in this environment, the

need for employees with digital skills is inescapable.

Alas, the statistics make for grim reading. According to the European

Commission, at least 90% of jobs will soon require some level of digital

skill, but more than half of Europe’s existing labour force is deficient in

this area. The Commission projects that up to 900,000 jobs requiring

high levels of digital skills will go unfilled by 2015.

This comes at a time when, according to the World Economic Forum,

chronic joblessness threatens the very stability of society in Europe.

Much has been made of the short supply of IT graduates entering the

workforce. According to e-skills UK, the government’s IT skills agency,

the IT sector alone requires about 140,000 new entrants every year to

fuel its workforce. And yet, only 19,410 people completed a degree in

an IT-related subject in 2012.

However, graduates are not the only potential source of digital skills.

There are many people further along in their career who would be

willing and able to acquire such skills.

Unfortunately, employers are still focused on the entry points to the

profession, particularly at graduate level, according Karen Price, CEO

of e-skills UK. Not all age groups are given the same consideration, she

says, and opportunities for further training seem to diminish as people

become older.

“People from other backgrounds, who may have much to offer in IT,

can’t find the combination of training and experience they need to

make a contribution,” Ms Price explains.

One way to address this education gap is through apprenticeships,

which can offer a way into work for people of all ages, and the structured

approach – a mix of college learning and on-the-job experience – often

suits people returning to the workforce.

Ms Price says that e-skills UK has worked with employers who already

have a keen interest in IT apprentices. These initiatives help to spread

the benefits of high-quality technology apprenticeships to a wider and

more diverse audience.

Another scheme promoted by e-skills UK is called Pathways to Digital

Employment. Set up in partnership with the Welsh Government, the

programme is helping 300 individuals who are not in work, or who

want to change careers, to update their technology expertise. Early

indications are encouraging.

“It’s proving tremendously popular, and attracting people of all ages

and from all kinds of backgrounds. It would be great to think that this

is a straw in the wind,” says Ms Price. “If the sector can find a way to

make the pipeline of talent more permeable along its whole length, it

will reap dividends.”

Latent taLentSome businesses are themselves thinking about how they might make

more of the latent talent within their organisations.

Ian Cohen, global CIO at insurance brokers JLT Group, believes that the

changing nature of technology means that is no longer pure IT skills

that businesses need.

Despite the warnings of organisations such as e-Skills UK, Mr Cohen

says he can still find plenty of people who know how to write code. In

shorter supply are hybrid individuals with a mix of business aptitude

and IT ability, who listen to people, interpret demands and assemble

solutions.

“We need people who start with a question, and not a predefined or

prescribed answer,” says Mr Cohen. “We’re going to need a new breed

of technology professional, with strengths based in conversation and

engagement rather than code.”

Given the state of the IT labour market and the critical lack of computing

science graduates, Mr Cohen says senior executives might need to start

leading the search for talent among the people the business already

employs. This may provide a much-needed bridge between IT and the

rest of the organisation.

addressing the digitaL skiLLs chaLLenge Businesses need to Look Beyond their graduate intake if they are to pLug the digitaL skiLLs gap Written by The Economist Intelligence Unit

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“They’ll be the ones who love spending time with their colleagues or

customers, developing a deep understanding of their needs,” says

Mr Cohen. “They’ll tell stories and paint pictures about the art of the

possible. They’ll have empathy and a passion for the tangible outcomes

that delight their customers and colleagues.”

He believes that some business leaders will view the retraining of

existing, and possibly older, workers as a challenge. But Mr Cohen

encourages his peers to grasp the opportunity.

“Many of these workers have strengths that are crying out to be seen

if only we, as leaders, made the time to look and listen,” he says. “It’s

going to be harder than just buying in skills, but the IT market is already

challenged, so why not take a chance on the people you already have

and value?”

With technology becoming an ever more vital part of working life,

companies should think about how they might enhance the digital

skills of every employee, rather than waiting for the labour market to

supply the skills they need.