Digital skills are increasingly important to the operation of
businesses in the UK but companies are facing a shortage of
skills in their workforce which is hampering productivity,
according to a new survey by the British Chambers of Commerce
(BCC), released today (Friday).
The survey of more than 1,400 businesses across the UK found that
84% of firms say digital and IT skills are more important to
their business than two years ago, with half (51%) saying these
skills are significantly more important.
However, the survey also found that more than three-in-four
businesses are facing a shortage of digital skills in their
workforce, with 52% reporting a slight shortage, 21% a
significant one and 3% a critical shortage.
The key findings of the survey are:
- The
skills most important to companies are basic
computer skills (72%), communicating
and connecting through digital channels(71%)
and management of digital
information (69%)
-
Skills shortages are having adverse effects on many firms
including, increasing workload on existing
staff (52%), higher operating
costs (29%), and causing difficulties
in meeting customer requirements (28%)
-
Businesses regard a lack of time for staff
training (41%), difficulty in
identifying appropriate training (32%), and
the high cost of training (25%), as
the leading barriers to rectifying these
shortages.
Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers
of Commerce (BCC), said:
“The evidence is clear: better digital skills make firms more
productive, and a lack of digital skills holds them back.
“Businesses themselves need to do a lot more to tackle the
digital skills shortages they face, and their leaders need to be
alive to the fact that a failure to tackle this issue will have
an impact on their bottom line. Too many firms are stuck in an
unproductive cycle, where the failure to take action has serious
consequences.
“Training providers can give firms a helping hand, by engaging
with companies on their digital needs and helping them to free up
resources for growth. Government must help as well, by
recognising that some of the high-level digital skills businesses
need will come from overseas so a pragmatic immigration system
needs to be in place to provide firms with access to the workers
required to fill the gaps.”
Notes to editors:
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) surveyed 1,465 business
people from all regions of the UK online in January 2017 to
understand how businesses rate the overall reliability of their
broadband connections, and how a more reliable connection could
help their businesses. Of the businesses surveyed, 96% were
SMEs, 22% operate in the manufacturing sector, and 78% operate in
the services sector.
