As we enter a period of profound economic uncertainty, shown by recent well-known layoffs and a culture of "quiet quitting", thinking about the future of work might well seem a scary prospect.
Indeed, an ever-increasing digital skills gap threatens to stop businesses adopting the game-changing technologies that will help to power growth in the months and years ahead. For instance, with each exciting new technology comes a growing concern about whether we have a digitally skilled workforce ready to take advantage of it. After all, keeping the workforce up to speed with the latest advances is a key element of the digital transformation process, which will prove essential if we hope to improve business productivity and efficiency alongside our efforts to achieve sustained growth.
Likewise, at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, the cybersecurity skills gap was named as one particular area of concern. There's good reason for this focus: if businesses can't protect themselves against external threats, they risk going backwards. And that's before they even start thinking about achieving growth. This is why we need to address the digital skills gap urgently.
Well, we should change in order to help attract and keep a more diverse pool of talent, giving businesses a far better chance of finding the up-to-date digital skills they need. And, when it comes to engaging and empowering the current workforce, learning and development opportunities will be key, helping employees to enhance their skills for the benefit of both themselves and their employers.
To make this all happen, leaders and employers must demonstrate a commitment to teaching their workforces digital skills by setting clear expectations and providing all the resources required. One approach, for example, would be to focus on the potential in the existing talent pool by identifying those already skilled in digital capabilities and supporting them to upskill their colleagues. Creating a culture of learning, with an emphasis on personal growth, can be an impressive motivator in the workplace.
Of course, it's all well and good saying that digital skills are paramount, but a workforce with purely hard skills will not future-proof a business. There's a need for soft skills that support the broader goal, so as not to ignore the other competencies required in a digital transformation: communication, critical thinking, creative design skills, and leadership. To exploit the technology to its full potential, such qualities are equally important.
Fundamentally, getting the interaction right between humans and technology will be vital if businesses are to succeed. As a result, human skills must not be underestimated. Every business will need a range of people with a variety of skills — not only those experts in math, engineering, and science, but also those with creative minds and leadership qualities.