There's no such thing as a digital skills gap

This article is based on my own professional background in education, professional learning and technology and seeks to consider a global perspective based on current narratives. My thinking is not specific to any single organisation or sector nor is it an official article in the context of my employment.

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, we often hear people talk about a ‘digital skills gap’, but it’s not a term that I particularly like. But yes, you got me as there is such a thing, though I have a different perspective on it.

The word ‘gap’ suggests a void or the complete absence of skills, which is not an accurate representation of the current situation. Instead, what we are facing is a global digital skills shortage where there is a lack of digital skill at working and practitioner level to meet the demands of the modern workforce. Moreover, we need to consider the depth and breadth of digital proficiency, ranging from basic awareness to expert-level capabilities. And that's crucial.

So, what does that mean?

There is a global digital skills shortage that translates to the national level where resource is managed or coordinated, which then creates digital skills gaps at a more local level due to a lack of people with the right skill competency.

Understanding the Skills Shortage

A digital skills shortage occurs when the demand for individuals with certain digital competencies exceeds the supply. This shortage can manifest in various ways, from a lack of entry-level personnel with foundational digital knowledge to a scarcity of experts who can drive advanced technological projects. Unlike a skills gap, which implies an empty void, a shortage recognises that skills do exist but are not sufficiently widespread or deep enough to fulfil current and future needs.

I know that some use both references to differentiate, for example between the need to train more people (the shortage) and the need to recruit more people (the gap). There’s also a need to understand what we actually mean by digital skills. As a theme, that could be pretty much anything from copy and paste to developing technical architecture or designing cloud based services.

Not just digital skills

Everyone needs a basic understanding and familiarity with digital tools and platforms. This is essential for all employees in today’s digital world, regardless of their job role or grade. These skills need to be learned from an early age or better still, the curiosity and ability to understand technology should be central to learning. For example, I know how to use a mobile phone, but the exact nature of how they operate can be different from one to next. I have the ability and skills to adapt in its application and I can also think critically on how to use that technology to support my work, but I don’t know what ‘magic’ happens internally.

And yes, that’s a thing. It’s not just about digital skills. Critical thinking, professional curiosity, bravery and empowerment are central to addressing the shortage and consequently the gap.

This is why we need the ability to use digital tools effectively in our day-to-day lives. This includes proficiency with software, data entry (yes – we all do that even if it’s just creating a new account for social media or online banking), and basic troubleshooting. In a world where there are multiple bad actors, citizens and employees need to be better at spotting fake news and spam as well as potential cyber attacks.

Technology evolution

Digital literacy is an individual's ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information using digital media platforms. It's a combination of both technical and cognitive abilities in using information and communication technologies to create, evaluate, and share information. This is already embedded in global curricula from one extent to another, but given the rate of technological change and adaptation, we really do need to be on the ball in ensuring that education and learning remains at the forefront of evolution. Technological determinism as a theory is the idea that technology has important effects on our lives. This idea figures prominently in the popular imagination, for example in the idea that technology is revolutionising economy and society.

Higher-level skills such as data analysis, coding, and advanced software use are skills typically required for specialised roles within an organisation. Deep expertise in specific digital domains such as cloud, cybersecurity, AI, machine learning, and complex data analytics is harder to find, as often we find that it takes several years or more to gain those skills and become competent. Understanding this continuum is crucial because it highlights that digital proficiency is not a binary state but a spectrum. Organisations need a mix of skills across this spectrum to thrive and I often talk about those working in a digital function verses those working in a digital profession. They are not the same thing but are frequently confused.

Learning revolution

Education systems and learning experiences must integrate and embed digital literacy from an early age through to higher education. Vocational training and continuous professional development programs are essential for upskilling and reskilling the current workforce. Schools, colleges and universities are central to this, but support from industry is also needed. Internships, apprenticeships, and partnerships with educational institutions can bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

I also have a thing about careers information, advice and guidance and how that needs to talk for today and tomorrow and not five years ago. It’s that digital function vs digital profession thing that I mentioned earlier. Society doesn’t differentiate that particularly well and it places anything with the word ‘digital’ into only one bag.

We need to encourage a culture of lifelong learning where employees continuously update their skills to keep pace with technological advancements. Online courses, workshops, and certifications can help professionals stay relevant. These don’t need to be long in duration. In fact, many global organisations (for example the hyper-scalers such as Google, AWS and Microsoft) are starting to deliver professional learning through bite-sized experiences. The issue being that more often than not, the time and ability to engage in professional learning is ‘bolted’ on when it needs to be part of the job role. The corporate function needs to recognise that professional learning is business critical and not a nice to have.

Recognising that different roles require different levels and types of digital proficiency is important. We don’t all start in the same place and we need to (individually) understand where we are on our skills journey. Tailored learning pathways should be developed to cater to these varied needs, from general digital literacy to specialised technical training. I’ve seen many pathways over the years, but the issue can be two fold – either there is too much information (the landscape is saturated with offers to upskill/reskill with no clear ‘go to place’ or progression and this can be confusing) or when one follows through, there is no offer beyond a theme, which is also frustrating. Worse, some learning experiences are behind a paywall and we need to be mindful of that. I’m not really a fan of ‘free for six months and pay later’ type approaches, either. Especially in the public sector when the public purse is limited. Also remember what I said about non-digital skills. Leadership, communication, financial management, project management and the list goes on.

We need to shift the paradigm from themed based learning to skills based learning within a context. This is where our narrative must develop and ultimately permeate through entire education systems. Not born from the industrial enlightenment, but rather our technological future.

Alignment is key

In my opinion, we overuse the term ‘digital skills gap’ which oversimplifies the complex landscape. We can't simply train more people for the now as that's not sustainable or reactive enough. We need to be more proactive and resilient and look for systemic opportunities to shift the dial. What we are truly facing is a digital skills shortage - a lack of sufficient people with the right skills to meet current and future demands. Society needs the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time. That’s capability management.

By understanding the spectrum of required digital skills and focusing on comprehensive coordination of education and training, we can bridge this shortage and address the future affordances of technology.

We need to change our cultural way of thinking. If an expert role becomes available, rather than recruiting like for like, when there is a lack of skilled people (and we see one organisation recruiting someone from another – thus shifting the problem), we instead need to emphasise the importance of recruiting someone into a junior role and training them to become expert over time.

There are other nuances and the technology learning eco-system is more complex than described in this article and there are many other valid points to be discussed. My purpose for writing this article is really to stimulate conversation and to highlight the need to be crystal clear when we make statements or talk about these things, as like most things in life, the jargon means one thing to one person and something else to another. How can we make progress if we’re not aligned? To me, that’s exactly where we need to re-focus on a global scale.