Digital skills have now become the foundation of today’s labor market. This situation is certainly destined to increase shortly thanks to the new digital professions that are emerging. there is no lack of signs that attest to greater awareness in this sense by companies, many realities still struggle to fully understand the immense value of digital transformation.
In any case, organizations are called upon to invest in the development of new professional skills, and on the other side of the fence, professionals must respond to these renewed needs with their skills, to create the right relationship between purely technological knowledge, and now famous soft skills. All this to invest in the future of companies and remain competitive on the market.
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The Evolution Of The Worker
Until a few years ago, the worker was only required to be qualified in his sector of belonging. To date all this, although it remains fundamental, is no longer sufficient. To play a primary role we find digital skills, which have become so important to the point that in their absence, the only professionalism of the person is no longer enough.
Digital Transformation is advancing, and it does so at a very fast pace, extending to an ever-increasing number of sectors including that of human resources. Many companies have started to invest in this direction, especially large ones. However, the process is struggling to take off in small and medium-sized businesses, which, as is well known, represents the productive fabric of our country.
Being prepared, by completing the digital transformation, means for companies to be more competitive on the market, and to be able to offer their customers a cutting-edge service that is more in line with current needs. Not aligning and maintaining a more traditional approach, instead, means risking being excluded from it at the hands of younger and more dynamic brands.
Digital Skills: A Priority For Companies
We have said that even if the transformation process is struggling to take off, companies are still understanding how old skills are no longer sufficient to remain successful on the market. On the other hand, many tasks in their performance have been upset by new technologies, just as consumer habits have changed.
Industry 4.0 has led to the birth of numerous new professions, and many jobs, for example, those related to the web marketing universe or, more generally, to Information Technology (IT). As mentioned, however, as a result, the need to have more and more specific skills has also arisen. For the worker, this means presenting himself to companies as a trained and updated figure.
Among other things, a problem arises in this scenario, linked to the theme of the training. The change now taking place is so fast that very often what was valid only a few months before, is no longer valid a short time later. The universities in this context fail to provide a sufficient level of preparation that can meet the demand of companies.
This has inevitably led to a gap (Digital Mismatch) that in many situations it is difficult to fill. In this case, too, both sides are called upon to play their part. The student must continue his studies through courses and masters. The companies however have to be able to provide additional in-house training, so that employees are ready to face market challenges.
Digital Skills, Soft Skills, And Hard Skills
There is a lot of talk about digital skills. But what are they? Digital skills are made up of a set of skills, necessary to be able to use the tools of new technologies, but also to work in a team correctly. A digital competence can be defined as developed when one can use it in a relevant way in every area: work, free time, communication.
Among the main tools whose use is of fundamental importance, we find the computer and the internet. The first is essential for finding and exchanging information, but also for the production itself in many sectors. The Internet, on the other hand, is known as the basis of every collaboration, dissemination, and participation network. In other words, when we talk about digital skills we refer to a world in constant evolution.
Precisely for this reason, over the years the distinction between soft skills and hard skills has become increasingly strong. In the first case, reference is made to a series of skills and competencies that are purely personal to the individual. We are therefore talking about qualities that are difficult to qualify and duplicate, that is, very difficult to teach.
Soft skills so are attitudes that characterize each individual, and that in many contexts they return very helpful to productivity and labor-management itself. The hard skill rather has concrete skills. This means that it is possible to acquire them during the training course, for example during the university or subsequent masters and specialization courses.
In some cases, hard skills can also be developed directly in the workplace, and are used to perform one’s job in the most practical sense of the definition. Among other things, it is in the interests of CEOs to offer the opportunity to refine and increase the number of digital skills to their employees. Only in this way will professional growth be possible for employees.
In a broader context of enhancement of human resources, this means allowing collaborators to actively contribute to the development of the organization itself. Furthermore, digital skills to date also include the social world, which represents the main communication channel both inside and outside companies.
How To Invest In The Future Of Companies
As anticipated, the scenario described no longer represents only a remote future possibility, but a reality already tangible today. Included by some companies, undervalued by others. To allow both workers and companies to be increasingly competent in the digital field, two precise aspects must be taken into consideration. The first is that of human resources.
At this juncture, among other things, the recruiting activity is going through a moment of very profound transformations. This is because the primary purpose is to bring innovation into companies, through the inclusion of new resources with digital skills. There is already talk of HR Tech, or hardware and software able to help organizations in the management of corporate resources.
We are talking about a market that also in this case is rapidly growing all over the world, and this is valid both within the company contexts and externally as regards recruiting agencies. The second aspect to consider instead concerns the increasingly massive presence of brands on the web. This requires professional corporate sites and a well-structured presence on social channels.
Without forgetting a good positioning on search engines. Google is definitely at the top of the list. All this requires daily work on the part of the collaborators, which includes many aspects of this presence. It starts from the analysis of the data, which has now become a priceless heritage, to arrive at the publication of the contents.
With these assumptions, the work to be done to achieve the goal of a complete digital transformation capable of enhancing digital skills requires a synergy of efforts between the business and university worlds. In other words, the school environment has the task of preparing the person adequately to support the transition to digital and technology in general.
On the other hand, companies, are required to raise awareness of digital transformation. The issue is to be addressed more in small and medium-sized enterprises where very often we find family-run businesses that remain anchored to old working methods, and which today only represent a ballast for their development.
Also Read: What You Need For Smart Working
