How Digital Skills Training Can Bridge Your Company’s Skill Gaps

With our style of working dramatically changing over the course of the 2020s, it’s always necessary to reflect on our operational practices to understand how the shift towards hybrid and remote models—as well as the digital transformation we’re currently undergoing—are impacting our businesses, whether positive or negative. Whilst working from home and flexible shift patterns have come to the forefront and inspired productivity, several looming skills gaps remain that can only be resolved by employing the latest digital skills training. 

As emerging technologies continue to develop at a rapid pace, business leaders are looking to understand the ways they can attract and retain talent for the latest tech roles. However, there is a clear shortage of candidates with relevant expertise, meaning that the modern business environment is lacking in everything from technical sales to data engineer skills. 

With the high costs of traditional education, the ability to learn valuable digital skills that can impact the business change lifecycle is increasingly determined by socio-economic status. Therefore, people from underrepresented backgrounds tend to miss out on these opportunities for learning and professional development. As a result, the skills gap continues to grow, forcing companies to increasingly go without these vital business functions.

In this guide, we’ll look at how digital skills training can help you to bridge your organisation’s skills gaps, no matter where they lie. We’ll also discuss the ways in which this training can support a wider business development strategy, helping you to understand the impact that robust IT training can have on your company.

If you’re interested in learning more about how training and apprenticeships can make a difference for your business, see our article on why professional development is important for more advice on how fostering a learning and development-focused environment can help you to retain talent.

Key Components of Digital Skills Training

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, organisations need to equip their employees with the valuable skills necessary to drive business success and remain competitive within uncertain markets. The UK government’s research has shown that 90% of all roles will require some form of IT proficiency within the next decade, meaning that if employers fail to invest in digital skills training for their staff, they risk losing out to organisations that do nurture these increasingly core competencies. 

Digital skills training has become an essential investment for business leaders, with comprehensive solutions designed to enable professionals to navigate the increasing complexity of the digital world, leverage emerging technologies, and create and sell innovative products and services within their organisations. 

Whether it’s a management toolkit that offers your senior staff the technological skills they need to drive efficiencies within their team or a course on social selling for early-career hires, these robust IT training programmes can help businesses to remain at the forefront of their sectors.

So, what does effective digital skills training comprise? 

1. Comprehensive needs assessment. Digital skills training, particularly where those solutions are bespoke and tailored to your specific business problems, should always start with a needs assessment, a step which ensures that the training being delivered is always able to target the specific skill gaps and requirements of your business. By understanding their existing competencies and wider trends within the tech market, organisations can help training providers to deliver programmes that align with their long-term goals. 

2. Customised curriculum development. A robust IT training partner will work in close collaboration with your organisation and key internal stakeholders to develop a programme of study and on-the-job learning that allows your employees to gain in-demand digital skills that can be utilised throughout the product development and business change lifecycle.

3. Hands-on practical experience. Just as a one-size-fits-all approach to curriculum development no longer suffices in the modern business environment, theory alone is not good enough to develop the technological and data engineer skills your organisation needs to succeed. Training providers will always aim to engage learners in scenarios, case studies, interactive workshops, and experiential opportunities that are based on real-world business situations.

4. Expert-led training sessions. Digital skills training providers bring invaluable subject matter expertise and practical insights to learners, allowing your staff to gain personalised guidance and learn from industry leaders, creating a dynamic learning environment that excites programme participants and motivates them to rapidly bring their newfound digital skills to bear on their day-to-day duties and responsibilities.

5. Ongoing learning support. Robust IT training recognises that learners don’t necessarily study and engage with professional development programmes in the same way they always have. That’s why a digital skills training provider will always aim to provide resources, bite-size lessons, and virtual opportunities for further study, so your employees have ongoing support to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and industry best practice.

By closing their skills gap through digital skills training, companies can add long-term value to their business, while also driving inclusion and diversity in the workplace. A sustained level of investment is needed for these skills gaps to be closed. As the number of people acquiring these skills increases, more tech talent will be generated—something that is vital for the recovery of the global economy and long-term economic growth. 

How Robust IT Training Can Empower the Business Change Lifecycle

In an era of constant technological advancement, business leaders must adapt and navigate the ever-changing market to thrive and succeed. Robust IT training plays a critical role in empowering organisations to successfully navigate the business change lifecycle, equipping staff with the necessary IT skills to embrace change, drive innovation, and remain agile in an increasingly digital world. 

Whichever phase you’re currently located in within the business change lifecycle, from launch to growth and maturity, your organisation can take advantage of digital skills training to enhance your products or services, expand operations into new regions, or scale up and drive revenue.

By helping employees to understand IT infrastructure, your employees can effectively leverage their knowledge during the business change lifecycle. Assessing existing systems, processes, applications, and networks requires businesses to be able to identify areas that require improvement or modernisation. Digital skills training can form the foundation of this understanding, with programmes designed to address the specific needs and challenges faced during business change initiatives. 

Alongside this, digital business transformation will often involve the implementation of new technologies or the adoption of innovative IT solutions, requiring specialised skills that may currently be lacking within your organisation. Robust IT training provision can help you to bridge such a skills gap by providing tailored training on in-demand technologies, providing valuable cloud computing, technical sales, or data engineer skills. 

Empowering your employees with the necessary IT competencies to succeed not only helps you to reduce staff turnover, but to confidently follow your business development strategy and drive successful outcomes.

Bespoke Training: Tailoring Your Business Development Strategy

According to research conducted by consulting firm Gartner, Inc., over 90% of organisations have adopted a digital skills-first business development strategy and are engaged in some form of digital initiative, or are planning to do so. This is particularly true within sales, where social selling is becoming of ever-greater importance, with 56% of sales professionals reporting to HubSpot that they utilise social media to discover new leads and prospects.

Despite this, the business change lifecycle is one that’s not solely empowered by technological endeavours—it also involves managing the human side of change. Powerful digital skills training programmes will incorporate additional modules on communication, negotiation, and effective reporting, ensuring that your digital business development strategy can be communicated with all internal and external stakeholders and customers always receive excellent service.

An effective business development strategy is essential for organisations that are looking to expand their market presence and drive growth. Bespoke training plays a vital role in empowering staff to craft new processes and execute strategies that align with their organisation's unique goals and challenges, but it’s important to understand that leading successful change also requires staff that are able to thoroughly understand and communicate why current methods aren’t working.

By analysing your target markets and product or service offering, your training provider can identify areas for improvement that become crucial to your business development strategy. They will ensure that the different roles within your organisation are accounted for, with a bespoke offering that delivers role-specific knowledge that allows your employees to achieve success in their individual duties, as well as to collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary teams. 

A business development strategy is empowered by an iterative process that requires business leaders to continually consider the learning and development of their staff, fostering a culture of innovation and efficiency. By offering employees at all levels of seniority the ability to pursue certifications, arrange knowledge-sharing sessions, and embrace continuous professional development, you can remain at the forefront of your particular niche and enhance your ability to successfully navigate the business change lifecycle. 

Specialists in Providing Digital Skills Training

At Pareto, our expert training providers have over 25 years' worth of experience in developing tech-forward training programmes that can enhance the skills of your workforce and empower your business development strategy. We’re also able to provide staffing solutions that allow you to choose the most capable individuals with in-demand tech skills to suit business and project needs, with the option to transition them into your permanent workforce with no additional fees. No matter how complex the role is, get in touch today to discuss your requirements.