Skills gaps. Chances are, you have felt them within your business. Throughout this article, we’ll explore the three main skills gaps reported in East Anglia covering communication, digital, and project management skills. These three skills gaps are often considered basic skills but, as we’ll see, there are various roadblocks and barriers to entry for many employees. We’ll break down what these skills entail, the pain points, and how we can move forward to work on closing the gap. Communication skills What is a communication skill? Communication skills are best described under five essential skills:
- Written communication
- Oral Communication
- Non-verbal and visual communication
- Active listening
- Contextual communication
An individual has a high communication skill when they can:
- understand the situation
- listen to the audience they are interacting with
- convey that same information across all stakeholders and being open-minded with the solutions at hand
- be great at communicating ideas
- read body language, be open-minded with discussions
- build presentations to illustrate the challenges at hand
How is it a skills gap? Some would argue that with the recent technology surge and online availability, the young generation gets easily distracted by phone notifications, quick messaging, an abundance of abbreviated words (tbh, brb, afk), and other instances that could get in the way of good communication skill. But it is also true that with the new wave of work from home possibilities, reading body language and building a strong relationship with your people online might alter this communication skill and build into something else. As businesses find, the need for good communication skills also lies within all ways employees communicate, from being polite on email and being well-mannered on a video call through to building satisfactory presentations for a meeting. More often, business owners find some employees and new recruits are lacking these basic skills which complicate projects or relationships with their clients. Digital skills What is a digital skill? Digital skills can be anything from opening your email application to conducting in-depth data analysis on a computer. The core elements that construct digital skills are:
- knowledge and control of a device (mobile, desktop, tablet, etc)
- understanding of applications needed for the work
- navigating and staying safe on the internet
- creating and editing online documents
- performing basic technical tasks on a device
- and more…
You’ll also find that digital skills play a huge role in the following disciplines:
- content creation
- digital data analysis
- SEO and web development
- social media management
- video editing
- digital design creation
- and so on…
The key part of being competent in digital skills is to be literate with a computer or any other devices that will serve the job role. How is it a skills gap? You may be shocked to learn that this is a major skills gap in this day and age, especially when new generations are diving deep into the “matrix” on a daily basis. It is often more the case that younger generations are extremely literate when it comes to social media and playing digital games, but not so well versed when it comes to using a computer and understanding its complexities. There’s also a skills gap in interpreting online data to solve a digital problem and improve a company’s ROI or other KPIs. One can find an abundance of information online, but finding the relevant & trustworthy information and applying it to the company itself is a different challenge. More broadly, businesses have found a gap when it comes to social media management. Consuming social media is vastly different from developing the right strategy with the right content for that business’ purposes. Managing social media is not simply to post the face of someone that works there; there must be deeper reasons to justify these digital efforts and for the company to see a result on time/resources investments. Project management skills What is a project-management skill? Project management core skills lies in:
- communication and interpersonal skills
- ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts
- having a critical thinking with a level of leadership
- building commitment within the team
In short, being a leader with the right level of coordination and organisation skills are key to this skill. Being a successful project management skill also comes with:
- the ability to track progress
- manage clients’ expectations
- communicate between the different departments in a language they understand
- reduce frustration where possible
- manage stressful deadlines while conducting a positive mindset
- deliver the end of a project in a timely fashion
- effectively supporting your team during the process while elevating everyone’s hard work (rewards, feedback, etc)
The challenge with this skill is the level of in-depth project management needed from the position and the work environment. Some companies will use basic software to manage projects that are easy to jump on from day one, while other companies may implement a more robust project management process that could require a certification. For example, there are PRINCE2 and AgilePM frameworks that require specific training. How is it a skills gap? As mentioned above, project management certifications are available online, although not at a cheap price tag. As a result, the growth rate of new and qualified project managers isn’t enough to meet skyrocketing demand within all industries. Because project managers need to have communication and digital skills, it is hard to find the right candidate that also understands the industry the business is in. Which is why project management is a skill in high demand around the world. There is also a need for the company to implement the foundation of a project management system that makes sense for the company and for all the different departments, as it is also reported that skilled project managers will move on to a new company where the skill is appreciated and setup for it. To conclude As our 2023 survey shows, the three most reported skills are communication, digital, and project management in East Anglia. Looking at the UK and the rest of world, we can see this is true for many countries. The ability to communicate, understand situations, interpret data and people, and having strong organisational skills are highly sought after skills on the market. With the increase of online demand and new businesses coming on the market, the demand for these skills is skyrocketing. With the widely available online courses and accreditations for anyone to access, it is still a challenge to find the right person that will fit into your industry & company’s culture. Before jumping into filling a new job position, you could investigate your own workforce and upskills those that are motivated to grow within your business. If you are still unsure about how to fill in your new job role or upskills your own employees, fill in our online free survey to make your voice heard. At Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, we have a team of experts that can help you figure out your business’ roadblocks. Find the Employer Survey here: https://form.jotform.com/223474490001043
