If you had to describe the biggest change to the workplace in recent years, where would you start? Without too much difficulty, you’d probably arrive at the increase in reliance on ‘Digital Skills’… Of course, digital skills aren’t only confined to the workplace but they are necessary for pretty much any business in 2020!
As secretary of your local Chamber of Commerce, I get to sit on the Skills East Sussex board, the aim of which is drive an improvement in employment and skills across the county to increase economic prosperity. Improving business competitiveness and supporting social inclusion are key component parts, aims which we would all endorse.
We all want to do a job that is both satisfying and remunerated fairly but in today’s world to do so, we need digital skills and the demands on us to know more and more in this arena is growing fast. The best companies and smaller businesses will be on the front foot of innovation and providing one has connectivity, you can probably run your business from almost anywhere and certainly often ‘on the go’ with your mobile phone!
Of course, young people are learning digital skills from an early age although I was concerned to learn that not all teachers in our schools and colleges have the requisite digital skills themselves. There are initiatives for education to invest in CPD (continuing professional development) although so far as digital skills are concerned, CPD shouldn’t just rest with those teaching others. The opportunity to improve through initiatives like a Google Garage, are open to all in the workplace!
At the Chamber, we do aim to bring issues like this to our membership, via speakers at either our members’ evening meetings or networking breakfasts; and membership to ‘tap’ into such resource is available to any Uckfield based business… You just need to apply to join!
Do please feel free to contact me by phone 07801 250668 or email secretary@uckfieldchamber.co.uk with any related questions…
Ian
First published in the March 2020 edition of Uckfield Matters.