In a world that is becoming increasingly technology oriented, developing your digital knowledge and skill set is one of the most powerful contemporary career moves you can make.
Humanity is experiencing immense exponential growth: one of the most effective ways to deal with this progression is to enrich your digital knowledge and brush up on your digital skills.
What are digital skills?
Broadly, digital skills are the tools and knowledge required to operate technology and digital devices efficiently. This means having the ability to communicate on digital devices, access networks, solve problems and conduct research safely.
However, these skills do not only pertain to platforms and programmes. You also need to develop an understanding of photo-visual language and how to process socio-emotional information. In other words, you can’t just use the technology; you also have to cultivate an awareness of the ethical and human side of digital applications and how they impact on the business environment.
Essentially, these are abilities that employers and employees should aspire to. There are also more specific digital skills that are geared towards specialised roles: these are known as critical digital skills. For example, critical digital skills are required in the fields of e-commerce, content creation, information security and digital marketing.
Being proactive instead of reactive
The Covid-19 pandemic, in forcing us into our homes and remote work for the past two years, has prompted us to consider new strategies. One such strategy is to be proactive instead of reactive. Instead of trying to catch up with and adapt to new trends and developments, it is more resourceful to pre-empt these changes and work proactively to predict and adapt to them before they occur again.
Digital forecasting gains companies and individuals the competitive advantage they need to stay abreast with the rapid changes of the digital era. Wits Business School’s short courses in Digital Business and Transformation is geared towards exactly that: preparing you for digital transformation.
Why a short course in digital business is ideal for a working professional
Short courses are dynamic in nature, especially those in executive education, which are built around the flexibility of professional students. The focus switches from assessments and studying to a more practical, hands-on experience where students are enabled through applied learning systems, research and tools that enhance their day-to-day activities in their respective workplaces.
With a rapidly changing business environment, short courses allow professionals to stay up to date while driving new learnings into their practices in real time. Research shows that 54% of all employees will need to do some serious reskilling to ensure they are equipped for the digital age. This is specifically relevant for technical skills such as app development, social media metrics and programming. Given the speed at which technology is influencing the way we live, and essentially running our businesses, a digital skill set is becoming crucial.
Similarly, consumers are conducting more business online. Digital skills are essential in driving growth, increasing revenue, marketing brands and improving performance.
Five reasons you should enhance your digital skill set
- It can propel your career to new heights
By being proactive and taking charge, you become a leader in your career and in the digital sphere. Show employers that you can adapt to new situations and lead whole teams of people to become more digitally skilled and qualified. Digital is the future.
- It develops solution-oriented problem-solving skills
Digital systems use data to determine results and evaluate information. This means that the chances for human error are reduced when employees know how to use digital systems appropriately.
- It allows you to stay relevant
The digital divide refers to the disparity between people who are able to use digital technology and benefit from it and those who are not. Staying relevant in the digital age means being able to learn and, most importantly, apply new programs and techniques. In competitive work environments, staying relevant means ensuring you remain a valuable asset to your company.
- It gives you an edge over your competition
Among the most in-demand emerging jobs in 2020 are: Artificial Intelligence specialist, robotics engineer, data scientist, data engineer, cyber security specialist, and back end developer. These jobs are experiencing 74% growth annually and are valuable avenues to pursue.
A digital skill set helps you find accurate and logical solutions to problems; this goes hand-in-hand with communication. Principles like search-engine optimisation (SEO), UX/UI design, digital strategy, and digital marketing all require effective communication. Whether the exchanges take place between consumers and businesses or internally between employees, communication is improved.
This also leads to an increase in productivity: not only due to increased effective communication, but also because technology provides results faster and more accurately than humans. For example, Google can provide billions of results within seconds. This kind of efficiency would take humans centuries.
- It makes you adaptable
Because the digital world is constantly changing, it means that you have to adapt your approach, strategy, and skill set regularly. This benefits you individually as well as your organisation as a whole. It shows that you can keep up with trends, learn new skill sets quickly, and contribute significance to any establishment you work for.
Conclusion
Overall, enhancing your digital knowledge is an incredibly smart career move. Wits Business School’s short courses offer you the edge to transform into an adaptable, creative, relevant, and solutions-oriented leader.