How can we bridge the skills gap between traditional education and the global software industry?

Widely discussed and continuously growing, the digital skills gap needs to be immediately addressed. If not, the gap will continue to widen, with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on specialist digital skills will increase over the next five years. Should the skills gap become more pronounced, corporations risk a talent deficit that will be both expensive and time intensive to rectify.

The digital skills gap is made more challenging by the fact that technology is constantly evolving. That’s why companies need to not only ensure they are able to use existing software, but to also identify upcoming trends and ensure their workforce is adequately trained to use them. 

A recent report by The Open University, outlined that a worrying 9 in 10 organisations admitted to having a shortage of digital skills. Moreover, the World Economic Forum estimated that emerging technologies will generate 133 million new jobs by 2022. Therefore the onus will be on the industry to move fast and think long-term in order to find a sustainable solution to bridge the gap.

However, it’s important to note that while there is a lack of digital skills, there is not a lack of digital talent.

So how can we ultimately bridge the gap? The answer lies within a triad of enablement, investment and commitment.

While debate surrounding this has usually been around training, recruitment and deployment, the focus should also be on business enablement. In today’s business landscape, firms are looking for quality assurance and immediate delivery from specialists and consultants which can enable their businesses and provide a long-term service, rather than a service that provides the skilled services then leaves the organization moving on to the next project.

We must also recognise the gap that needs bridging between traditional education and the corporate world. The Software Institute sees thousands of highly intelligent and able graduates leaving university without the vital technical digital skill sets needed for employment. As it stands, university curriculums are unfortunately not specialised enough to close this gap. Therefore, those interested in entering the global software industry must seek additional training to develop these digital skills.

In order to address this issue, investment will be a key factor in the fight to bridge the gap between traditional education and the global software industry. Companies must invest in the employee at hand, committing to training, reskilling and upskilling of digital skills.

This is further epitomised by the stark statistic that there is a vacancy for 1 million digital experts and 35% of workers lack basic digital skills. This not only helps to widen the gap but acts as a significant barrier for businesses and employees alike. 

To tackle this problem head on, businesses must seek out uniquely developed programmes incorporating the best features from specialists, academics and consider evolving their delivery models. Businesses need to consider the immediate delivery requirements and sustainable future enablement at the same time; historically these been treated in two phases.  Training programmes need to enable businesses to build a long term and sustainable talent pipeline.  This needs to be coupled with identifying the best local talent, in any required geography and delivering immersive accredited learning within best of breed technologies.

In an ever-changing technological world, competition is rife. There is no room for employees to lack digital skills or businesses to neglect the upskilling of staff. However, through enablement, investment and commitment to training and continuous personal development, employees can future proof their careers and businesses can unlock their performance capabilities, sustainably.