Digital Skills & Talent

Obviously with any job involved with the digital world, you are going to need the appropriate digital skills & talent to survive that position. Digital skills and talent are quite self-explanatory, however, to put them into perspective they’re defined as “a range of abilities to use digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and manage information.” (Unesco). Simple right? Well not quite. To keep up with and excel in the digital space you’re going to have to be a very specific person, a T-shaped person. 

      Image Source: https://www.business2community.com/communications/communication-in-top-eight-digital-skills-needed-01356787

T-Shaped People 

Due to the intense pace at which technologies are changing, it is important to become a T-shaped person if you want to stand out in the digital world. An article by College InfoGeek states that “A T-shaped person has deep knowledge/skills in one area and a broad base of general supporting knowledge/skills” (R. Paterson, 2021). After reading that you may ask yourself, why can’t I only have deep knowledge/skills in one area? Well to put it into perspective, the digital transformation space is changing so rapidly that hypothetically, in February you could use your expertise in digital skills to build application software, but by June you could be a digital consultant. A situation like that is where the “general supporting knowledge/skills” can excel. However, a hypothetical situation like that can become more real than you think. 

Increased Requirements for More Digital Talent 

 

Especially after COVID, a “lack of digital skills and access to digital networks are barriers that not only slow down this joint, effort but exacerbate an already existing and stark digital divide” (Carlos B.F, Matthew D. et al. 2021). With the lack of digital skills comes the increased demand for them, becoming a T-shaped person is a strong way to stand out in the digital workforce, and having T-shaped people in your team/organisation is a perfect way to stay ahead of the rapid digital changes.      

References: 

1) Digital Skills Critical for Jobs and Social Inclusion (2018) https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/digital-skills-critical-jobs-and-social-inclusion?TSPD_101_R0=080713870fab2000d2beaf8cc4d462343be935d7a2099d6f10f60bb0539f59bb242438890ea5c43b08d07316341430008f6d6b1376d73d46db4822cc7cd6369e7cb493caa188a1289bd14b8973cb8920a2c9c2767eda2d154ba0862d3674b55c. Available at: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/digital-skills-critical-jobs-and-social-inclusion?TSPD_101_R0=080713870fab2000d2beaf8cc4d462343be935d7a2099d6f10f60bb0539f59bb242438890ea5c43b08d07316341430008f6d6b1376d73d46db4822cc7cd6369e7cb493caa188a1289bd14b8973cb8920a2c9c2767eda2d154ba0862d3674b55c (Accessed: 22 June 2023). 

2) Patterson, R. (2021) The T-Shaped Person: Building Deep Expertise AND a Wide Knowledge Base. Available at: https://collegeinfogeek.com/become-t-shaped-person/ (Accessed: 22 June 2023). 

3) Baca-Feldman, C. and Downer, M. (2021) Digital Skills Insights 2021. Available at: https://academy.itu.int/sites/default/files/media2/file/21-00668_Digital-Skill-Insight-210831_CSD%20Edits%206_Accessible-HD.pdf (Accessed: 22 June 2023).