What is digital upskilling?

Last month, PwC announced ‘New world. New skills.’, a US$3bn commitment to upskilling, invested primarily in training our people, and in developing technologies to support clients and communities. Since then I’ve been deluged with questions on what we mean by digital upskilling.

In the 90s, digital upskilling meant learning how to use Microsoft Office, the internet and email to become more productive. Today, it means much more. It means being able to use cloud services to collaborate and work on documents at the same time. It means being able to use advanced software tools to manage large amounts of data. It means being able a write a code or create new tools to do things faster, better and with greater accuracy. It means being able to adapt in a technology-driven world.

The view of a business executive in a technology-driven world

For a business executive like myself, the pervasiveness of “digital” in our lives is both exciting and challenging. New technology is fantastic but how do I stay current? Is it enough to learn how to use technology or do I have to understand the nuts and bolts of complicated algorithms? 

As I said in my video, digital is about people. So digital upskilling is about enabling people to operate in a world where technology is evolving rapidly. Digital upskilling is about continuous learning and adaptability. You may not need to know how to code, but you need to understand and use technology to access information and services.

At PwC, it’s clear that some skills are in higher demand than others. For example, data analytics, understanding AI, and robotics process automation – these are new digital skills and areas in which we are equipping our people. We do this through regular e-learnings, and an accelerator experience for a select few who are prepared to immerse themselves in an intensive year-long digital transformation programme. And we’re planning more!

Linking digital upskilling with people and innovation

The quest to innovate and disrupt is not new. What is becoming clearer though is the link between digital upskilling, people and being able to drive innovation.

In Talent Trends 2019: upskilling for a digital age, we learnt that 55% of global CEOs don’t feel that they can innovate effectively because of a lack of skills within their organisation.

We also learnt five things which reiterated the need for us at PwC to rethink our approach to upskill our people:

1. People-related analytics must improve: 86% of CEOs say data on the views and needs of their people are critical for decision-making, but only 29% say the data they receive is adequate. 

 2. Business leaders need to be much clearer about their reskilling strategy and what that really means for their workforce: 55% haven’t yet created a clear narrative about the future of their workforce and automation. This includes an understanding of which skills will be valued and rewarded, and which skills won’t be needed. Workers expect honest answers about their future and employers need to carefully think through these questions to manage expectations.

 3. The external narrative will be equally important: Business leaders need to clearly explain to their external constituents how they will balance the right level of productivity with the need to build trust with society over the longer term.

 4. Reskilling is only part of the story: As the competition for talent intensifies, it is apparent that organisations must create a workplace where people want, and not just need, to work each day. At PwC for example, we’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response to our WeFlex programme which provides our people the flexibility to work remotely. 

 5. A changing workplace needs a new approach to workplace management: As expectations of how people work change, so must the way in which people are measured, incentivised and rewarded. For example, are people given the space to innovate, try new things and pioneer new digital methodologies or does the system promote the status quo?

So yes, digital upskilling is important but it's just one part of a broader conversation on innovation, people and what organisations want to achieve.

What do you think?