A Third of US Workers Lack Digital Skills
A Third of US Workers Lack Digital Skills
But more jobs than ever require them
TRUMBULL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The global workforce is on the brink of a digital skills crisis. More jobs than ever require an understanding of new technologies but a third of American workers lack digital skills.1 Questionmark, the online assessment provider, is calling on employers to ensure that workers across different teams and functions have the digital literacy they need.
John Kleeman, Founder of Questionmark, said: “Digital and technology skills are required across the workforce. It’s time to break the tech skills silo and the cultural assumption that only technology workers need to understand workplace technology.
“Assessing the skills of workers gives employers a good steer on the extent of the digital skills gap within their own organizations. Where there is a clear gap, they can introduce further training and support.”
Workplace technology is no longer just for the technologists. Some, 98% of European Union (EU) workplaces now require all managers to have at least basic digital skills, according to a study by the European Commission.2 In the United States (US) 82% of middle-skills jobs – those that typically require less than a bachelor’s degree while paying a living wage – are described as digitally intensive.3
However, almost a third of US workers lack digital skills, according to the National Skills Coalition4. Less than 20% of managerial staff believe they are developing their digital skills at work, found the Lloyds Bank Consumer Digital Index.5
Measuring the skills of workers with online assessments gives employers real information about areas of strength and weakness across the organization. The results of the assessment can help employers identify the training need. By testing the skills of candidates before hiring them, leaders can ensure that people with the right skills are joining their teams.
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Notes to editors
About Questionmark
Questionmark unlocks performance through reliable and secure online assessments.
Questionmark provides a secure enterprise-grade assessment platform and professional services to leading organizations around the world, delivered with care and unequalled expertise. Its full-service online assessment tool and professional services help customers to improve their performance and meet their compliance requirements. Questionmark enables organizations to unlock their potential by delivering assessments which are valid, reliable, fair and defensible.
Questionmark offers secure powerful integration with other LMS, LRS and proctoring services making it easy to bring everything together in one place. Questionmark's cloud-based assessment management platform offers rapid deployment, scalability for high-volume test delivery, 24/7 support, and the peace-of-mind of secure, audited U.S., Australian and European-based data centers.
1 https://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/05-20-2020-NSC-New-Landscape-of-Digital-Literacy.pdf
2 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/new-report-shows-digital-skills-are-required-all-types-jobs
3 https://www.burning-glass.com/wp-content/uploads/Digital_Edge_report_2017_final.pdf
4 https://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/05-20-2020-NSC-New-Landscape-of-Digital-Literacy.pdf
5 https://www.icaew.com/technical/technology/tech-faculty/tech-news/tech-news-articles/digital-skills-at-work
Contacts
For more information:
US: Kristin Bernor, external relations: Kristin.bernor@questionmark.com +1 203.349.6438
UK: James Boyd-Wallis: james.boyd-wallis@fourteenforty.uk +44 7793 021 607
Australia and New Zealand: Chelsea Dowd: chelsea.dowd@questionmark.com +61 2 8073 0527
