Last month, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport released its ‘Digital Sector Economic Estimates’ report, which showed strong growth in this increasingly important sector.

Now accounting for 7.3% of the UK Economy, and having contributed £118.3bn to GDP in 2014, Digital is becoming a force to be reckoned with. So what does this mean for UK businesses?

Digital innovation, and its impact on businesses, has become more obvious over the last decade. The value of e-commerce sales has increased by 66% (2008-2013), but it is not just in the B2C sector that changes are being seen.

In a recent study by EEF, it was reported that 86% of manufacturers agree that every business should have a right to a high-speed internet connection, with 95% believing access to secure online services, like banking, is necessary for business success.

"The best thing an SME can do is train staff as part of their commitment to workforce career development"

As IT & technology become increasingly necessary  to businesses of every size, shape and description, the need to recruit tech-savvy staff, and invest in digital infrastructure, will become an unavoidable necessity.

The Digital Economy, constituting those not only employed in the Digital Sector but also those in digital occupations outside the sector, employed two million people in 2014, increasing by 7.1% from 2011. Compare this to a 4.2% increase in the wider UK economy and it becomes more obvious how fast Digital is growing.

A report on the availability of digital skills, released in January 2016, reported that there will be an increased demand for staff to have digital skills over the next few years. Worryingly, according to the BBC’s Basic Online Skills research, 20% of UK adults lack basic online skills, suggesting that older recruits are tending to lack digital skills, as opposed to their younger counterparts.

Ultimately, this could have an effect on long-term unemployment as the population continues to age.

Some older employees will need to play catch-up in future

One sector that has already experienced a digital skills shortage is retail. Their customer base increasingly desires a blended experience, incorporating both online and offline channels. Therefore, the need for retail workers to be well versed in e-commerce is crucial to support business growth.

Confirming this, according to a survey conducted by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, 20% of employers in 2015 identified the introduction of new technology as a key factor that is responsible for skill gaps.

Therefore, the best thing an SME can do is train staff as part of their commitment to workforce career development. At Bring Digital we host regular training events  in an attempt to inform the local business community of what we do. We also encourage personal development, setting time aside each week for a member of the team to share their area of expertise with the business.

Admittedly, it may be easier for an SME in the Digital Sector to ensure their workforce has the necessary skills required to help them progress, but it is by no means impossible for other SMEs to set up similar initiatives.

There are plenty of online training courses that you can sign your workforce up to. By allowing them to complete them in work time, not only are you investing in your business’ future, but you are also showing yourself to be an employer who cares about staff development.

Therefore, even if recruitment is on the cards, you are placing yourself in a better position to attract the best talent.

Needless to say, a growing reliance on technology and IT will change the way we do business in the future. For a business to remain competitive and grow, plans need to be put in place now to ensure that they can keep pace with the rate of change, and the best way to do this is by investing in the most important capital asset any business owns, its people.