A new Microsoft UK report has found that Britain’s digital skills gap could pose a risk to economic recovery.

While the report revealed 78 per cent of UK leaders think having a large pool of digital talent will be essential to driving UK competitiveness, it also found that 69 per are currently facing a digital skills gap.

The study reveals big concerns about Britain’s digital skills gap, which have been exacerbated by the advent of coronavirus.

The research, conducted in partnership with YouGov and academics led by Dr Chris Brauer, also showed that 44 per cent of leaders fear the current lack of digital skills in their organisation will have a fairly negative impact on success.

63 per cent of employees surveyed in the report do not agree that they have the appropriate digital skills to fulfil new and emerging roles in their industry.

The report’s findings echo recent CBI research which found nine in 10 employees will need to need some form of reskilling by 2030.

“At a time when digital innovation is accelerating, we see it as our responsibility to help people acquire the right skills to succeed – be that for their own benefit, to boost the performance for the organisations they work for or to future-proof the UK’s competitiveness on the global stage,” said Simon Lambert, chief learning officer, Microsoft. “Digital skills are the currency of digital transformation, for individuals, organisations and the UK as a whole, they will play a vital role in unlocking the way forward.”

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