Quarter of SMEs say digital skills not needed for business growth

A new study has found that a quarter of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK do not believe that employees with good digital skills are necessary for their businesses to grow.

According to new data compiled by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), 25 per cent of firms say that digital skills are unimportant, despite 22 per cent also believing that a lack of digital skills at their company is hampering any growth in its presence online.

Over a quarter of SME owners polled by the FSB said that they lacked confidence about their own basic online skills, while 46 per cent say that their workforce also lack knowledge.

Previous surveys have found that less than half of adults have the skills they need to complete basic digital tasks – according to research by Nominet – and that more than 40 per cent of the UK’s workers go without the digital skills they need to do their jobs well – according to Barclays.

Mike Cherry, the FSB’s national chairman, said that a digital skills shortage in the UK means that recruitment is a “nightmare” for small businesses, which often do not have the in-house resources necessary to train staff.

The FSB survey backed this up, with 30 per cent of small firms saying skill shortages had made recruitment harder over the past year, particularly for skilled jobs such as IT managers or electricians.

“The twin pressures of rapid technological change and Brexit make upskilling the current workforce more important than ever,” Cherry added.

“Small firms clearly recognise the value of providing training for themselves and their staff, but it can be a struggle to find the time and money, and in some cases even to find the right training locally.”