Britain could become the global digital capital: and not a graveyard of CRM systems!

Last week, the chancellor Phillip Hammond, announced his budget to the nation. One thing that was interesting was the investment into digital skills and encouraging employers to upskill their staff.

The BBC reported that Hammond wanted the UK to become the world leader in Digital Technology, with £76 million investing into digital skills –

So the Government are realising that there is potential in building the digital  sector of the UK economy and to be honest so are we. We have been doing it for the last 10 years with projects, apprenticeships and training. But the successful creative and digital business have also been responsible for this too.

I believe  we need to work together and make sure the next generation of digital professionals are able to benefit from this to invest in the UK’s future.

To make this happen I believe, as an industry we need to develop our people and our digital skills. People are what drive businesses forward. In my job as a trainer, mentor and assessor, I work with (mainly) young people who are passionate, talented and wholly dedicated to their work. 

So I think this comes in two different strands firstly we need to look our current staff and think how can these people who are already talented get better at what they do. With digital technology slowly taking over more elements of the workplace we need to make sure that we are ahead of the curve. How many CRM systems lay resting in graveyards because staff are not trained properly or even just not given the structure to learn about it properly. A one day training course doesn’t mean you become a natural at it. As a trainer myself, I currently work with a number of managers completing apprenticeships and properly dedicating time to their work. And guess what not only does the skills they generate obviously improve, but their morale and productivity does and it forces them to sit, plan and learn. You always have to sharpen that saw.

The other element is new staff. When you start to grow, making sure you get the right people into your business is key to your growth. It’s easy for me as I work a lot with new staff and helping them develop. And I have a lot of my learners go from a level 3 apprenticeship to a level 4 and not only is obviously the department growing, but that apprentice grows in confidence, digital skills, maturity and most importantly; their role in the company grows.

So many times I have to get a new address for a client with an apprentice because they need bigger premises, and that’s great firstly because its good to see a business develop, but also for us, because I know they will want another apprentice.

So lets get ahead of the government and start to invest in the our digital skills.

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