Digital Literacy

Poverty alleviation through skills development

Poverty is a major concern for all countries. The World Bank and other global institutions are working with many countries to eradicate poverty.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goal  was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger but unfortunately, with the exception of China, other countries are way behind in achieving it.

Along with other countries, the Government of Pakistan is also striving to eradicate poverty without much success.

I believe if the government is serious in eradicating poverty, it should derive a strategy for a massive skills enhancement program  across Pakistan.

Currently, numerous organizations are providing skills training but considering the huge youth population of Pakistan, their efforts are falling short. This lack of focus can be gauged from the fact that only 6% of youngsters acquired skill-based training. 

Digital skills have never been more in demand. Microsoft estimates up to 149 million new technology related jobs could appear by 2025 in fields such as advanced IT, computer programming, and scientific research and development. 

By learning digital skills now, workers can access jobs in different fields with better pay and prospects, participate in the global digital economy, and potentially reduce the risk of their jobs becoming automated by as much as 59%.

Why are Digital Skills Important for Work?

In today’s world, technology plays an increasingly important role in the economy and society as a whole. Businesses need to stay on top of the changing digital landscape in order to remain competitive, so there’s a huge demand for skills that didn’t even exist a few years ago. Therefore individuals need to continuously upskill themselves to remain employable.

The Benefit of Digital Skills for Employers

Having a workforce with a variety of digital skills has numerous benefits for your business. Being able to embrace new technology in the workplace helps to streamline working processes, meaning less time is spent on repetitive tasks and staff are freed up to focus their efforts on higher value work that helps both you and your employees to meet objectives. 

Overall, the improvement in efficiency produced by digital technology creates space for businesses to be more collaborative and innovative.

The Benefit of Digital Skills for Students

For individuals who are looking to enter the job market, digital skills may be the key to standing out amongst a multitude of possible candidates. With the vast majority of job vacancies requiring digital skills, investing in learning a range of these skills is one of the best ways to increase your chances of being hired for your desired role. 

Today, many jobs are only advertised online. Many applications now include a range of online tests and forms to assess your abilities before an interview. Obtaining the right digital skills could prove a huge help in completing these early assessments successfully and progressing onto the next stage of the application process.