Why the lack of Excel skills could threaten the economic recovery from the pandemic

The headline was inspired by a report jointly produced by worldskillsuk, the Learning & Work Institute and Enginuity: Disconnected? Exploring the digital skills gap

The BBC article led with the report's revelation of a 40% drop in the number of people taking IT subjects at GCSE since 2015. The situation at A Level was less bleak, with a substantial drop in the take up of ICT being largely offset by an increase in the number taking computer science courses. The report also highlighted gender, geographical and societal inequalities in the acquisition of digital skills.

The report stresses the importance of digital skills to all types of business and organisation and considers both basic digital skills and advanced digital skills. It sees the need for basic digital skills as being close to universal, with 92% of employers saying that "having a basic level of digital skills was important for employees at their organisation". This rose to 100% for media, marketing, advertising and PR employers, emphasising that basic digital skills are far from just being required by the 'digital sector'.

The definition of basic digital skills used in the report is interesting:

"By basic digital skills, we mean a proficiency with common software such as Microsoft Word, excel, PowerPoint; ability to process digital information and content; ability to communicate digitally; and the ability to learn new digital skills etc."

For context, the definition of advanced digital skills was:

"By ‘advanced digital skills’ we mean a good knowledge across a range of digital skills, as well as in-depth specialist knowledge in one or more area, such as computer aided design, coding, specialist digital software."

The report finds the skills gap to be larger for advanced digital skills than basic digital skills. 78% of businesses "said that young people leaving education have the basic digital skills that they need" compared with 48% for advanced digital skills. 62% of young people 'strongly agreed' that they do indeed have those basic digital skills, compared with 18% for advanced digital skills.

I'm not certain that we should feel too reassured by the 78% figure for basic digital skills. Admittedly, it is only anecdotal evidence based on a very small sample, but I train the new student intake for several firms of accountants on the use of Word and Excel. Whilst the ability to use Word and Excel is pretty much universal, the ability to use the applications efficiently and safely is much less common. My worry about the 78% figure would be less the 22% remaining, than whether the 78% are being very complacent about the adequacy of their employees' basic digital skills.

Significantly, the BBC article quoted the opinions of a 22-year-old video game designer who didn't go to university, reporting that:

"He has found that some of his friends who went to university haven't picked up any digital skills."

Further:

"He thinks that the syllabus in school and at college is a bit dated and inflexible, and the best teachers have been those who have experience rooted in the industry.

"In particular, Mr McCabe thinks universities should be offering students a kind of 'bridge' to the workforce, such as a basic grounding in how to use excel, set up a database, or some basic graphic design." (my emphasis)

With particular regard to Excel, and spreadsheets in general, it would be fascinating to find out where the 78% of employers who believe young people leaving education do have adequate basic digital skills would position 'basic' within the ICAEW Spreadsheet Competency Framework. My fear is that few would include those skills essential for efficient and robust spreadsheet use, rather than just the ability to cobble together some sort of spreadsheet, however long it takes and however unlikely it is to be reliable. I also worry that every level assumes, largely incorrectly, that the previous level has already covered the basic digital skills requirements on their behalf: further education believes it's the job of schools, professional bodies (with some notable exceptions) see it as the responsibility of further education and businesses believe it to be covered by professional qualifications.

As well as the clear evidence shown in the report that there is a significant gap with regard to advanced digital skills, there is a considerable danger that the attitude to basic digital skills is causing, and will continue to cause, substantial reductions in productivity and will threaten competitiveness. This helps show just how vital to our future economy the ICAEW's ground-breaking spreadsheet initiatives are. By setting a framework for spreadsheet competence and establishing principles for good practice and guidance for financial modelling best practice, as well as providing access to online training, ICAEW has the potential to help narrow the digital skills gap and to accelerate the national recovery.