Digital skill levels in Ireland continue to fall, with marketing professionals achieving an average test score of just 38% in an international digital skills test, down from 42% in 2014.
This is according to the Digital Marketing Institute digital skills report for 2016 which found that digital skills in Ireland were on a par with the UK (37%) and the USA (38%), highlighting an emerging trend of low digital competence across the three economies. A score of at least 60% is needed to achieve entry-level competency in digital marketing.
The new report, ‘Missing the Mark: The digital marketing skills gap in Ireland, UK and USA’, was conducted on behalf of the Digital Marketing Institute by independent market research firm Behaviour & Attitudes.
The research shows that the most significant drop in skills was in the mobile category with a test result of 40% on average, down from 47% in 2014. There were also reductions in skills in search (37% v 41%), display (35% v 39%), strategy (38% v 40%), email (38% v 40%) and social media (37% v 40%).
Participants in Dublin (42%) fared better than non-Dublin (37%), although there was a sharp drop in the capital, down from 48% in 2014. Overall, self-employed participants fared best of all (43%), compared to those employed full-time (36%) and part-time (34%).
A lack of resources is cited as the single greatest challenge to improving digital skills within organisations, according to respondents in Ireland (60%). The issue is only slightly less prevalent in the UK (50%) and the USA (47%).
Fifty five per cent of professionals in Ireland say the pace of technological change within their organisations is too slow with the US (49%) and the UK (46%) in agreement.
Irish workers (72%) followed by the counterparts in the USA (63%) are also most likely to agree that becoming ‘more digitally focused will be critical to their organisation in the next two years.' Eighty per cent of Irish workers believe they need to improve their digital skills for their careers to progress.
Founder and CEO of the Digital Marketing Institute, Ian Dodson said, "Ireland’s digital marketing skills base has dropped since 2014. One could argue that the field has become more complex as it develops, but it is both disappointing and a cause for concern that general digital marketing skill sets remain low and have continued to fall over the last two years."
He added, "There is huge potential for Ireland Inc to benefit from the EU’s plan to harmonise regulations and create a single digital economy in Europe. This must not become a lost opportunity through a declining skills base."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
