Do you have the 20 essential digital skills for work?
In the UK, the government and industry partners have put their heads together to outline the essential tasks that employees should be able to complete to live and succeed in our digital society.
Being able to navigate digital tools, collaborate online and stay safe is now key to getting work done. That’s why the Essential Digital Skills Framework (EDSF) was created. It sets out 20 key digital tasks agreed by government and industry as “essential for work.”
Five core skill areas to cover
These tasks are grouped into five major areas:
1. communicating
2. handling information and content
3. transacting
4. problem-solving
5. being safe and legal online.
Each area addresses a different aspect of how employees interact with digital tools and services in their employment and can help you see where your skills gaps lie.
Communicating
In modern workplaces, there are lots of digital communication methods: emails, messaging apps, video calls, internal intranets and forums. Being able to use tools such as email, Teams, Slack or Zoom is essential, as is using digital tools to collaborate and create, like OneDrive, Dropbox, WeTransfer and Slack.
Additionally, knowing how to set up and manage a professional online account, e.g., on LinkedIn, Indeed or other job vacancy websites, ensures employees have the tools at hand to help shape their future.
Handling information and content
Once you can communicate digitally, you need to be able to handle the flow of information efficiently and securely. It’s essential to know how important it is to follow your organisation’s IT policies when sharing information internally and externally – and how to maintain security when accessing and sharing information across devices.
Transacting
Digital transaction skills aren’t just for shopping online! In the workplace, this could mean completing digital records, accessing payslips or tax information. You should also be aware just how important it is to maintain colleagues’ privacy, especially if you have access to personal data in the course of your job.
Problem solving
This is about being empowered to solve digital issues proactively. This could cover finding information online to help you solve work-related problems and use appropriate software solutions to do your day-to-day job, such as spreadsheets, booking systems, HR or sales management tools.
Being resourceful and using online tutorials, learning platforms or how-to guides to improve your skills and ability to do new things at work means you can progress more easily in your role and career – as well as be more productive with digital tools like Trello, Microsoft Projects and Slack.
Being safe and legal online
Digital safety is so critical these days and there’s certainly a lot to learn in this area.
From simply understanding online risks to setting privacy and marketing preferences, following data protection guidelines, responding to authentication requests, identifying secure websites, recognising suspicious links or attachments, updating device software and more, these kinds of tasks remind us that it’s not all about productivity; online safety is an essential skill area where everyone should keep their knowledge up to date.
Why these skills matter
Whether you’re an employer, manager or employee, these 20 skills are a practical checklist. For employers, it’s a useful guide when designing training or onboarding digitally. For individuals, it’s a roadmap for ensuring you have everything covered for your role – and ones you might wish to move to in the future.
Organisations that emphasise the importance of staff digital skills are likely to be more agile and more resilient in the fast-changing world of business technology.
Have you got the skills? Check out the 20 digital tasks for work below.