Digital Skills Stack
Climbing the vertical career ladder is now regarded as an outdated route to success. What is now in demand is skills 鈥榮tacking鈥� where recruits demonstrate expertise in a diverse range of complementary capabilities.
A job title may still impress, but what adds higher value to a professional profile is the ability to be effective in several areas. In this technology age skill stacking helps to future-proof careers in industry where demands are ever-changing.
Associate Professor and Head of Group Digital Technologies and Machine Intelligence, WMG
A digital-first approach for success
Skills stacking 鈥� or 鈥榣ayering鈥� 鈥� is also becoming essential not just for individuals but across business. Once a concept that offered a competitive edge, digital transformation has shifted to being mission-critical. Organisations that adopt a digital-first approach will be better positioned to meet rapidly evolving customer expectations.
A hybrid skillset enables companies to integrate digital technologies such as AI across all business areas for financial growth. Digital stacking brings all capabilities together so organisations can move from experimental to real impact.
Essentials for the ideal hybrid skillset
What does the ideal 鈥榮tacking鈥� skillset look like for digital competency? To deliver transformation successfully, organisations need an essential mix of expertise in cyber security, data, automation and digital strategy. These capabilities underpin productivity, innovation and national competitiveness.
Digital transformation is not just for the IT team. For businesses to thrive, they need professionals in other departments who possess technical, analytic and strategic abilities. With the right expertise, people can solve problems that don鈥檛 sit neatly in one domain, and they can develop multi-layered skills that can be applied across many areas.
To deliver transformation successfully, organisations need an essential mix of expertise in cyber security, data, automation and digital strategy.
The importance of good data practice
The foundation for changing operations, culture, and customer value for growth lies in good data practice. From the buying habits of customers to gaps in supply chain efficiency, data has become one of the most valuable assets.
Managers can improve decision-making and lead teams if they鈥檙e confident in understanding, interpreting and using facts and information. A company that embraces digital skills stacking on a long-term basis does not depend solely on the IT department.
Skilling the workforce for a digital future
Investing in data capture alone is not enough for growth. To reach the right decisions, a workforce needs the skills to establish if the information is correct from the outset. The data shared by different teams within a company can be inaccurate if departments operate within silos and use different approaches.
The next step is for a business to analyse raw information to gain insights that can be actioned for greater productivity. Key questions to ask include 鈥榃hat are our capabilities?鈥�, 鈥榃here do we need to invest?鈥� and 鈥楬ow can our products become more effective?鈥�. Again, this is where digital skills stacking provides organisations with an advantage. If the analysis is correct from day one, then a business is more likely to succeed.
Digital transformation succeeds when people understand not just how technical tools work but how they work together.
Technology working together to transform business
A process of 鈥榬ewiring鈥� is needed which involves embedding digital-focused thinking into leadership and everyday decision-making, not just signing up the tech team for more training courses. Digital transformation succeeds when people understand not just how technical tools work but how they work together.
For example, predictive maintenance in manufacturing uses sensor data to anticipate equipment failures but delivers value only when engineering, AI, cyber security and leadership capabilities work together.
Power of AI must be harnessed effectively
The rapid advance of AI makes data more efficient, for example by processing the information and delivering findings in real-time. The technology is revolutionising data management which saves companies time and resources which allows them to be more productive, efficient and competitive.
However, there is a proviso in using AI despite all the hype. What I advise companies who ask me if they should adopt AI is that it is not a miracle solution to a problem. And the technology is only as good as the information that it receives. Take ChatGPT for example. The chatbot cannot be relied upon to provide wholly accurate answers. In short, AI cannot function without a human being to oversee good data practices which underlines the need for a workforce adept across a portfolio of digital skills.
How to embed cyber security from the outset
In addition, AI-based platforms cannot operate reliability or robustly without cyber security. There is no value in implementing digital systems unless sensitive data is properly stored and protected. Cyber security should be seen as an enabler to innovation, not as a barrier.
Ransomware, phishing and other forms of cyberattacks are all too common, and a single incident can paralyse industries, destroy reputations and undermine trust. Recent attacks on major retailers and automotive firms alongside small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) demonstrate the scale and reach of the threat.
Contrary to popular belief, cyber security is not an IT issue, it鈥檚 a business issue and needs to be embedded from the start. The more systems are connected, the greater the vulnerability which increases the risk of hackers succeeding. Everyone in an organisation needs to assess the steps taken to safeguard and maintain trust in data and systems including AI.
People are at the heart of creating value
Organisational value ultimately depends on people. Technology creates advantage only when teams have the skills to deploy, interpret and govern it effectively. Transformation is no longer a linear journey. It depends on layered capabilities working across functions.