The need for employees to have digital skills has become increasingly important in today’s society. The majority of jobs today require basic digital skills, like using Microsoft Office software and being able to operate digital devices in the workplace. However, Digital Marketing gives you a more advanced and specific digital skillset. This gives you access to better-paid, and more secure careers (Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport, 2019).

Gain a valued and versatile set of skills.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) recently commissioned research to identify the demand for digital skills in various employment sectors. They found that digital marketing skills are the third fastest-growing and the second most adaptable set of skills for employment.  So, not only are there plenty of jobs that need skilled digital marketers, once you have these skills they can be applied to lots of other roles as you progress in your chosen career!

A specific digital skillset for marketers includes skills in digital media, design, social media and search engine tools, as well as skills to use customer relationship management (CRM) software (Llewellyn, 2019).

Specific digital skills means entry to higher paid jobs.

Digital Marketing skills are considered to be ‘specific’ rather than ‘baseline’. Whereas baseline skills provide access to low-skill and lower paid jobs, having specific skills meets the needs of high-skill and better paid roles.

According to DCMS, highly skilled jobs requiring specific digital skills generally pay up to £11,000 a year more than those without!

The world of work is changing, have a head start.

The World Economic Forum (2018) predicts that by 2022 the demand for specific skills such as complex problem solving, analytical thinking, innovation and creativity will outweigh demand for manual, traditional managerial and administrative skills. This coincides with the accelerated adoption of technology, automation and artificial intelligence within the workplace.  Automated technology has the capacity to perform the same tasks as those with baseline digital skills. So, in short, developing and maintaining specific digital skills reduces the risk of your job being given to a machine instead!

You may ask ‘Then, why should I learn how to use digital marketing technology and software if technology may replace my work?’. Well, as the DCMS report states, the application of specific digital skills in turn requires skills that are uniquely human. For example, using software to build a website requires design and creativity skills, both of which cannot be replicated by a machine.  A chatbot may be able to answer increasingly sophisticated customer enquiries, but it is only a human that has the capacity to empathise and deal with the emotional side of customer relationship management. 

Of course, digital marketing skills adapt over time alongside technology. Those already studying and working in digital marketing will be more resilient to these changes. So, you’ll be in the best position to keep up to date and refine your skills accordingly.

Find out more information.

A degree in Digital Marketing will enable you to explore and develop the specific digital marketing skills you need to move into a highly skilled, well paid and rewarding career. To find out more about the BA Digital Marketing at Chester Business School, visit our course page, or you can get in touch by email, b.morris@chester.ac.uk or telephone 01244 511869.

Beth Morris is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing and Programme Leader for BA Digital Marketing at Chester Business School University of Chester.

Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport. (2019). Current and future demand for digital skills - a call to action - GOV.UK. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/current-and-future-demand-for...

Llewellyn, G. (2019). Current and future demand for digital skills | Smart Insights. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from https://www.smartinsights.com/managing-digital-marketing/personal-career...

World Economic Forum. (2018). Future of Jobs 2018 - Reports - World Economic Forum. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2018/