Demand for digital marketers continues to intensify

A new report commissioned by O2 has revealed that the skills gap currently taking place in the digital marketing industry could end up costing the UK up to £2bn a year.

The data, collected by Development Economics, reveals that to successfully support the growing digital economy, Britain will need around 750,000 skilled digital workers by 2017.

The report suggests that the Government and education system should invest more in digital education in schools if the skills gap is to be successfully plugged.

Opportunities to nurture young talent in the industry are increasing however, with companies such as Agilisys Arch beginning to offer a number of digital marketing apprenticeship roles for school-leavers, and Squared Online, the Google and Home Learning College partnership, presenting an exciting opportunity for graduates interested in digital marketing to equip themselves with the tools necessary to deal with future advancements in the industry via the sophisticated online course.

Ronan Dunne, chief executive of O2, spoke to the Telegraph, commenting: “Now more than ever before, digital offers the chance to drive sustained economic recovery, but this will only be realised if we become a nation of digitally confident businesses with a digitally literate workforce.

“Businesses must proactively seek out opportunities to collaborate to maximise the digital growth opportunity and harness the potential of the next generation. As digital natives, young people possess valuable skills that will be the future fuel of our economy, but not enough is being done to harness them.”