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  • SME webinar on closing the digital skills gap

SME webinar on closing the digital skills gap

Recorded 15 April, this webinar focuses on why digital skills are critical to the future of the small business community.

16 Apr 2021, 2 min read

Watch the webinar in full

Speakers:

  • Mayuresh Thavapalan, Director of Customer Propositions, BT Enterprise
  • Karen Licurse, Managing Director, Digital Boost
  • Andrew Batty, Managing Director, Creative Marketing Services
  • Deborah Fraser, Director - Regions, CBI (Chair)

Overview:

Mayuresh Thavapalan:

  • 60% of all private sector jobs are in small businesses; and despite being amongst the hardest hit by lockdown, they have been the most nimble and resilient to change
  • BT have recognised the importance of Digital Skills for future growth and development, and their surveys reflect that over half of firms they surveyed saw investment in digital as a long term investment, not just for during Covid
  • The BT Small Business Support Scheme is a package of measures to help small firms, and addresses the most common barriers to SMEs adjusting to a more digital world
  • The biggest barrier to overcome is often confidence, and firms adapt best to change when there is ‘buy-in’ from all of the team.

Karen Licurse:

  • DigitalBoost are a free platform that was launched by Founders4Schools to address the urgent needs of small businesses during lockdowns
  • The biggest challenge is often knowing where to start, and their platform is designed with this in mind, by offering bespoke free advice and support to firms looking to become more digitally skilled
  • On becoming a more digitally present business, the most important thing is to do it now and improve your presence over time, rather than aiming for immediate perfection.

Andrew Batty:

  • The present situation caused by lockdowns and covid has silver-linings, and that’s been the massive move to more activity taking place online
  • The fundamentals of tools like marketing haven’t changed, but the means by which they can be done has expanded exponentially
  • Its important for ‘digital’ to become a mainstay of work, and not just something that’s done and forgotten about. A regularly updated website and frequent communications are vital to maintaining a strong web presence
  • If you do have apprehensions about working online, take advantage of a free course and surprise yourself with how much you already know.