EDINBURGH is the most digital-savvy city in Scotland, a business skills survey has found.
Released today, the Barclays Digital Development Index found the capital outperforms all other locations for tech abilities.
The annual study analysed 88,000 UK job adverts and 6,000 adults.
It ranked Scotland in fourth place overall for digital skills, with the country lagging behind London, Northern Ireland and north-west England.
However, three in five of workers were found to have “above basic” digital capabilities and the index concluded that demand from employers is being met. Scottish workers were found to lead the UK in problem solving, with the country coming out above the UK average for five out of six digital skills categories.
However, it fell narrowly behind the average on content creation and coding abilities.
The report found Scottish employers pay a premium of £9,029 per year for digital skillsets that include programming and software design, which means workers could earn a significant salary boost for up-skilling.
Candidates with graphic design, data and 3D modelling abilities can also claim an additional £7,000. This premium is said to be “significantly higher” than the average UK level of £3,000, which is said to demonstrate the country’s demand for these skills.
Edinburgh, which has developed a reputation as a major tech hub, outstripped its urban rivals, scoring 5.9 out of ten for digital skills and 6.25 out of ten for digital safety.
This compares with ratings of 5.51 and 6.05 respectively for Glasgow.
The findings contrast with the rest of the UK, where demand for skilled staff is not keeping pace with demand.
The index found 63 per cent of UK posts require skills like word-processing, database spreadsheet or social media management skills, but just 57 per cent of the workforce has these capabilities. According to the report, “this mismatch will worsen as digital skills become even more vital to British businesses”.
And although they may have up to 30 years left to go in their working lives, it seems that the people aged 35 to 54 in Generation X are being left behind.
Those aged 35-44 are 11 per cent less likely than their millennial colleagues to say they are very confident about their range of digital skills, and Generation X workers are also more worried about their ability to keep their skills properly up to date.
Jamie Grant, head of corporate banking for Barclays in Scotland, said: “In recent years we’ve seen a movement across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion and with improved digital skills returning a range of social, cultural and economic benefits it is clear why it is of such importance.
“With this come the issues of cybersecurity and cybercrime.
“Digital safety has never been more important but with Scotland sitting at the half way point of the UK Digital Safety Index, it’s evident that more can be done to upweight our ability to deal with these issues as well as improving skills.
“In direct response to this, we launched a multi-million pound #digisafe campaign earlier this year.”
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