This was originally posted in Forbes on February 27, 2024.
It's a tough job market. The news cycle is filled with reports of mass layoffs, especially in tech. When you also take into account that it takes the average person 3-6 months to find a job, the world of job searching can be demotivating at times. But what if the difference that makes the difference in your job search is acquiring or enhancing just one skill?
According to a recently released report commissioned by Amazon Web Services(AWS), 61% of businesses are being held back because they cannot hire staff with the right digital skills. Only 22% of businesses say that their company's digital skills have improved in the past five years, and almost a third of businesses who reported a digital skills shortage said that it had slowed business growth. So, polishing off those digital skills can provide an advantage for job seekers looking to put themselves ahead of the rest of the field.
"We have an unprecedented opportunity ahead of us here," says Tanuja Randery, managing director of AWS EMEA.
"Skills are the single biggest blocker to business transformation. Our report shows that two out of three businesses find it hard to get digital skills, which slows down their ability to improve the business's performance and embrace new technologies."