The new report from BT and Accenture has revealed that improving tech ‘know-how’ could bring economic benefits for individuals and UK businesses over the long-term. Based on this, Phil Coulter, EMEA Head of Technology at Korn Ferry Futurestep, has provided his thoughts on what this means for businesses.

The age of digital disruption is seeing business models, industries and working practices transform, with jobs that didn’t exist a few years ago being created. What this means is there are increasing demands for new skill sets in virtually every job and profession. As a result, hiring and retaining workers who are agile and who can adapt to the fast pace of change is and will be critical for staying ahead of the competition curve.

As the UK continues its transformation into an increasingly digitally-led business environment, it comes as no surprise that a new report from BT and Accenture has found that boosting tech skills will improve job prospects, thus in turn boosting the UK’s economy. So what can organisations do to safeguard their businesses now and in the future? From the collaboration between industry and education to ensuring a leadership pipeline is put in place, there are a number of ways that businesses – both small and large – can work together to upskill both the current and future workforce.

One of the biggest changes that businesses will face off the back of this transformation will be the need for employees to be more agile. As not everyone has this ability to learn new skills on the job, recognising those that do at hiring stage will be critical. What’s great however, is that in recent years, pinpointing this has been made all the more easy through assessment tools which leverage large volumes of data in order to identify specific aspects of an individual or organisation.

With all the changes taking place around us, the time is now for talent acquisition professionals and business leaders to adopt a more strategic approach to the future and current workforce. With a strategic approach, organisations can ensure they’ll have the right employees to drive their future success. This means planning hires and spotting skill requirements early, with a close powerful tie to the business to help inform strategic needs. With all this in mind, one thing is clear, it is those that neglect a forward-thinking approach that will be the ones left struggling behind their competitors.