Capacity building is the improvement of an individual’s or organization’s facility to produce, perform or deploy. According to the United Nation, Capacity building is the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes, and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt and thrive in a fast-changing world. Skill development and training are needed around the world, many people are deprived of capacities and skills crucial to the digital era. Digital capacity building must be more needs-driven, tailored to individual and national circumstances, and better coordinated globally.
According to the 2017 Global Innovation Index, several African Countries have been classified as “Innovation Achievers” on the Continent, including Kenya, Uganda, and Senegal. Yet, many African nations cannot fully benefit from global technological advancement. However, in today’s world, technology plays an increasingly important role in the economy and society as a whole. Digital skills can help you increase your employability prospects, advance your career and make the most of modern technology. UNESCO defines digital skills as the ability to use digital devices, community applications, and networks to access and manage information.
Importance of Capacity Building in Digital Skills
Digital skills may give you an advantage in specific technical careers such as marketing, design, development, and data science. Capacity building in digital skills is strengthening digital capacities and skills. This helps individuals meet digital world skill development and training demands. So, capacity building in digital skills is to adopt and develop new practices with digital technology. This is necessary to analyze and develop a critical perspective on content and underlying systems, services, and network.
Acquiring digital skills is very important as the world is a fast-evolving digital world. Current technologies are being replaced by more advanced ones increasingly rapidly. Having a strong digital skillset in a constantly changing digital environment is essential for future employment.
I strongly believe that building or owning a digital skill set will contribute or help to:
- To adopt the right digital devices, applications, software, and systems.
- Find, review, organize and share information effectively
- Handle data appropriately and establish good data security practices.
- Be able to communicate and collaborate in a digital setting.
- Use different online resources and tools to help study remotely and engage effectively with your learning
- Understand how to protect yourself and other colleagues to stay safe in a digital environment.
Conclusion
Digital capabilities are the skills, knowledge, and understanding that allow us to live, learn and work in a digital society. They help us use various technologies appropriately and effectively in different spaces, places, and situations. Not only do digital capabilities help to engage and communicate with other people, but they also facilitate success at work.
Employers are increasingly looking at what digital capabilities applicants and employees have. Skills in creating documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and communicating via email and social media are important to most organizations. They want people to use technology to access information, be creative and innovative, and solve problems. These skills also help to communicate, participate, learn and support others in digital spaces. Building and developing digital capabilities will definitely help to become better prepared and relevant for an increasingly digital world.
Emmanuel Otori has over 9 years of experience working with 100 start-ups and SMEs across Nigeria. He has worked on the Growth and Employment (GEM) Project of the World Bank, GiZ, and Consulted for businesses at the Abuja Enterprise Agency, Novustack, Splitspot, and NITDA.
He is the Chief Executive Officer at Abuja Data School.
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