More than half of UK employees (53 per cent) do not have a minimum level of digital skills, like using digital collaboration tools or managing digital records and files, despite the growing need for a digitally savvy workforce and a 15 per cent surge in the number of employees who need to be online to do their job.

Workers who have such digital skills are paid £12,500 more on average per year than those without, according to the Lloyds Bank Consumer Digital Index.

The study of more than one million UK adults found that many people don’t have basic digital understanding of online tasks including – using search engines finding information online (21 per cent), managing money online (27 per cent) and keeping safe online (34 per cent).

In its fourth year, the index uses transactional and behavioural data to measure the digital capability of the UK. The data showed that despite digital skills now being a workplace essential, almost two thirds (63 per cent) of workers have not received any digital skills training from their employer, including more than half (54 per cent) of those in managerial roles.

Workers in London (56 per cent) have the most advanced digital skills, while those in the West Midlands have the most to gain, with less than a third (29 per cent) of workers having essential digital literacy. Those working in manufacturing have the lowest level of digital skills (36 per cent) compared to 80 per cent in the finance and insurance sectors.

The digital divide goes beyond the workplace, with 11.9 million people (22 per cent) without essential skills for day-to-day online activities. One in 10 say they are unable to turn on a smartphone or laptop and 13 per cent are unable to open apps.

More than four million adults are ‘offline’, with 4.1 million (eight per cent) not having used the internet over the last three months. Half of those who are offline (48 per cent) are under 60 years old, and 47 per cent are from households with low income. The report showed concerns over online safety as one of the biggest barriers to people being online, with more than half (58 per cent) saying it prevents them from using the internet.

People without digital skills are also 35 per cent less likely to be saving money, and pay on average up to six per cent more for utilities. Without intervention, it is forecast that by 2030, 4.5 million UK adults will be ‘digitally disengaged’.

Margot James, minister for digital and the creative industries, noted that digital skills are now a near universal demand in job adverts. “This is not a trend that is going to slow down – we want to create a workforce that is empowered by technology and that means equipping them with the confidence to use it.”

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