Two thirds (66 per cent) of job roles in financial services industry require digital skills from prospective candidates.

Analysis from Gov.uk of eight million job adverts found that the industry where digital skills were most in demand was information and communications (79 per cent).

Digital skills company The Knowledge Academy crunched the numbers and found that a similarly high percentage - 69 per cent - of roles in manufacturing said specific digital competencies were desirable in applicants, while at the other end of the scale, digital capabilities were required of just 16 per cent of candidates in human health and social work, and only 21 per cent of roles in education.

The Knowledge Academy surveyed 562 UK employees who were planning to change their job this year, exploring the main barriers preventing them from developing their existing digital skills as well as learning new digital skills. Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) cited a lack of time as preventing them from learning or developing their digital skills.

Other stumbling blocks included ‘not knowing where to start’ (67 per cent), ‘feeling too lazy/tired’ (64 per cent) and ‘fear of failing’ (59 per cent). Meanwhile, half said they thought learning resources or courses would be too expensive (51 per cent), while 45 per cent said they would be too hard to find, and nearly a quarter (23 per cent) said they felt too old to learn new digital skills.

Joseph Scott, a spokesperson from the The Knowledge Academy, said: “Given that most industries have now been revolutionised by technology, companies need employees who can comfortably use different digital tools, programmes and software to drive business performance as well as achieve set objectives.

“Those entering the job market need to be aware of this, as this research clearly shows that certain industries are more demanding of particular digital skills than others.”

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