This is a guest post by Richard Oluwadamilola.

Over the years, technology has been evolving. The digital skills or technology  required years ago are gradually becoming old and not really in use, companies,organisations and tech firms have all realised that digital skills are vital in this digital era and  are all learning and working towards digitalising their operations.  Companies and indeed all organisations are in need of digital intelligence to run their businesses smoothly,so as a result of this they are in search of employees that possess theses digital skills. There are hundreds and thousands of job applicants in the labour market today,so ask yourself hope can my application stand out from other applicants. Well, the trick to making your application stand out from other application is to constantly upgrade and develop your digital skills with the digital skills required by most firm and organisations in recent times. 

Digital skills are a range of abilities to use digital devices,communication applications and networks to access and manage informations. Below are some of the basic and top digital skills that makes you appear employables when possessed because they are  needed by most firms and organisations in recent times and in years to come. 
 

Some  basic digital skills requires by a prospective job applicant includes:

1. **Learning how to use digital devices: ** These include mobile phones, computers either desktops or laptops, iPads etc, and learn how to handle and store informations. You must have the basic understanding of both the hardwares and softwares of the digital devices. Must be able to identify and solve problems with digital applications.
2. Communication: Communication is a very vital skill that everyone must possess. It is the ability to pass or exchange information from person to persons. Communication can take place through various mediums, e.g., speaking, writing, graphical illustrations etc. The sole aim of communication is the MESSAGE, i.e the information you are trying to pass,if you are not passing any information you have not communicated, so when communicating choose your words well so your message can be passed in a concise manner.
3. Being safe and responsible: This just simply means be conscious of what you put online, being digital also comes with some disadvantages, so be well organised and conscious of what you put online,use the right set of words, phrases, images etc.
4. Social Media: Social Media is a digital tool that allow it users to quickly create and share contents with the public, e.g., Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Emails, Youtube etc. You must a wide and comprehensive understanding of the different social media platforms.  
5. Mobile: This includes the mobile phone majorly, you must be able to use your mobile phone to carry out some activities on the go. Mobile phones are what we always have on us most times so you can make use of it when the computer or laptop is not in sight. It can be used to receive and send emails, send important messages etc.

Top digital skills employers are looking out for in job applicants:

1. Programming, web and app development: Programming, web and app development is basically the process and practice of developing , building and maintaining web applications and programmes. According to wikipedia, a study conducted involving web engineering practices revealed that web applications developments has several characteristics that have to be addressed and these include short development life-cycle times,different business models, multi- disciplinary development teams, small development teams working on similar tasks, business analysis and evaluation with end users, explicit requirements and rigorous training against requirements and maintenance. 

   Examples of skills to learn under this includes: HTML, CSS, Javascript, Ajax, ASP, ASP.Net, Actionscript, Coldfusion, OGI, Java,Python,Visual LANSA, OSGI, Perl, PHP, Ruby etc. 

2. Digital Business Analysis: Digital Business Analysis is the discipline of recognising business needs and funding solutions to various business problems. Business analysts must possess research skills and analytical abilities, project management,solution development and operation management. within digitally enabled organisations. 

3. Data Visualization and Digital Design: This include the use of computer technology to create images, graphs, diagrams, maps or animations that communicate a message. Simply, using images to tell a story.

4. **Digital Product/Project Management: ** Is simply the planning, preparation,that goes into creating electronic publications. Examples of the electronic publications include: Websites, electronic books, digital images, etc. 

5. **Digital Marketing:  **Is the use of internet to reach customers. Is a broad field, including attractions customers via emails, social media, search platforms(search engines),content marketing etc. There are various means of digital marketing,below are some of them:

   a. Social media

   b. Search engine optimisation

   c. Search engine marketing

   d. Content marketing

   e. Pay as you click etc

6. Data science and Data Analytics: Data Science and Data analysis are commonly used together but they are slightly different. Data Science produces broad insights that concentrate on which questions should be asked while data analysis provides answers to those questions asked. Data Scientists use programming languages while data analyst use SQL and excel to make clear and informative explanation of datas.

7. Blockchain: Blockchain technology is simply a decentralised, distributed ledger that records the providence of a digital asset like Bitcoins. 

Digital skills are very important in the day to day activities of businesses because it allows the company or organisation to build customers relationship. Day to day businesses may sometimes require sending and receiving email, taking and receiving orders online, receiving or sending payments, so without full understanding of how digital devices work, business progress might be slowed down. To appear employable both on your CV and during interviews, you must strive to acquire one or more of the above listed skills or any of the skills needed by the particular firm you are applying for. 

In conclusion, if you do not have any of the above mentioned digital skills, start today by registering and taking free online classes, build and improve on your digital skills and appear employable to companies,firms and organisations.

*Over 60% of young individuals in Nigeria between age 15 – 23 are unsure of their future and how to advance into the World of Work.

To this end, Gradrange seeks to bridge the gap between the classroom and the rapidly changing labour market by educating young individuals about the culture, opportunities, challenges, and future for employment in various fields.*