According to a recent Kaspersky survey[1] (www.Kaspersky.co.za), over half of employees surveyed in the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region feel the lack of digital skills when working on computers and other digital equipment. If they had higher digital skills, employees think they would earn 41% more, on average. Specifically, respondents in Egypt said they would earn 53% more money with higher digital skills, in the UAE – 44% more. Respondents in Saudi Arabia indicated their salary would increase by 36% if they had better digital skills, in Turkiye – by 35%, and in South Africa – by 36%.

Employees understand the importance of acquiring new digital skills and honing their existing ones. In the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa region in general, 79% of employees tried to uptake paid or free digital literacy trainings on their own. In Egypt this number stands at 75%, in Saudi Arabia – at 70%, in the UAE – at 91%, in Turkiye – at 81%, and in South Africa at 76%.

The lack of digital skills may not only impede one’s career and deprive them of income, but also produces serious risks for the cybersecurity of the organisation where this person is employed. The ‘human firewall’ is one of the key defenses from cyber incidents. Employees can open a phishing link or download ransomware on a corporate device and it’ll produce financial and reputation losses for the company. This is why workers on any levels — from top managers to interns — should receive proper IT and cybersecurity training.

Brandon Muller, Technical Expert for the MEA region at Kaspersky, commented: “While digital skills today are the linchpin for career advancement, employers should not forget about the synergy between individual upskilling and organisational cybersecurity. When companies invest into IT and cybersecurity trainings for their staff, they not only boost their reputation as employers who care about the prosperity of their employees, but also contribute to increasing the cyber protection of organisational infrastructure. Special solutions, such as Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform, help to effectively achieve both these goals.”

To help your employees to improve their digital skills, Kaspersky experts recommend:

• Conduct regular checkups to understand what digital skills are most needed for business.
• Organise cyber literacy courses and trainings for employees so they could improve their skills – use Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform (https://apo-opa.co/3Hp9vE0), an online learning tool that would help to train employees about relevant topics in cybersecurity.

Make sure employees know about trending cyberthreats like phishing, scam, ransomware attacks and how to recognise and avoid them. 

Reference:

[1] 2,000 employees across SMBs & enterprises were surveyed in the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa region in 2023.