75 per cent of teenagers think digital skills neccessary

The report found that 65 per cent, almost two thirds, of 12-17 year olds surveyed said their school curriculum was not helping them develop digital skills.

However 75 per cent recognised that digital technologies would give them the skills required for opportunities in the future.

Upliftingly, 44 per cent of those surveyed said they thought they were likely to run their own business using digital technologies. The rest are conscious that knowledge of new technology will be very relevant for jobs in the future.

The results of the survey suggest that Generation X – that which precedes Z and follows Y – are aware of the demand for digital skills, and increasingly aware of the slow-moving UK educational facilities to provide teaching for them.

Nick Millman, managing director of Accenture Digital says: “At the heart of this report is a desire to give businesses visibility of what is really going on in the world around them. 

“Too few have fully embraced and adopted digital and it is crucial that they mirror the passion and energy felt so strongly by their next-generation workforce. It is only by carving out a digital strategy relevant to young people to become digital on the inside, that organisations can ensure they continue to succeed and shape the future.”

Furthermore, 51 per cent and 48 per cent said that technology helped them to be more productive and creative, respectively.

Parents also saw the value in these technologies: 74 per cent said that they would give their children better opportunities they didn’t have.

“[Furthermore] organisations need to get better at presenting themselves as digital enablers, reassuring potential employees that their lives will be enhanced because the business has implemented technology appropriately,” Millman concludes.

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