In search of digital transformation : survey evidence of UK employers' investment in digital technologies and skills
Stuart, Mark ; Schulz, Felix LU
and Valizade, Danat
(2024)
- Abstract
AI-enabled technologies are developing rapidly, but the first wave of the Digit Employers’ Digital Practices at Work Survey (2021-22) showed that their use by firms is not yet widespread. This Data Commentary presents findings from the second wave of the Survey, conducted during 2023, based on responses from 1,150 firms.
The findings show that adoption of AI-enabled technologies by UK firms remains patchy, with variation by firm size and sector. Reported digital skills gaps and limited investment in training may act as an impediment to investments in new digital technologies.
AI is currently a technology used mainly by large firms. Only one tenth (11%) of respondents reported they had invested in the previous 12 months.... (More)
AI-enabled technologies are developing rapidly, but the first wave of the Digit Employers’ Digital Practices at Work Survey (2021-22) showed that their use by firms is not yet widespread. This Data Commentary presents findings from the second wave of the Survey, conducted during 2023, based on responses from 1,150 firms.
The findings show that adoption of AI-enabled technologies by UK firms remains patchy, with variation by firm size and sector. Reported digital skills gaps and limited investment in training may act as an impediment to investments in new digital technologies.
AI is currently a technology used mainly by large firms. Only one tenth (11%) of respondents reported they had invested in the previous 12 months. However, large employers, with more than 1,000 employees, were four times more likely to have invested in AI technologies.
Investment varies significantly by sector. While four in ten organisations in the Information and Communication sector reported AI investments, other sectors had not invested at all in the previous 12 months.
Digital adopters reported better overall performance, labour productivity and financial performance in the last 12 months than those that had not invested.
Investment in AI powered digital technologies has not led to job loss but it has led to an increased demand for new skills, with just over half (51%) of employers reporting this to be the case. Despite this, levels of digital skills training are relatively low—only seven per cent of employers reported that all employees had received digital skills training in the past twelve months.
In just over two thirds (68%) of employers, HR managers have been involved in decisions about investments in digital technologies. This may suggest that organisations are thinking about the likely impact of such investment on the workforce.
Digit will continue to track these issues in further waves of the survey, to be conducted between 2025 and 2028. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/413a4415-79bd-4d1d-91a5-14cc2c4474f4
- author
- Stuart, Mark
; Schulz, Felix
LU
and Valizade, Danat
- publishing date
- 2024-11-28
- type
- Other contribution
- publication status
- published
- subject
- pages
- 16 pages
- publisher
- Digital Futures at Work (Digit) Research Centre
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 413a4415-79bd-4d1d-91a5-14cc2c4474f4
- alternative location
- https://digit-research.org/data_commentaries/in-search-of-digital-transformation/
- date added to LUP
- 2025-01-27 17:32:47
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:58:32
@misc{413a4415-79bd-4d1d-91a5-14cc2c4474f4,
abstract = {{<br/>AI-enabled technologies are developing rapidly, but the first wave of the Digit Employers’ Digital Practices at Work Survey (2021-22) showed that their use by firms is not yet widespread. This Data Commentary presents findings from the second wave of the Survey, conducted during 2023, based on responses from 1,150 firms.<br/>The findings show that adoption of AI-enabled technologies by UK firms remains patchy, with variation by firm size and sector. Reported digital skills gaps and limited investment in training may act as an impediment to investments in new digital technologies.<br/>AI is currently a technology used mainly by large firms. Only one tenth (11%) of respondents reported they had invested in the previous 12 months. However, large employers, with more than 1,000 employees, were four times more likely to have invested in AI technologies.<br/>Investment varies significantly by sector. While four in ten organisations in the Information and Communication sector reported AI investments, other sectors had not invested at all in the previous 12 months.<br/>Digital adopters reported better overall performance, labour productivity and financial performance in the last 12 months than those that had not invested.<br/>Investment in AI powered digital technologies has not led to job loss but it has led to an increased demand for new skills, with just over half (51%) of employers reporting this to be the case. Despite this, levels of digital skills training are relatively low—only seven per cent of employers reported that all employees had received digital skills training in the past twelve months.<br/>In just over two thirds (68%) of employers, HR managers have been involved in decisions about investments in digital technologies. This may suggest that organisations are thinking about the likely impact of such investment on the workforce.<br/>Digit will continue to track these issues in further waves of the survey, to be conducted between 2025 and 2028.}},
author = {{Stuart, Mark and Schulz, Felix and Valizade, Danat}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
publisher = {{Digital Futures at Work (Digit) Research Centre}},
title = {{In search of digital transformation : survey evidence of UK employers' investment in digital technologies and skills}},
url = {{https://digit-research.org/data_commentaries/in-search-of-digital-transformation/}},
year = {{2024}},
}