Nine out of ten Dutch employers in ecommerce are missing digital skills among the many individuals who work for them. Especially within the areas of cybersecurity and modern technologies, the shortcomings are significant. Employers expect that in the approaching years, it’ll remain difficult to maintain up with the event pace of AI.
That is in response to labor market research conducted by research and consultancy firm Panteia on behalf of Thuiswinkel.org, the trade association for online sellers within the Netherlands. Ecommerce sales hit 17.5 million euros within the country in the primary half of this 12 months.
Many freelancers
The Dutch ecommerce market is characterised by a lot of self-employed individuals. In response to probably the most recent figures from the national statistics bureau CBS, there have been 138,400 employed people working for ‘pure players,’ Dutch corporations that primarily sell via the web, in 2022. Of those, 48,000 were employed by an organization. The remaining individuals, nearly two-thirds, worked as freelancers.
Job emptiness trends
After a robust growth within the variety of vacancies, the expansion rate of vacancies at Dutch ecommerce corporations has slowed. Nevertheless, the variety of vacant positions continues to rise, reports Panteia. The demand for online marketers, customer support employees, and marketing staff is the best. “A slight growth in vacancies is predicted for the approaching six months, particularly for software developers”, in response to the research firm.
Especially the demand for software developers is growing.
Currently, 23% of Dutch ecommerce employers have hard-to-fill vacancies. The fundamental causes are an absence of applicants, insufficient work experience, and high salary demands. Particularly vacancies at senior and specialist levels are difficult to fill.
Lack of digital skills
The perceived lack of digital skills amongst roughly 90 percent of employers stands out. In response to Panteia, training and education for current staff in areas reminiscent of cybersecurity, modern technologies like AI, and digital business skills must be a priority. To shut the abilities gap, corporations may acquire the vital knowledge externally.
AI reskilling and upskilling
“The influence of AI on the labor market is big”, says Marlene ten Ham, general director of Thuiswinkel.org, in response to the study. “This research shows that many employers are lacking AI skills.” In response to Ten Ham, it’s crucial that the business sector works closely with education to enhance alignment with workplace needs. “We also urge the federal government to take a position within the reskilling and upskilling of employees in the sphere of AI.”
