Why digital skills are the key to unlocking Net Zero (Guest blog from NetApp)

Guest blog by Piero Gallucci, Vice President and General Manager, UK & Ireland at NetApp. Part of techUK's Climate Action at COP28 Campaign Week 2023.

In an increasingly interconnected world, digital skills have become essential for personal and professional growth. In recent years, we’ve seen countless discussions on the urgency of bridging the digital skills gap, particularly as the pace of technological innovation continues to accelerate. We don’t have to look further than the rapid boom of generative AI: in just a year this technology has taken the world by storm, and now even non-technical sectors are seeing a growing demand for AI skills.

However, making digital skills accessible and inclusive is not just critical for prosperity and growth – it’s instrumental in driving the green transition. Greater access to digital skills will accelerate the development of smarter, greener technology. But to realise this ambition, everyone has a part to play, including education institutions, governments and public sector bodies, as well as technology companies.

Accelerating on the road to Net Zero

Simply put, technology will be the engine of the green transition. Properly leveraging the potential of data and analytics can allow organisations to identify opportunities to reduce emissions across their operations. This can take the form of more efficient resource management, allowing organisations to be smarter with their energy consumption in their offices and data centres, as well as helping to and reduce their waste. Another example is helping to make their supply chains more sustainable. Here data can reveal emission hotspots, which can inform decisions about transportation across the value chain. But all of this only works if organisations have access to data scientists and analytics experts that can uncover these insights in the first place.

Technology like AI will be critical in unlocking the potential of innovations like smart cities. From data analytics to monitor air quality, to smart grids that respond to energy needs in real time, robust data literacy is the bridge connecting vast swathes of data to actionable insight to reduce our environmental footprint.

Everyone has a part to play

Schools and universities should not be solely responsible for teaching these skills to prepare young people to enter the workforce. Instead, they should work together with technology companies and public sector bodies to tackle this challenge.

In addition, a concerted effort to boost AI and data skills is not enough if certain groups and communities are left behind. So, it’s not just about the accessibility of digital skills, but their inclusivity as well.

At NetApp, our Data Explorers programme is one such initiative that aims to address this, and with an inherent focus on educating students in underserved communities. Another example is our S3 Academy, a programme aimed at recent graduates and career switchers and looks to bolster digital skills not covered in the classroom, especially for those of underrepresented backgrounds.

While these will not address the skills gap on their own, they set an important foundation which makes access to in-demand digital skills accessible and inclusive to everyone - regardless of their background. And for us at NetApp, we’re excited to do our bit in building this inclusive, accessible, and sustainable future.

NetApp – Data Waste Index: https://www.netapp.com/pdf.html?item=/media/83312-data_waste_research_report_final_for_submission.pdf

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