A global survey and recommendations for an implementation plan for Scotland

The Institute of Ecommerce has just published a major International report that has investigated issues around reskilling and upskilling in ecommerce.

The report provides detailed evidence to support its view that the dominant factor that is holding back ecommerce in Scotland is a pervasive lack of skills. This is true at all levels from technicians, ecommerce managers, business owners, marketing and fulfilment executives, consultants, civil servants and academics.

On the basis of this major international survey from the UK, Germany, the US and China, the report produces a list of seven recommendations that, as a group, are seen as providing the necessary platform for developing ecommerce in Scotland. Specifically:

1. Gathering statistics to identify which companies in Scotland currently sell online, in what volumes and to which territories. Over time, these figures will provide the skills-building project with key performance indicators (KPIs).
2. Gathering case studies from successful practitioners and communicating these across a wide range of channels from social media through to print media, radio, TV and events.
3. Providing an online destination hub for Scotland’s ecommerce community covering all aspects of ecommerce including news, training, advice and training resources. A key focus will be content
   syndication to other websites and resources.
4. Providing various reskilling and upskilling courses at a variety of levels and seek a mechanism for providing qualifications. Over time, it is expected that these courses will increasingly be delivered online as computer-based training.
5. Creating a vocational model for ecommerce apprenticeships.
6. Developing a Scotland-wide network of local ecommerce clubs and provide them with structured resources to assist/facilitate self-help knowledge-transfer.
7. Staging a regular ecommerce annual event that will include a series of specialist workshops.

The team responsible for the report includes ScotlandIS, Scotland Food and Drink, INDEZ, Codeclan and the University of Edinburgh Business School. The group was supported by specialist consultants Emil Stickland, Gillian Crawford and Colin Donald.