Tech has now become such an important part of everyday life. So, It’s important for teens to learn basic technology skills and dial up their digital literacy.
While some schools, universities and education bodies have expanded their curriculum to meet the growing demand for digital skills, there are still some learning gaps, and new digital-first jobs are popping up all the time.
This means that teens and students might need to do a little learning of their own to keep up. Here, we share 7 key digital skills to help your teen land future jobs and opportunities.
Key digital skills:
1. Social media marketing
There are over 4.6 billion active social media users worldwide, with people using an average of 7.5 social networks each month. With global social users up 10% in the last year, this figure is set to keep increasing!
From TikTok marketing to Threads conversations, the ability to understand and use social media is a core skill for every professional. It can also be helpful for young people to understand how brands, influencers and consumers use and engage with social platforms.
Building and growing their own communities on digital platforms like The Dots and LinkedIn can also be very useful for networking and job-hunting.
Where to learn:
From film and photography to media studies and media production, our MyTutor tutors cover a range of subjects that can help your teen power up their media know-how.
Skillshare and FutureLearn offer also short, fun and engaging online courses, covering everything from personal branding to creating Instagram Reels and TikTok videos.
“Teens need to understand their digital footprint”
2. Digital citizenship
Digital citizenship is the ability to use digital tech safely and responsibly. It’s also about being an active and respectful member of online society. Harnessing this skill also helps teens have more positive online interactions.
Teens need to understand their digital footprint. This includes how to effectively communicate, the tools they can use, how to find information, strategies for when they feel unsafe online, and what’s considered appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.
Where to learn:
Reading social platform community guidelines and policies is a good place to start. Or, read our parent’s guide on online safety. SaferInternet.org has some great resources for teens covering topics like cyberbullying, cyberflashing and misinformation.
3. Search engine marketing (SEM)
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) are now important skills for marketers. 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine like Google or Bing.
Young people with SEM experience can help to increase a company’s visibility and help to attract more traffic to their website. It can also lead to a better understanding of paid advertising and ad campaigns, which is a fast-growing area of digital marketing.
Where to learn:
If your teen is interested in this area of marketing or is starting their own blog or site, Skillshare and SEMRush Acadamy offer some great free courses for beginners.
4. Video creation
Video is now one of the most popular, easy-to-digest content formats, and is highly valued by pretty much every company. YouTube has become a powerful and influential platform and networks like TikTok and Instagram use video to keep users hooked.
If your teen is interested in creating content themselves and building a personal brand – whether as an influencer or part of their professional portfolio – video creation is integral.
Where to learn:
Our media studies MyTutor tutors can help them explore this area and help them get prepped for future study and exams.
Udemy offers a range of good-value video editing and creation courses, while your teen can also experiment with apps like iMovie and Animoto. The University of the Arts London also offers digital design and photography short courses for teenagers (perfect for the summer holidays).
“Learning to code can help you teen power up their skills in other areas”
5. Coding
Coding is simply a way of communicating with a computer. It uses a language that a computer understands to give it instructions to perform specific functions. It can be used for lots of different things in the world of work – from creating websites to developing video games and apps. It’s also helpful for understanding and using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Interestingly, learning to code can help your teen power up their skills in other areas too, like computer skills and Maths. According to US education initiative Code.org young people who study computer science perform better in other subjects and excel at problem-solving.
Where to learn:
From ICT to computing, our MyTutor tutors cover a range of subjects that can help your teen develop confidence across tech and IT. Check out our free Coding Squad lessons on YouTube, or CodeFirstGirls – who also offer free courses for beginners.
6. Money management
Not technically a digital skill, but financial literacy is more important than ever. The more your teen can learn about money management, the more in control of their finances they’ll become. This mainly comes from you as a parent – from introducing an allowance to helping them budget for the things they want.
It can also be helpful to teach your teen about things like credit cards, investing and mortgages. These are things that often get missed until they’re out in the big wide world.
Where to learn:
MyTutor offers 1-1 tutoring in accounting and economics if your teen needs support in these subject areas. The Open University and FutureLearn also offer free money management courses for young people.
“Learning about time management and how to set goals will help if they ever want to work for themselves”
7. Goal-setting
Helping your teen nurture their entrepreneurial spirit and teaching them to become a self-starter is becoming increasingly important. There are now around 4 million self-employed workers in the UK and this number has grown steadily over the last decade.
Learning about time management, how to set goals and develop clear plans of action could help them massively if they ever want to start their own business or work for themselves.
Where to learn:
Read our article on the psychology of goal-setting to help them start setting targets. MyTutor tutors can also work with your teen to set and achieve grade targets and future academic goals.
Whether your teen needs any extra study support or you want to help them upskill in specific areas, our experienced tutors are here to help. Find the right tutor for them here.