Bridge the Digital Skills Gap: Expert Training for Creatives Falling Behind

Since 2020, the emphasis on digital design and demand for digital designers has skyrocketed. As businesses could no longer solely rely on a physical presence, the need to have a strong digital presence was paramount. Whilst it was an exciting space for many to move into, those who had already been in the design world for many years, started to feel left behind.

With the emergence of new design tools and softwares, this left Sketch designers and physical product designers in the dark. How could they manage to stay in demand and (more importantly!) in a job?

At Experience Haus, we have designed our courses to not only benefit designers breaking into the industry, but also for experienced designers looking to add to their skill sets and to keep their skills as up-to-date as possible. In this article we explore why some creatives might feel like they’re on the back foot, and how a course can help.

Outdated Teachings at University

We have had many students join one of our design courses shortly after finishing university and it’s clear that it’s not just a large student debt they’ve graduated with, but a large skill knowledge gap as well. The learnings they’re being given are outdated and not what employers are looking for. Even after the introduction of Figma and the monopoly it’s had on the world of design, some students have mentioned their lecturers were still teaching them to use Sketch, a software hardly any companies still use!

In our courses, we continuously made changes based on the industry needs to ensure what we’re teaching our students is as relevant as possible and can ensure they have a good foundation that could help them land that all-important first role. Students will graduate from our part-time and full-time courses confident they now have the skill set employers are looking for.

Moving From Physical to Digital

One of the biggest transformations we’ve seen in the last few years is the move from only physical design, to the emphasis on digital design. With terms like ‘user experience design’ and ‘user interface design’ coming to the forefront, physical Product Designers have felt left behind with this new generation of digital designers leading the way in app and web designs.

It is also now uncommon for any design job to not include the need for UX or UI design. Even graphic designers are struggling to find new roles where UX/UI design is listed as a key requirement, even though it’s a graphic design role. Looking at the backgrounds of students who have joined an Experience Haus course, around 75% of them have come from a graphic design background and are doing a course to add UX/UI to their skill set. In this way it will open more career opportunities for them in the future, and avoids pigeonholing themselves into one area.

Learning on the Job

In some roles, people will find they can start a role with no prior training and essentially learn on the job. Design is not something you can do this with, and it will become very clear very quickly that you don’t have the right skills. This can impede your professional growth and will mean your career progression will be very slow. This is where joining one of our courses comes in.

Whether your company is paying for your training or you’re doing it yourself, you will find that in just 8-10 weeks, you will not only have gained the skills needed for your job, but the confidence to know you are doing it well. Adding to your skill set opens the doors to more career options, quicker career progression and the potential for higher salaries. 

With the promise of flexible working opportunities, quick career progression  and an exciting industry to be in, more and more people are now transitioning into the design world. As more people join this industry, it is essential to ensure you stand out from the crowd. By doing a design course that expands your knowledge and keeps your skills up-to-date, you will remain very competitive and keep one step ahead of the competition.