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What are Digital Skills?
Digital skills are the expertise and knowledge needed to use digital tools for an optimized result. It is an additional hard skills set on top of the 3Rs, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.

Example of a Basic Digital Skill
For example, using the calculator is a skill. Using Excel to calculate automatically rows of numbers is a digital skill. From our experience, we were amazed to know that there are students and graduates in Malaysia who do not know how to use the sum function in Excel and other spreadsheets. Which is why Microsoft Excel Basic Training is still a very popular training course.

Other basic digital skills are:
- Using Evernote or Microsoft OneNote to digitally note down meeting points and discussions with photos, voice recordings, and written notes in one note page.
- Using the smart phone as a productivity tool, for example, to automate business cards conversions to contacts.
- Using online QR code generators to create one touch digital O2O actions for print and digital media
- and many many more
Example of Intermediate Digital Skills
For example using a word processor to write a document is a basic digital skill. Using Publisher to create a brochure, proposal, quotation and pdf documents is an intermediate digital skill.

A word processor emphasizes document and story flow. A publishing software creates individual pages templated for specialized documents that are formatted for digital and paper printing, like manuals, books, brochures, menus and flyers.
Other intermediate digital skills are:
- Creating a WordPress web page to test business ideas or minimally viable products (MVP)
- Optimizing videos and images for online distribution for speed and file sizes
- Search engine marketing for marketers to prospect for and target active buyers
- Using Excel to parse and analyse data with data functions
- and many many more
Example of Advanced Digital Skills
For example using PowerPoint to create presentations is a basic skill. Using PowerPoint or Cloud Automation tools to create compelling slideshows and videos is an advanced digital skill.
Equally advanced digital skills are:
- Using Adobe Creative Suite to digitally create content for any medium
- Using Google Analytics to identify business opportunities and growth
- Using UIPath or Zapier to create automated workflows for improved productivity and turn around times (TAT)
- and many many more
Why do We Need these Digital Skills?

Managers and workers who have digital skills and mindsets, can deliver results with the most efficient use of time and money. Especially in this era of rapid waves of change.
Digital skills enables speed and accuracy for tasks. Errors and sandbagging are controlled and minimized by the logic of digital tools and systems.
This is essential for business managers to scope, plan, do, monitor and control activities to deliver results for given targets and objectives.
Which Digital Skills to train up for?
Digital skills are required for specific tasks. The skills trained for will be in the area of digitalization, process automation and digital tools usage.
- If the task is marketing , then the skills will be digital marketing skills.
- If the task is project management, then the skills will be in digital project management skills.
- It the task is process automation, then the skills will be robotic process automation or automation skills
- and many, many more…
Digitalization Skills
To digitalize a team, dept or workplace, the process flows for a result need to be mapped out. The most effective and common digitalization practise is the Ishikawa diagram with design thinking. This enables the proper selection of tools and resources with a clear payback period and ROIs.
- Digitalization Skills Training for Optimizing Business Results
- Digitalization Advisory and Consultation
- Digitalization Process Framework
Process Automation Skills
Automation creates a closed process from input to result. A good example would be a CRM system. Where an incoming enquiry automatically parsed and added to the contacts list and assigned to a sales or customer service agent to engage with. And the history of scope request and engagement automatically logged and tracked for reference and learning.
- UIPath Robotic Process Automation Training
- Zapier Automation Training
- Blue Prism Automation Training
Skills Training Needs Analysis (TNA)
In order to understand the upskilling training needed, it would be good to conduct a training needs analysis. We have a simple digital marketing TNA which can be used as guide.
We can also create customized and more detailed TNA for fit to your specific business and skills needs.
Using Digital Tools
Statistical methods and logic rules are used by digital tools to infer intention of users to monitor and control tasks. These digital tools enable precision in delivery of requirements for a given task. Users need to know and understanding how these tools work and the configurations required
- Digital Marketing Skills and Tools Training
- Google Ads Dashboard Training
- Search Engine Marketing with Google Training
- WordPress Training
- HTML and CSS Training
- Microsoft Tools Training
- Adobe Creative Tools Training
- Evernote and OneNote Training
Digital Skills Upskilling Training In Malaysia
Upskilling to the required digital skills requires a workshop styled training that is based on hands on group activities and experienced expert facilitation. This enables a team to support each other by discovering and growing alongside each other in the target skills set.
Corporate Skills Training
Therefore, for businesses, these trainings need to be done in-house, for teams to maintain confidentiality of internal processes and business goals. And to be able to implement quickly the skills and lessons post training.
- Calibrating team members on their capabilities
- Talking in the common language of their company’s work process and systems
- Crafting a highly relevant and actionable plan to digitalize their work on training completion.
We encourage HR or Business Units leaders to contact us to calibrate on possibilities of how to skill up their teams with digital skills to optimize their business results.
Kognifi is a HRDF certified Training Provider (TP) and our trainer for digitalization is HRDF TTT certified. HRDF contributing companies in Malaysia can claim back from HRDF for these skills trainings conducted by Kognifi.
Contact us now for a time slot to discuss your digital upskilling needs.
Universities and Colleges Students Skills Training
Universities and colleges are the cutting edge places for research. And also student learning based on their existing syllabus and body of knowledge. Skills for the job market however change fast, especially on skills for digital tools and digitalization.
As Kognifi is Digital Marketing Agency in KL serving Malaysia, with cutting edge knowledge and skills in digital and SEO marketing services, we offer these digital upskilling training programs for universities and colleges student bodies.
We note from our analytics, many visitors from universities globally seeking knowledge and references on digital transformation, tools and how to from our website.
Contact us for a customized training program or course for the digitalized job market.
Reach us here
Contact us for more details about the pricing and also any general enquiries about our training or services below
HRDF Claimable Training 2025 – Request For Information (RFI)
Send us your request for training. We can customise the training and get the trainers per your training objectives.
- Training for Account Managers - 30th April 2024
- Tailored Sales Training for Specific Industries - 8th April 2024
- Personal Development and Sales Success - 3rd April 2024