1,000 charity workers upgrade digital skills with eBay

A new Digital Skills Index from eBay shows that Britain is a ‘Nation of Upskillers’ with more than 73% reporting that lockdown measures have meant they’ve had to sharpen their digital skills for work. As part of the effort, eBay are training 1,000 charity workers to hone their online skills.

The HR sector has seen the biggest improvement, followed by Finance, Healthcare and then Charity; with charity shops shuttered and fundraising events cancelled, the sector digitally upskilled rapidly to identify online revenue streams.

eBay carried out the research with 1,300 UK adults in work to mark National Upskilling Week (2-8 Nov). The research shows that 85% of those who acquired better digital skills as a result of remote working, through video conferencing and online training tools, have noticed a positive impact on themselves, including being able to work more flexibly (52%) and a boost in confidence when using digital skills in the workplace (30%).

“As we head closer to Christmas, traditionally this would’ve been a busy time of year for charity fundraising events and people collecting donations on the streets. With no sign of large scale events possible anytime soon and the rise of a cashless society, charities have had to rapidly future-proof, add a digital edge to their skillset, and jump onto online platforms like eBay to help with their fundraising efforts.”
– Jonathan Chevallier, CEO, Charity Digital

In support of the charity sector, eBay is training hundreds of charity workers to optimise ecommerce fundraising avenues, helping them future-proof revenue streams through online sales on the marketplace.

‘Charity Connect’, from eBay for Charity is a tailored six month training programme that provides financial and skills-based support for eBay’s charity community in response to the pandemic, with over 1,000 participants from the charity sector either supported through online webinars, or the more in depth 1:1 training.

“We’re serious about helping charities embrace online retail, raise funds and ultimately continue the incredible work they do. With our Charity Connect program, we are pleased to see a 21% uplift in our charity community listing since lockdown.

We hope training like Charity Connect can help third sector workers continue to support their causes through optimising ecommerce through their eBay stores and where they know they can still reach over 190 million people from their own home.”
– Murray Lambell, UK General Manager, eBay

“The income stream from our ecommerce efforts during the last six months has been vital in raising money for our charity, online retail has been a lifeline. Our shop network was closed for 3 months, our events team haven’t been able to operate since lockdown and other campaigns have been hit hard. eBay has a pivotal role in Cancer Research UK’s future strategy as well as other ecommerce platforms, with growth and development of this area key to our customers now and in the future.”
– Richard Pattison, Online Operations Manager, Cancer Research UK

Workers surveyed over the age of 55 have had to make the most significant changes to their digital capabilities, and are finding their tech skills useful more broadly, as they get to grips with everything from online banking, to video calls to connect with loved ones , and get savvier with their online shopping skills. This new digital prowess has also enabled a better work life balance for workers over the age of 55, with over half claiming to now have a more flexible working routine.

The Digital Skills Index allocates a number between 1-5 based on digital development; 1 correlating to no digital capabilities at all and 5 meaning an extremely high skill level. The Digital Skills Index below shows the percentage of workers who rated their digital skills as extremely high, pre and post COVID-19.

eBay’s Digital Skills Index