**2. The digital skills level required and the supply system**

Digitalization and its related enabling technologies (Cloud [4], mobile computing, cybersecurity [5], big data [6], social, Internet of Things (IoT) offer great opportunities to companies, but they also demand cultural changes and a deep renovation of the areas of expertise. In this scenario, both private companies and public entities are involved in pinpointing and introducing new digital competences within the organization and to launch training activities for the reskilling of the existing staff members. This demand for new skills involves an adaptation both in the offer system, in terms of expressed skills, and in the training system. As observed by the Osservatorio delle Competenze Digitali 2017 (Digital Skills Monitoring Unit) [7], the needs that generate a demand for new skills within private companies are mostly new and innovative production methods (for 51.1% of companies), offer innovation (46.7%) and employment of new tools and digital channels in customer relations (40%) [8]. Concerning the innovations in production, the paradigm Industry 4.0 entails the introduction, in the plants, of detectors, smart controllers, 3D printers, connected machinery, business intelligence and analytics software, and other digital technologies aiming to make production more efficient, in integrated mode, remote, and in real-time logic. New competences will be needed for the architecture design and for the creation of applications for the development of new products and services within the factory. The new professions will be needed in order to promote and launch in the best way the transformation of the manufacturing industry: the Industry 4.0 concept does not just deal with adopting new technologies, but it involves new *governance* and company organization models, as well as new professional figures. In public administration entities, the demand for new competences is guided by 360° innovation and digitalization of the administrations, which involves both the services to citizens and the services to enterprises (for 85.7% of the entities) and the internal workflows and processes (64.3%).

The main subject is that of digital competences, which are today's strategic asset meant to

The Digital Culture within Enterprises and Public Administration: Legal Aspects and Repercussions…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.77606

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From the analysis of the job offers via web, there is one data that stands out: the gap between what companies look for and the professional knowledge of those seeking an occupation.

This is so important that if it keeps running this way, the educational system is bound to only prepare students for unemployment. The job offers related to new and emerging digital

However, regarding job offers that refer to positions that are not strictly technological, as already mentioned, the component related to digital skills is growing, especially in the human

The transformations in place are outlining more and more the need to exit the traditional evaluation framework and select "digital" professional figures in order to capture the liquid world of cross-disciplinary skills, among which shines the ability to capture and manage the continuous change: it does not make sense anymore to follow the trend of a "genetic" research of new professions. What is needed is to capture inclinations, versatility, and ability to cooperate, conjugated with unique abilities to "live" the new technology rather than just use them. In the Italian manufacturing fabric, one of the main criticalities is cultural and linked to small businesses: many companies cannot decode the new needed skills, many others would not have the financial resources to attract them and employ them anyway. However, most importantly, an entrepreneurial awareness of the strategic edge of the digital factor is still missing.

By now, digitalization is the key to competitiveness: it represents an essential leverage in order to increase the ability of enterprises to play a growing role in the international markets and the ways to realize this are many. The use of the new technologies in the management of a company, as a matter of fact, does not just apply to the communication and marketing areas but also to production, sales, business model, learning modalities, customer interaction,

With digitalization, the production method changes, as well as the way the enterprise trades and communicates. Furthermore, digital technology, aside from simplifying our daily life, has generated new possibilities for development for all those enterprises that are able to keep pace with change and that know how to take advantage of the new opportunities that digital technology offers, resulting in the fact that nowadays more entities decide to evolve so as not

Digital transformation in general is financially sustainable for the SMEs and entails several advantages such as: saving on turnover, simplification of the access to information, improvement in business processes, and enhancement of competitive advantage. Furthermore, there is a strict connection between digitalization and internationalization: as a matter of fact, from

enable all the potentialities of digital transformation.

resources (HR), accounting, and marketing sector.

professions have grown by 280% from February 2013 to April 2017.

**3. Advantages and disadvantages of digitalization**

to be excluded and so as to have the possibility to emerge in the market.

market access, and activities.

All these factors have an impact also in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, which will in turn have to adjust the competences so as to better support the offer innovation (58.1%), the digital strategies to relate to clients (48.6%), and the multichannel system (41%). In this context, both technological and soft skills are essential in order to align business strategies and technological evolution to support innovation and improve internal procedures. The technological trends, which impact several levels of the demand for new digital competences, add to the needs pinpointed by companies, public entities, and ICT suppliers. The main technological trend is cloud, indicated by 71.4% of ICT suppliers and by 55.4% of the user companies, whereas big data, Internet of Things, mobile and app economy, and cybersecurity follow [8]. The most critical profiles that are more difficult to find on the market are: for the cloud area: cloud computing strategist, cloud security architect, and cloud computing engineering; for the big data area: big data specialist, big data scientist, big data architect, and big data software engineering. The Internet of Things will keep being one of the main drivers of the digital transformation of companies and it will require professionals with skills in architecture design and development and innovative applications, in managing and monitoring of services (meeting the service level agreement (SLA)/key performance indicator (KPI), internal client support, and system governance requirements), and in issue management and resolution. This is the context in which are emerging the IoT consultant and IoT engineering profiles, which are crucial to designing and implementing new processes and new smart products. They are accompanied by the IoT security software engineer, for systems protection, and the architecture mobile and IoT solutions engineer, for innovative processes management and development of related products. Cybersecurity, as well as other technological paradigms stands across the digital transformation processes, representing an essential element: the progressive and growing digitalization of the companies' internal and external activities in all market sectors is determining, indeed, an increase in cyber threats. In this context, the crucial profiles for companies are the cybersecurity consultant, the cybersecurity architect, and the cybersecurity project manager.

Finally, one key issue is the training of the new figures, which does not always keep pace with the demand. The master's degree programs in emerging digital areas (e.g., big data) in Italy are still very few. One risk is that the gap on the new areas will remain and will be accompanied by an excess in other areas linked to traditional technologies, limiting the digital transformation plans. Digital transformation is quickly changing the features of the skills needed by companies, public administrations, and citizens in order to keep pace with globalization, but the lack of awareness might leave behind many unaware small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Because of this, there is a lack of a "modernized" job market, lack of a training system that is able to keep pace with the skills required, and, finally, a lack of awareness especially in small entrepreneurs regarding the transformations in place and the urgency to acquire all the opportunities they offer rather than being overwhelmed by them.

The main subject is that of digital competences, which are today's strategic asset meant to enable all the potentialities of digital transformation.

From the analysis of the job offers via web, there is one data that stands out: the gap between what companies look for and the professional knowledge of those seeking an occupation.

This is so important that if it keeps running this way, the educational system is bound to only prepare students for unemployment. The job offers related to new and emerging digital professions have grown by 280% from February 2013 to April 2017.

However, regarding job offers that refer to positions that are not strictly technological, as already mentioned, the component related to digital skills is growing, especially in the human resources (HR), accounting, and marketing sector.

The transformations in place are outlining more and more the need to exit the traditional evaluation framework and select "digital" professional figures in order to capture the liquid world of cross-disciplinary skills, among which shines the ability to capture and manage the continuous change: it does not make sense anymore to follow the trend of a "genetic" research of new professions. What is needed is to capture inclinations, versatility, and ability to cooperate, conjugated with unique abilities to "live" the new technology rather than just use them.

In the Italian manufacturing fabric, one of the main criticalities is cultural and linked to small businesses: many companies cannot decode the new needed skills, many others would not have the financial resources to attract them and employ them anyway. However, most importantly, an entrepreneurial awareness of the strategic edge of the digital factor is still missing.
