FUTURE SUCCESS for rural businesses will rely heavily on them keeping pace with advancing digital technology – and that will necessitate a skilled labour force ready to adapt to those changes.

Recent research carried out by Rural England and Scotland’s Rural College found that, of over 800 rural businesses questioned, almost 80% believed that digital tools and services were important to their future growth potential.

But the lack of digitally skilled labour in the rural sector was identified as a barrier to that progress. According to the research, over half of the rural businesses questioned said that trouble recruiting people with appropriate tech skills, or accessing training for their existing workforce, was delaying digital adoption.

E-commerce now plays an important role in helping rural businesses to export, with 80% using digital tools and services to trade goods and services around the world. On top of that, 43% of all rural businesses specifically sell online through their own site or via a third-party site.

Rural England chair man Brian Wilson said: “What is striking in this research is the ambition and willingness of rural businesses to embrace new technology that could increase the global competitiveness of our rural economy.

"Whilst connectivity remains a concern, it is clear that more needs to be done beyond this in terms of more proactive support and skills development. We need a clear roadmap for fulfilling that potential – something we hope the final report will identify when published.”