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    How to improve your technical skills

    Book open Reading time: 6 mins

    You don’t need to study a technical degree (like Computer Science or Engineering) to secure a grad role with tech elements. But you will need to show employers that you’ve got the technical skills they’re looking for.

    Not sure you want to work in the tech sector? Technical skills will come in handy in almost every industry, so you can only win by building them up. Whether you want to work for a tech start-up or in get a job in marketing, sales, product development, logistics, finance, law or another area for a different type of organisation, you need to be open to developing your tech skills.

    In this guide, we’ll explain how to improve your technical skills, taking you through:

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    What are technical skills?

    So, what does it mean to be technical? Technical skills refer to the ability to do specific tasks that usually involve computers or electronics. Some people will have lots of technical skills, while others will be experts in particular activities.

    Examples of technical skills include:

    • Website building
    • Coding
    • Analysing data using computerised tools
    • Designing app interfaces
    • Writing technical briefs (ie. for web and app developers to then take on)

    Tech is present in almost every area of our lives – we use smart watches for health, apps for entertainment and AI tools for efficiency. Because of that, technical skills will continue to become more and more in demand. You might think that if you don’t want to be an interface designer, you don’t need to understand UI design. But while you don’t need to be an expert, having a general understanding will still help you in tech-adjacent roles. For example, if you’re project managing a website build, then it’s useful to know the basics of a UI designer’s role. Plus, almost every field now has specialised software and platforms that you'll need to learn to use. Tech is part of more jobs than you might realise.

    Many employers won’t expect you to have fully mastered technical skills before you start, but they’ll value you having a basic understanding and be open to developing further. We’re here to help you by sharing the steps you should take to grow that tech skill set.

    How to develop technical skills

    Want to know how to improve your technical skills? There are lots of ways to develop your technical abilities. Here are our top tips to help you boost your skills.

    Use more tech in your everyday life

    The best way to develop your tech skills is to get hands-on with using more technology day-to-day. Think about areas in your life that could be made more efficient by using platforms or software. For example, instead of messaging everyone in your sports team about the best date for the next training session and coordinating individual responses, try using a scheduling tool to find the best time for everyone. Or, instead of plotting out your uni deadlines into a paper calendar, have a go at using project management software to keep yourself on track and send yourself automated reminders.

    You can also think about how to use AI. Perhaps you’re trying to reduce food waste – try asking AI to make sense of what to do with the random ingredients in your fridge. Or perhaps you could use AI for revision, by asking it to generate practice questions and assess your responses.

    Embracing technology in your everyday life will help you grow your tech skills. The more comfortable you are with technology in general, the easier it’ll be to use it at work.

    Identify your favourite tech-related media outlets

    One great thing about tech is that there’s a lot of information available online for free. The challenge is that there’s so much out there, tit can be hard to know where to start. The amount of info can be overwhelming, so focus on your favourite sources for tech news and tips.

    Once you’ve found the outlets or creators you enjoy the most, subscribe to their newsletters, podcasts and YouTube channels. It’s also worth following them on social media. Don’t feel that you’ve got to read or watch everything, but dip in from time to time to stay up to date.

    Read about tech

    You can learn about tech while limiting your screen time.

    We know that it’s sometimes hard to find time to read beyond what’s required by your course while you’re at uni. And we get that you might want to just read for fun once you’ve graduated.

    However, there’s a lot to learn from tech books and publications. Just make sure you’re picking up something that’s either been recently published or updated. Tech changes so quickly, so you don’t want to learn about tools that no longer exist.

    Scheduling a regular reading slot will help you get into good habits. If you can’t face sitting still with a paperback, investigate audiobooks. That way, you can learn about tech while running or doing the food shop.

    Analyse what you consume

    Using more technology is a great start. Take it further by questioning how tech works and seeking to understand it.

    For example, think about the apps you use on your phone. Instead of just using technology and taking it for granted, get curious about how it works and why people use it. The more you ask ‘how’ and ‘why’, the better you’ll understand technology.

    Some of the questions you could research or ask yourself include:

    • How does the technology help you?
    • Why are you using it?
    • How did the recent update improve the app and why did the developer make the changes?
    • How would you improve it?
    • How well does the design of the interface fit with the functionality?

    Build your skill set

    If you’re interested in a particular technical skill, why not learn more about it? You could undertake a formal course in game design or watch online tutorials on app creation.

    If you’re not sure what you’d like to explore, try a little bit of coding. Even if you don’t want to create software or apps, learning about coding can be a great confidence booster. By cracking coding, you’ll dispel the activity’s mystery and realise it’s fairly similar to learning maths or another language.

    Unless you want to become a coder, starting with HTML and CSS will suit you fine. Java and Ruby are good too, especially the latter as it’s easy to learn and used by lots of start-ups. Look out for clubs for aspiring developers, programmers and designers at your university or where you live. Alternatively, try learning online. Our Couch to Coder course is available on demand, so you can learn to code at your own pace.

    Experiment with technology

    Sometimes, the best way to learn is to just to do.

    You could set up a blog and play around with the settings to make it look more attractive.

    If a friend or family member runs a small business, offer to build them a website, create an email newsletter or run their online adverts.

    Perhaps, you might enjoy playing around with video editing software to create funny videos.

    Or you could volunteer to run a uni society’s social media channels.

    Whatever you want to do, you’ll likely find online tutorials and help guides to give you the guidance you need to get started. Once you get more confident, you can get more experimental. Gradually, you’ll be able to go with your gut more and more.

    The more work you do, the better the feel you’ll get for what areas of tech-related work excite you. So, try to gain varied experience and have fun!

    Key takeaways

    Knowing how to use technology is an important employability skill – whether you want to work in the tech sector or not.

    Various abilities fall under the umbrella of technical skills, including web design, coding, data analysis and app building. And as technology is increasingly becoming part of our everyday lives, you’ll use tech skills in more sectors than you realise. Need to update sales figures in a spreadsheet, remind customers about your opening times on social media or summarise a meeting with AI? If so, you’ll need your tech skills.

    There are lots of ways to improve your technical skills, including consuming tech-focused content, taking courses and getting hands-on with technology. Ultimately, the more you use technology, the more you’ll develop your technical skills.

    Find graduate jobs in technology

    Ready to take your technical skills into the workplace? Explore our listings for the latest graduate schemes and jobs in technology and IT infrastructure.

    This article was last updated in July 2025.