Learning new skills online boosts annual pay by an average of £3,640

Online learning is boosting the average UK pay packet by £3,640, or £2 per hour, according to a new study. Britons are turning to the internet to learn new skills which is in turn boosting the UK's economic output, according to the poll of 20,000 of the country's citizens. The Google-backed survey indicates that many working people have used internet-based learning to increase their pay or to get a new job. Work-related online learning that makes use of search engines, video and social media could not only benefit staff but employers' productivity and economic heft. The report concludes that the more you learn the more you earn as people's hunger for knowledge and self-improvement is directly impacting salaries and professional progression'What we found is really encouraging – not just for the businesses and organisations that are benefiting from upskilling employees, but in terms of the economy as a whole,' said Polly Mackenzie, chief executive of Demos, which carried out the survey.