Billions of pounds lost as UK faces digital skills crisis
The Science and Technology Committee has published a report warning that the UK risks being left behind if the government does not take more action to address the digital skills crisis
The Science and Technology Committee has published a report warning that the UK risks being left behind if the government does not take more action to address the digital skills crisis
The UK risks being left behind if the government fails to take more action to address the digital skills crisis. The sobering claim comes from a report published by the Science and Technology Committee.
Some 12.6 million adults in the UK lack basic digital skills, with 5.8 million people having never used the internet, it found. Only 30% of the required number of computer science teachers have not been recruited. Overall, this digital skills gap is costing the UK economy £63bn a year in lost GDP, it says.
The gap between digital skills possessed and digital skills needed demonstrates a long-running weakness in the UK’s approach to this crisis, the committee says. In the report the MPs question why the government has taken so long to produce the long-promised ‘Digital Strategy’ and call for it to be published without further delay. The committee also warns that the strategy needs to go further than merely listing cross-government digital activity, but present a vision for the future delivered by collaborative work from all involved—industry, educators and government.
In order to rectify the situation it’s calling for:
Science and Technology Committee chair, Nicola Blackwood MP, said: “The UK leads Europe on tech, but we need to take concerted action to avoid falling behind. We need to make sure tomorrow’s workforce is leaving school or university with the digital skills that employers need. The Government deserves credit for action taken so far but it needs to go much further and faster. We need action on visas, vocational training and putting digital skills at the heart of modern apprenticeships.
“The government’s long-delayed Digital Strategy must now be published without delay, and it must deliver. The Government has introduce a range of measures to help, particularly by expanding the scale of the apprenticeship programme and introducing a new computer curriculum in schools, but it needs urgently to present a vision and coherent strategy that brings these together.”