The Authority View
There have been plenty of people talking about the shortage of digital skills – politicians, employers and tech
groups. Not just recently, but for a number of years.
Baroness Morgan, who was Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and previously Secretary of State
for Education, said that demand for these roles was growing at almost three times the rate of the financial services sector.
The Financial Times reported that employers including Microsoft, Google and software company Salesforce urged
ministers to work more closely with industry to address the problem which is costing the UK economy billions of
pounds. This came following a report by TechUK, a trade body that represents hundreds of UK and multinational
tech groups.
A UK government levelling Up white paper promised that by 2030, the technology sector would see 200,000 more
people successfully completing training in high-quality skills. 2030 is some time away.
Former Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell voiced his concern that the UK would get left behind if it didn’t increase efforts to compete globally.
There is no doubt that this has been a much talked-about problem for a number of years and schools and colleges are ideally placed to initiate revolutionary progress.
