Research suggests UK heading for digital skills shortage

A new study has found 60% of people in the UK do not believe they have the digital skills necessary to be employable.

The research by educational charity Ascentis found 39% of 25-34-year-olds do not believe they have the digital skills required for employment.

Since the pandemic struck, the requirement for digital skills has soared due to a large portion of the UK workforce forced to work remotely and needing the ability to perform their tasks via digital means.

In March the think tank NESTA warned that the UK is heading towards a digital skills shortage which is already costing the UK billions of pounds, which is backed up by the recent study.

Danielle Hallahan, Product Development Manager for Digital Skills qualifications at Ascentis, said: ‘There is a concern right now that we are heading into a digital skills pandemic, The rapidly growing pace of technological advancement is evident in all aspects of modern life.  Digital skills are now deemed just as important to employability and participation in society as English and maths.

‘The new reliance on digital technologies during the pandemic served to highlight the Nation’s digital crisis and emphasise the ever-widening digital divide that faces many of the UK’s population.

‘A survey conducted by Lloyds bank in 2019 found that workers in manufacturing, hospitality and retail were identified as being the least digitally skilled, a fact made more prominent during the pandemic with employees in those sectors accounting for more than half of furloughed employees across all industries. I would say we were heading into a digital skills shortage before the pandemic hit, all that the pandemic has done is highlight it more and at a rapid rate.’

Helen Philpott, 34, from Gloucestershire, was on furlough for just over 14 months but due to furlough ending, went back to work and will be forced to work from home most days, she commented saying:

‘My job before the pandemic was predominantly going around speaking to people face to face, working mainly with paper based contracts and not needing to have a huge knowledge around digital but now everything has changed, we have new digital systems in which I must regularly meet clients via video conferencing, set up new software and use CRM systems so as to keep everything up to date digitally.

‘The truth is, without full training, I will not be able to perform the tasks required of me. If that is the case, I will most likely end up unemployed, which would put my family and me under huge financial burden.’

In related news, a new pilot scheme has been launched to help tackle digital poverty in Salford, providing free support for residents during Get Online Week.

Photo by Headway