Every business in 2024 will have acknowledged the essential nature of digital skills and the ways in which enhanced digital capabilities can provide support for growth, innovation and productivity improvements. Many businesses have advanced rapidly in recent years in investing in workforce digital skills and are already reaping the benefits.
However, according to the latest research by Lloyds Banking Group,
- 21.7 million people (54% of a UK labour force of 40.2m) lack proficiency in essential digital tasks for the workplace, such as accessing online payslips, using collaboration tools, and basic online safety. (This gap is present in all UK regions, sectors, income levels, and education backgrounds.)
- The three tasks which most people can’t do are –
- Use productivity tools
- Set privacy settings
- Access online salary information
It is estimated that by 2030 up to two-thirds of the workforce will still lack some essential digital capability, with up to 5 million of those workers still acutely under-skilled. Building a digitally capable workforce not only brings direct business opportunity and growth, it will also provide secure jobs for the future, boost economic opportunities for the region, and ensure the UK keeps pace with the rest of the world.
If this issue is not addressed then the skills gap will widen, leaving many individuals unable to utilise digital solutions more generally e.g. to access public services or find new jobs. The situation will only be multiplied in its impact with the predicted impact of AI and automation. As well as supporting the relevant needs of an individual business, investment in digital skills must be recognised as a contribution to wider social, economic and community benefits.
- According to the same research from Lloyds, only 4 in 10 adults plan to enhance their digital skills this year.
This statistic alone points to a very clear mis-match between the rapidity of digital innovations and advancement, and the uptake of digital skills development at individual and organisational levels.
FutureDotNow, a UK charity and coalition of industry leaders, is uniting business to tackle this gap in digital capability and confidence in the UK workforce
Next month (October) SWBC, Cosmic and FutureDotNow will be joining forces in a number of roundtable discussion focussing on the South West region and its challenges, opportunities and collaboration which could raise the profile and increase ambitions for digital skills in the workforce in the coming year. To make sure that 2025 provides a much higher take-up of digital opportunities, innovations, and enhancements to productivity.
The ambitions being set-out for next year are clear –
- Bring organisations together around a shared commitment and ambition for workforce digital skills
- Utilise the future-fit skills framework to provide clarity and understanding
- Share the economic impact of assessing workforce digital skills gap
- Workforce digital skills are recognised as a clear way to deliver social impact
- Help businesses to understand Essential Digital Skills levels in their workforce
- Help businesses to train their workforce in the Essential Digital Skills
More on the latest research and the work of FutureDotNow can be found here – Home – FutureDotNow
Cosmic is proud to support Future Dot Now by being a signatory of the Future Dot Now Charter and Julie Hawker is also acting, in a voluntary capacity, as Industry Lead for the South West Region.