Despite being the sixth largest economy in the world, the UK is suffering a digital skills gap where there is an insufficient supply of skilled labour to fulfil demand. The UK Parliament’s Digital Skills inquiry revealed that 12.6 million adults in the UK lack basic digital skills and 5.8 million people have never used the internet.

The contrast between the size of the economy and the shortage in digital literacy exposes the UK to a vulnerable future if not addressed. With the General Election coming up, the digital skills gap provides competing political parties with a platform to explore the future of education, the economy and technology dependency, and how this issue is handled. This article looks to explore the ways in which political parties competing for votes can approach the digital skills gap.

Strive to make learning accessible

With the UK aware of its digital skills shortcomings, politicians need to put every effort into utilising the existing workforce to overcome digital skills shortages. But who should the competing political parties be targeting in particular?

By utilising underrepresented groups to fulfil the demand for technical skills, an inclusive approach is an effective method for decision makers to tackle the issue. The UK Parliament confirmed that 2.4 million people are still unable to complete a single basic digital task to get online, costing the UK economy £63 billion each year.

Socio-economic inequality means that disadvantaged groups are unable to access digital skills training, causing a digital divide as commentators have so affectionately termed. Political parties need to change the record and understand that marginalised groups, whether that’s based on region, class or race, are an untouched pool of talent that can alleviate the consequences of the digital skills gap.

Subsequently, the political parties need to make training courses more accessible, whether that be through subsidised programmes or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This approach will win the hearts and minds of voters as it demonstrates a commitment to improving opportunities for underprivileged groups and introducing social change.

Encourage a wider demographic to take up training programmes

Making digital training more accessible is not going to be enough on its own to influence the workforce to upskill. There needs to be more effort to encourage workers to undergo digital training.

Rather than viewing the digital skills gap as solely targeting unemployed people, political parties need to expand the target demographic of digital upskilling, which should include those who are in work but underqualified. Because digital upskilling benefits people from all backgrounds, the political parties need to do more to promote the availability of courses.

One aspect that political parties should look to improve is the quality of the training programmes on offer. According to Coursera’s Global Skills Report 2023, the UK is ranked 64th globally in skills development, behind the Dominican Republic and Bolivia. To improve the quality of digital training, the political parties need to anticipate what specific areas will be in high demand in the future. For example, we are now seeing a greater adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) with the Office for National Statistics reporting that one in six businesses (16%) are currently implementing at least one AI tool. With AI representing an area of significant interest, demonstrated by growth in popularity of dedicated AI courses like Netcom’s Intel AI for Current Workforce, the political parties need to take notice and encourage more people to undergo training so that the foundations are strong before AI becomes more prevalent across the business landscape.

Job opportunities

It’s all well and good advocating for inclusive courses and training opportunities. However, this will all be in vain if skilled labour cannot be deployed in the workforce. Skilled workers find themselves in a catch 22 situation; despite having the technical skills, there are not enough companies openly recruiting due to a competitive job market. According to UK Government statistics, despite the growing need for workers with specialist digital skills, computer science graduates have the highest unemployment rate of any degree course at 10% six months after graduating.

The political parties need to provide assurances that there is light at the end of the tunnel to encourage people to invest in digital skills training. There needs to be a scenario where there is an availability of vacancies for working adults who have undergone technical training. Political parties need to incentivise employers to take on employees who are qualified in a particular skill.

Safeguarding the future

There is great scope for the competing political parties to address the digital skills gap. The issue serves as a means for politicians to tackle technology, education, social and economic concerns so its importance cannot be understated.

Alleviating the gap in digital skills could have a long reaching impact on the future stability of the UK, potentially safeguarding the next generation. Sixty percent of businesses believe that their reliance on advanced digital skills is set to increase over the next five years so the political parties competing in the General Election need to be taking decisive action in the here and now. To appeal to the electorate, political parties must demonstrate their understanding of the causes of the digital skills gap and reassure the public that they are committed to closing it.

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