Addressing the digital skills gap
Technology is one of the key driving forces for growth of UK businesses, with some aspects of technology like Data being a crucial part of innovation and decision making. The requirement for skills ranges from people able to understand and utilise data all the way through to programmers and data scientists. Upskilling people to make use of basic data and technology skills to improve and enhance their existing job roles plays a part in addressing the digital skills gap, but the need for hard technical skills across development and operations roles remains significant. The digital skills gap is a simple factor of supply and demand - the demand for digital skills is greater than the supply from universities and other institutions, and from the upskilling of existing employees. The demand for digital skills remains, with some areas like Data increasing significantly, with some areas of the digital economy possibly having hundreds of thousands of roles vacant. The supply from universities across Computer Science and related technology degrees in 2018/19 was approximately 300,000.
With a number of these moving into further study or not choosing to explore technology as a career, it’s clear that the supply from universities isn’t sufficient. While the need for additional places on technical degrees is well understood, with conversion degrees being launched and digital boot camps being funded by the government, the demand still remains. Many employers require people with at least a STEM degree to enter a technology role, and in the case of software engineers a Computer Science degree is almost always required. This requirement stems from historical norms and practical reasons alike, but adds to the squeeze in supply to address the digital skills gap.
Training and upskilling existing employees is often not a solution most organisations can use, due to the time, cost, and expertise required. As the requirement for people with technical skills remains high across most areas, it’s unlikely businesses can cross train people from one technical role into another. Training people to fulfil technical roles, who have limited existing technical skills, can be time consuming and not practical for most businesses. A framework for learning all the required and dependent skills would need to be created, with a series of skills assessments and training programmes to take people with various limited technical skills designed to take them to a point where they can contribute effectively in a team.
Universities and organisations have a part to play in addressing the skills gap, but there also needs to be a general shift in how learning, upskilling and transitioning between roles is approached. Organisations need to build a culture of learning and development rather than just having a learning budget, and universities need to work increasingly closer with organisations to understand their current and future needs, and to design and implement practical degrees that prepare students for the workplace. Collaboration is key, but more flexibility and routes into the industry need to be created too.
Although actions are being taken by organisations and universities alike, the need to create a pathway for people to enter the technology industry is increasingly important. The traditional route of taking Computer Science and STEM degree graduates isn’t enough. Organisations need to be prepared to invest in upskilling and cross training, and be prepared to take people without relevant degrees, people wanting to career change, and ultimately give people a chance to enter the industry who didn’t make the important education decisions at any early age that would enable them to be completing a Computer Science degree now.
How Can CTA Help?
Corecom Technology Academy provides routes into the technology industry for anyone with the right attitude and aptitude that employers want. We recruit, train, and deploy new talent into the industry, providing a pathway for people that otherwise might not have had the opportunity.