The Digital Skills Gap: Preparing Young People for a Tech-Led Economy

Introduction

Exam results day is a pivotal moment in any young person’s life, one that presents them with choices and opportunities of different routes to take.  As young people come to make decisions about their future careers, are they ready to engage with all the paths available to them? In particular, as we transition to a technology-led economy, are young people taking the steps to build digital-first careers?  

The Digital Skills Crisis

As technology becomes the driving force among many global economies, our skills, jobs and industries are changing as we know it. And yet, recent research from The Prince’s Trust suggests that we are facing a ‘digital skills crisis’ among young people. Whilst the younger generation is aware of the transition to a tech-led economy, over two-fifths of young people were unsure or disagreed that digital skills would be essential to their future.

The Importance of Digital Skills

Forecasts from the World Economic Forum suggest that 77 per cent of all jobs will require digital skills from workers by 2030, so it is vital that education providers support young people to embrace digital skills. After all, they are the next generation that will spend the majority of their careers working in this new, tech led, economy.

Confusion Around Digital Skills

For many young people, the crisis starts in the lack of understanding of what exactly is meant by ‘digital skills’. In recent focus groups as part of our “Decoding the Digital Skills Gap” report, young people had varying and overlapping definitions of ‘digital’ and ‘tech’ skills, often with no clear consensus on their definitions, and expressing that the terms felt vague. Similarly, ‘digital and tech jobs’ did not feel like a discernible set of roles, and young people were often unclear about what jobs existed within these titles and were unaware about the relevance of digital skills to a broad range of jobs. There is evidence to suggest that the issue is exacerbated by the inconsistent language used by educators, employers and policy makers. Because of this language barrier, young people feel confused and uncertain, not only about the skills they need for their future careers but also the range of roles available.

The Need for Consistent Language

Across the sector, it is important that we start by developing a consistent manner in which we lead discussions around digital skills, from education through to employment. Education providers should be supported to embed and deliver an integrated approach to learning digital skills across the curriculum. We must ensure this is accessible to all young people, helping them to understand, engage, and benefit from the opportunities this emerging economy presents.

The Engagement Gap

Throughout our research, a clear engagement gap emerged. Over a third of young people state that they did not study a digital or tech subject beyond Key Stage 3; so, it is easy to see why young people struggle to navigate digital jargon later in life. Looking at young people who did study a digital or tech subject beyond Key Stage 3, over half of them expressed they were attracted to a career that requires advanced digital skills, compared with only 26 per cent of those that did not study the relevant subject beyond Key Stage 3. Education, and in this case, early, positive experiences of digital skills, are crucial to shaping young people’s interests and future career choices, but the issue is that there isn’t a consistent digital skills offering for young people across the UK.

The Role of Education

Educators need to be supported and equipped with the tools to provide all young people in the UK with positive experiences of digital skills. Consistent development of, and learning about, digital skills from an early age through to further education will be vital in fostering young people’s interest in pursuing training in digital skills and opening up career opportunities in this new economy. Partnering with local technology-based companies can open the door to connecting those working in digital jobs with students, and along with mentoring and work placements, can further encourage young people’s interest in the sector.

Misconceptions About Digital Roles

Over two fifths of young people were unsure or disagreed that digital skills would be essential to their future, despite the fact that they are aware of this ongoing transition to a tech led economy. This discrepancy was particularly prevalent for those not in education employment or training (NEETs) and those who did not study a digital-related subject after Key Stage 3. Research suggests that this disconnect is down to young people’s negative stereotypes of digital roles; a mismatch between what young people say is important to them in employment, and their perception of what a digital role entails, in turn leading to a lack of aspiration in pursuing such opportunities.

For young people to benefit from the tech led economy, education providers need concerted effort to bridge this aspiration gap by ensuring young people are fully aware of what digital and technology roles entail, and understand the skills needed and many pathways available to succeed in these careers.

Socioeconomic Barriers

The fact that pursuing digital skills, training, and careers is unobtainable for many of our young people due to socioeconomic factors underpins all the aforementioned issues. For many, internet access is a problem, with almost a third of surveyed young people not having constant access to internet at home, and one in ten only having internet access only via a mobile phone. Young people who are NEET, from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds, or individuals living in the top 20 per cent of the most deprived areas in the UK are even more likely to be impacted by this. For others, lack of access to technology such as a laptop or a desktop, along with cost of training were key barriers in pursuing digital skills training. This is further compounded by personal circumstances particularly for those young people with caring responsibilities, on low incomes or in existing employment, with time out of work leading to loss of income.

Improving accessibility to digital skills, training, and job opportunities is the foundation for successfully addressing the digital skills gap.

Interest in Digital Skills Training

Despite the barriers that young people face in relation to knowledge, experience or access to digital skills and associated careers, they are open to development in this field with only 6 per cent of those surveyed stating they would not be interested in any form of training. Addressing these challenges presents us with an opportunity to help young people engage with digital skills and be equipped to thrive in this emerging tech led economy.

Conclusion

While education providers can begin to address some of these challenges themselves, collaborative effort is needed. Education providers and employers need to work together to invest in the upskilling of young people, by ensuring that practical learning and training opportunities provided are relevant to employer’s needs and that they are accessible to all. It is crucial we support young people from all backgrounds to understand the value of digital skills to all future jobs and help them have a clear vision of what’s needed and how to get there.

By Lindsey Wright, Head of Future Sectors at The Prince’s Trust