UK businesses face large digital skills gap, reveals study
UK employers struggle to find talent across the digital, culture, media and sports (DCMS) sectors according to a government survey.
Almost a fifth of companies in the UK has a skills vacancy in the DCMS sector according to the latest government survey data published today, with 14.1 per cent of businesses reporting a lack of digital know how. The shortage was particularly acute amongst electronics manufacturers with 20.8 per cent of businesses reporting at least one skills vacancy.
“Britain’s tech industry is booming and we are investing millions to make sure people have the skills to be a part of it,” said a spokesperson for DCMS, adding that the government has rolled out a raft of programmes and partnerships to boost participation in areas such as coding, data, AI and cyber security.
Chris Greenwood, UK Director at NetApp a data management company, commented on the data. He said “with digital skills vital to economic recovery, post-pandemic, and the growing dependence on data to inform decision making becoming essential to every organisation, this DCMS report highlights the urgent action required to address data illiteracy and digital skills shortages.
“As the digital and data landscape continues to evolve, with no endgame in sight, the ability of employees must also evolve to equip them with the knowhow and confidence to remain ahead of the curve and seize the opportunities that can be found in data,” he added.
While the DCMS survey data was collected in 2019, companies in the UK have continued to report digital skills vacancies.
During the pandemic, tech shortages have become acute with 68,929 adverts for programmers and software development professionals reported between August 23 and 29 according to the REC.
DCMS has been approached for a response.
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