Bridging the digital skills gap

It’s the hot topic on every HR professional and recruiter’s lips – the skills shortage. And no where is this more pronounced than at the leading edge of technology.

But what do we really mean when we talk about a digital skills shortage?

Most of the us own a smart phone, are active on at least one social media site and have heart palpitations when we don’t have access to the internet. But as the world becomes more and more a digital environment, are we actually equipping children (the future of our nation) with the relevant skills to succeed in the modern workplace. If we’re not, then it could be a very real threat to the future of the UK economy.

After all, it’s not the 1980’s anymore and children don’t leave school to head straight into the mines. Fortunately, schools have recognised this and recently introduced coding into the national curriculum. Hopefully it’s replaced those all important crochet lessons.

Is this enough though? A study by O2 identified that the UK will need upwards of 750,000 digital workers by 2017. So are we set up to create this volume of skilled workers, in just 2 years?

Looking at the figures…no. There were just over 50,000 UK computer science graduates last year.


Something clearly needs to be done.

That’s why it’s so great to see initiatives like the BBC’s Make It Digital which will see them give out one million coding devices to kids. Enabling digital skills will inspire a new generation to get creative with coding, programming and digital technology, and ultimately lead to improvements in everyone’s lives. I mean, an 11-year-old child has already printed herself a prosthetic hand.

So, are your business is looking to go digital and hire the best talent? Do you know where to start? For comprehensive details of the latest digital skills and roles, and how to hire them, download our digital talent guide today.