Digital skills gap puts UK's post-Covid recovery at risk

The number of young students taking IT subjects at GCSE has fallen 40 per cent since 2015, despite growing demand

A mismatch between the increasing demand for digital skills and the supply of trained recruits could hamper the UK's economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, a think tank has warned.

The Learning & Work Institute (LWI) - an independent policy research organisation - conducted research exploring digital skills and the future of the labour market in the UK. It found that, despite a majority of employers expecting their reliance on digital skills to increase in the future, there is a downward trend in the number of young people studying such subjects.

The number of students taking IT subjects at GCSE has fallen 40 per cent since 2015. Similarly, the number of young people taking A-level courses, advanced courses and apprenticeships has also dropped in the last five years.

The poll by LWI found that only 48 per cent of British employers believed that new recruits joining the workforce had the required advanced digital skillset.

70 per cent of young people surveyed by LWI said that they expected employers to invest in their digital skills. Despite more than three-quarters of companies saying they expected a lack of digital skills would impact their future profitability, only half said they were able to provide such training to new employees.

LWI research also highlighted the gender gap in digital skills, with young women accounting for just 22 per cent of GCSE entrants in IT subjects, and only 17 per cent at A-level.

While demand for basic digital skills is near-universal, the demand for advanced digital skills is also high and is set to increase significantly in the coming years.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said last month that the UK's IT job market continued to recruit strongly in 2020, despite overall UK unemployment rising to a five-year high of 5.1 per cent.

The ONS said the number of 'information and communication' jobs in the country had surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with more individuals employed in the sector than at any time in its history.

The IT industry in the UK has created more than 100,000 jobs since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and more than 300,000 jobs over the last three years, according to the ONS.

'Digital skills are already crucial for success in the labour market, and they will become ever more important in the future,' LWI noted in its report.

'The vast majority of jobs already require basic digital skills, and a growing proportion of jobs will require advanced digital skills as digital technology becomes more pervasive.

'Helping all young people develop the digital skills that they need will therefore be crucial both to driving the competitiveness of the UK economy, and in ensuring young people can thrive in the labour market of the future.'