The UK government has opened bids for a £1m Digital Skills Innovation Fund, which aims to boost diversity in the country’s digital sector.
The Digital Skills Innovation Fund will help people from under-represented groups enter digital industries by providing them with new skills, improving the diversity of the UK’s digital economy sector and addressing challenges at a local scale.
The £1m funding will support the UK’s overall ambition to transition to a digital economy, and will provide new digital skills for a variety of under-represented demographics, including:
- Women
- Disabled people
- People from minority backgrounds and
- People living in lower socioeconomic areas.
The programme aims to train people for a variety of roles across the digital sector, including data analytics, programming, cybersecurity, software development and marketing, in order to take full advantage of the economic opportunities available as the role of digital technology grows.
What are the challenges of representation in the UK’s digital industry?
According to research by government, women comprise just 17% of the UK’s technology workforce, and are under-represented in the achievement of digital qualifications. Meanwhile, unemployed adults are 5% more likely to lack basic digital skills than the national average, meaning that an investment in training could deliver a wider economic benefit in the country’s transition to a digital economy.
Minister for Digital Margot James emphasised that, as the role of digital technology grows in all sectors of society, it is vital to ensure that citizens develop the appropriate skills to take full advantage of these innovations.
She explained: “It is crucial everyone is able to take advantage of digital technology, whether it is to learn how to use the internet or develop the skills to work in a tech role. If we want to maintain our position as a world-leading digital economy we need to work with industry, local authorities and the voluntary sector to develop solutions so no-one is left behind.”
