b'18 Member News July 2023Solving societal challengesAre our digital skillsin a perilous state? The IETs Digital Skills Report found a concerning digital skills gap in the countrys digital economyOn 1 February this year, the IET published the results of its Skills for Digital Future survey. A week later, the paper received a high-profile launch in Parliament in partnership with the Science in Parliament group, chaired by Stephen Metcalfe MP.The analysis blows the lid off on the growing necessity of digital skills and the impact that a shortage may have on the British economy. The survey found many employers struggling with a gap in the digital skills of their employees and 49% of these reported this affecting productivity, with another 35% saying it harms innovation. The issue will only become more pressing in the future. 31% of employers say their artificial intelligence/machine learning will be important to sector growth. At the same time, half (50%)1 million of unused waste Levy funding of these employers say they dont havewas donated by their strategic partner the necessary skills in this area. organisations and re-purposed to support Indeed, the closer we look, the more75 apprenticeships in their SMEs and intractable the skills problem appears.charity members, making it a fully-funded At a time when harnessing technologyIET skills for ascheme. The bulk of these apprentices is becoming more important, spendingdigital future were women and the move broadened by employers on training per employee2023 survey the talent pool and solved their members appears to be falling. The fact that thetech skills gap.UK science, technology, engineering,The Apprenticeship Levy is a resourced and mathematics (STEM) sector findsscheme already in place. As such it will require itself short of 173,000 employees onlyno extra legislation, only an adjustment, makes the issue more pressing. an expansion in the eligibility for receipt Add to this the growing pace ofof funding. Finding ways to redirect this technological change, and clearly the UKmoney, to improve the flexibility with which cannot wait a lot longer for a solution. this cash is spent, can only help employers add skills and value to their employees. Perhaps we could begin by reforming the Apprenticeship Levy. Opened in 2017, it isReforming the Apprenticeship Levy is an a contribution by employers meant to fundexcellent opportunity to make headway in apprenticeships and training. The stickingtheiet.org/skills reskilling the UK technical workforce. If it is point is that large sums of cash have beeninnovation and growth we are looking for returned to the Treasury, unspent. The keyin our economy, finding new ways of giving lies in greater flexibility so we can find newOne example might be found in a schemepeople the skills and agility to adapt to ways of redirecting the retained fundingpiloted by Tech She Can, a technologythe demands of changing technology and to breathe life into skills and training. careers education charity. In a month, conditions is the way forward.'