Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of digital skills training initiatives in bridging skills gaps in the technology sector.

Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were set out in the UK Science & Technology Framework in March 2023. Programmers, data scientists, and software engineers will help deliver the department’s ambitions for critical technologies like artificial intelligence, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental across the labour market, with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.

The importance of digital skills goes far beyond supporting specific growth industries. They are increasingly a foundation for the economy and society, as essential to employability and participation in society as English and mathematics. That is why the department has developed an ambitious skills agenda, backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over the lifetime of this Parliament.

The department’s essential digital skills offer plays an important role in both the wider department digital offer, which will equip people with the right digital skills to progress into rewarding careers or higher-level technical study, and the department’s wider support for the government’s new Digital Strategy, led out of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which sets out the vision for harnessing digital transformation, accelerating growth, and building a more inclusive, competitive and innovative digital economy for the future.

Through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the department has introduced a new legal entitlement in August 2020 to fully fund adults (19+) with low digital skills to undertake an Essential Digital Skills Qualification, up to Level 1. The department has further enhanced the offer by introducing Digital Functional Skills qualifications in August 2023. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.

The department has also taken steps to embed essential digital skills training as part of study programmes for 16–19-year-olds. Where students are identified as having low levels of digital skills, education providers integrate essential digital skills development, where it is needed, into their learning programme.

Formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why the department also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the AEB. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning.

The department is investing in employer-led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of our reforms, from digital literacy to skills for advanced digital roles. These are key in expanding our offer and providing alternative routes, as the department is aware that the traditional route does not suit everyone or every community. For example:

• Apprenticeships provide a fantastic opportunity for people to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to progress into digital occupations, and the department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25 to support employers of all sizes to grow their apprenticeships workforce. Employers in the digital sector have so far developed 30 high-quality digital apprenticeship standards across all levels in occupations such as Data Science, Cyber Security, Digital and Technology solutions and Artificial Intelligence. Digital Apprenticeships continue to grow with over 22,000 starts in 2022/23, an increase of 19% from the previous year.

• The department has also introduced 3 Digital T Levels, the gold-standard level 3 technical qualification designed with employers to meet industry standards and with a significant industry placement built in, to give that all-important experience of work within the digital sector. The department offers a number of mechanisms to evaluate T Levels including the Technical Education Learner Survey and regular engagement with providers and employers.

• Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, for adults aged 19 or over. There are now more than 1,000 Skills Bootcamps available across England, and the majority of Skills Bootcamps procured in the 2022/23 financial year were in digital skills. Skills Bootcamps in digital cover areas such as cyber security, coding, software development and engineering, data analysis and digital marketing.

• The most recent evaluation report for Bootcamps (Wave 2 implementation report), published in March 2023, has found that many participants felt that the training would allow them to ‘get a better life’, through improved job prospects and stability. A further release will be published in early 2024 covering completions and outcomes data for this cohort with the evaluation of the 2022/23 financial year delivery available at a later date.

• Launched in April 2021, the Free Courses for Jobs offer allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A level equivalent) for free, including those linked with digital careers. These courses are ideal for those adults over 50 without a Level 3 qualification that are looking to improve their digital skills, retrain or upskill to meet their potential.

Through the skills reforms, the department is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing and better options for the future.