Teach Too
Thinking differently about the digital skills gap
We all have a Digital Skills Gap - we hear about it every day. Every area in the UK is looking, nervously, at the talent pipeline for industry, for education and for teaching - there is not enough supply to meet demand.
Coding schools and ‘boot-camps’ have popped up to fill the gap, offering 16 week courses to educate those without the necessary skills and provide the introduction to coding they need to be able to step into the empty jobs that are waiting for them in cities up and down the country.
In Greater Manchester, our local authorities have identified digital economic growth as something that can lift people socially, economically and educationally.
How Teach Too helps
Teach Too in Greater Manchester is all about gearing up for the step change we need to see in vocational learning. To engage and modernise alongside our local industry we must make sure we are giving ourselves the best opportunities locally and economically, giving ourselves the best skills, and helping our communities into employment.
It’s a two-way street where education can help industry identify talent and skills, and where industry helps inform our curriculum. Building strong relationships and embedding good practice will be the foundation of the changes in vocational learning in the future, and we need to know our labour market to do that effectively.
The extent of digital skills needs
‘Digital Skills’ mean different things to a lot of different people. From companies creating websites and online solutions for clients to a wide-range of applications in other industries:
- Construction: new buildings designed and built with 3D computer programmes, even 3D printed!
- Health and Social Care: apps are being created to check on elderly people in order to manage their care, games are designed to monitor brain behaviours linked to Alzheimer’s; children are using technology to play, nurseries to check ID’s of parents on entry
- Retail and Tourism: the high street is changing and ‘e-tail’ taking over from retail; the way we travel has transformed, from Booking.Com to Uber
- Engineering and Manufacturing: technology plays a larger part in engineering than ever before; manufacturing is transforming with a new industrial revolution on the cards!
- Business and Finance: is running on digital solutions, transformed to deliver services, engage with clients, share news, pay for products, demanding a workforce skilled in considering digital possibilities and the ability to help create that service that works for the client
- Art and Media: sharing content is easier and more accessible than ever; digital skills help grow audiences and potential employers in the arts or media. From a video camera to a YouTube Channel - the world of content creation is offering more opportunities to business and students alike.
- Civil service and local authorities: increasingly government services are ‘digital by default’, designed with users’ needs in mind.
Digging deeper into the digital skills shortage
This is why we wanted to dig deeper into the digital skills shortage and find out more about local labour markets. We wanted to find out the real gaps, the employers who were struggling, what this actually means for large and small employers.
To this end we are developing a How to Guide, which helps people explore their local digital labour market. The Guide will offer insights to teachers in every subject area.
Please do get in touch if you are developing similar support and resources to the Guide. We’d be keen to hear what works in your area too.
Author
Dinah Turner is Founder and Director of Stepping into Business, who connects education and business together to bring learning to life.