Objective

To lead in the development of context and digital skills needs, and to ensure suitable policy solutions.

In a world in which demand for digital skill delivery is ever accelerating, to guide policy makers on education and training policies:

• across the UK, recognising regional variation;
• across sectors, industry and academic boundaries;
• that are resilient to accelerating rates of change in society, knowledge, and technology;
• whilst acknowledging other factors, including the inflexibility and latency of funding, plus legislative and regulatory frameworks for skills development.

Meeting Reports, Publications & Other Documents

Parliamentary Chair: Lord Lucas
Industry Chair: TBC
Subgroup Chairs:
Security Skills & Partnerships: Michael Dieroff (Bluescreen IT) & Michael Hughes (Cyber Security Innovation Partnership)

Progress & Plans

• Progress the formation of partnerships to demonstrate practical solutions in areas of priority for DPA members, including cyber security.
• Work collaboratively with others, across political and organisational boundaries.
• Build nascent organisation around rural and coastal areas.
• To provide practical guidance on the route from digital poverty to digital enablement.

Cyber Skills and Partnerships Subgroup Plans

• Progress co-operation on cyber security skills partnerships with those seeking to bring forward the formation of the Cyber Security Council.
• Highlight concerns of cyber security skills employers, training suppliers and certification bodies to policy makers.
• Support co-operation with regard to skills standards and law enforcement both internationally and intra-UK.

Background

Digital skills delivery includes all skills that have relevance in a digital age.  The pace of change in the skills needed by employers and in the use of technology by leading course and content providers to transform education and training have often outstripped the ability of national planning, forecasting and budgeting processes to respond.

Consequently, the gap between best practice and that encouraged or mandated by public funding and regulatory bodies is widening. The need for change is recognised by government and the main political parties but resilient solutions are complex and also require local access to world-class, globally networked online materials and assessment tools, faster connections and infrastructure investment.

Switching from processes to prepare individuals for a single career/profession for life via full time degrees into lifelong education and training for a world of continuous professional development and flexible career paths is therefore seen to present many risks for those who get the timing wrong.

The Group will encourage and support relevant pilots across locality and sector. Currently the focus is on digital enablement (with the Digital Safety Tech Working Group) in addition to continued focus on coastal and regional areas. The challenge is to identify where change is required and to then expedite with policy solutions for the benefit of the digital skills sector.

Meeting Reports, Publications and Other Documents

Past Events