Hearing from the ecosystem: educators and professionals on the challenges and opportunities for digital skills development

This is the fourth in a series of articles which share our research process and findings in relation to our work with Nominet to explore the future of digital skills for young people in the UK. You can read the previous articles in the series here, here and here.

In this phase of research, we ran two workshops with educators and digital skills providers from across the UK (London, Southport, Sutton Coldfield, Stockport, Sheffield). In these workshops, we asked participants to:

• Help diagnose the UK’s digital skills challenges?
• Identify what could be done differently to improve digital skills development
• Identify who might be best placed to do things differently (formal education, government, employers, and informal learning providers)

We also ran a second adult Critical Friends session to gather feedback on our analysis and interpretation of the workshop findings.

In these fora, we had extremely rich conversations and it is clear that there is an incredible group of people and organisations already providing insights, support and initiatives aimed at closing the digital skills gap and ensuring the UK has a coherent digital skills strategy. In light of this, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, providing more funding, support or amplification of existing organisations and initiatives would enable them to deliver greater impact.?

Our expert workshop participants articulated the challenges around digital skills development in the UK, and made suggestions for how these might be addressed:

?Our current school system forces schools to focus on exam results rather than preparing students for flourishing in a changing digital society.?We heard that the current education system's focus on standardised testing and a narrow curriculum puts pressure on teachers and limits students' opportunities to develop important life skills, including digital skills. This approach prioritises test scores over genuine learning and growth, ultimately failing to prepare young people for success in the modern world.?

Potential solutions: DfE and schools could address this challenge by making changes to assessment and curriculum design.?

Schools lack funding and facilities, and not enough teachers and parents are equipped to teach digital skills. We heard that integrating digital skills into the curriculum requires a shift in mindset and an approach that involves all teachers - not just Computer Science teachers. Teachers need support to build their own digital skills and overcome any fears or hesitations. Empowering and investing in teachers to excel in their roles is crucial for making a widespread impact on students' digital literacy. Parents also need to be included in the conversation and supported to reinforce digital skills at home. However, limited funding and access to equipment remain significant barriers to implementing effective digital skills education in schools.?

Potential solutions: Funders, the Government and the broader digital skills ecosystem could address this challenge by funding or running initiatives that support teachers and parents to teach or support the development of digital skills.

Rapid technological change can be intimidating for teachers. We heard that the rapid pace of technological change poses significant challenges for teachers, who must navigate an ever-evolving landscape while also managing curriculum demands and limited time. Teachers' varying levels of digital literacy and confidence can impact their ability to teach digital skills, and their knowledge can quickly become outdated. This uncertainty and lack of preparedness can affect students' learning and confidence as well.?

Potential solutions: Nominet could address this by amplifying and promoting projects or organisations who help teachers contend with emerging technologies and how they might be used in the classroom.

The digital divide impacts skills development. We heard that digital skills development is inextricably linked with the digital divide, defined by the UK government as "the gap between people in society who have full access to digital technologies (such as the internet and computers) and those who do not." These must be tackled in parallel. Lack of digital access amplifies inequalities that impact the development of digital skills. This is a complex problem that needs to be understood and addressed on a systemic level. Whilst there is a need for additional funding and resources, a silver bullet approach will not be sufficient.?

Potential solutions: Nominet could address this by continuing to highlight intersecting inequalities through the Digital Youth Index. They could also commission new research to understand intersecting inequalities and effective approaches to addressing them, building an evidence base for what works to reduce inequalities for specific disadvantaged groups. DfE could address this by embedding and measuring the acquisition of all essential digital skills through the National Curriculum.

Career pathways, skills requirements and job opportunities are not clear to students.?We heard that you can't be what you can't see! If students don't know what roles are out there, they can't be inspired to work towards them. They are also unclear on what skills are needed for different jobs, so can get lost when trying to develop their skills.?

Potential solutions: Nominet could help address this by helping young people articulate their holistic digital skills to potential employers and collaborators. They could also fund and promote youth connected organisations that highlight how digital skills can open up opportunities.

If taught out of context, digital skills development is not fun or engaging for young people.?We heard that for digital skills development to be effective, it needs to be fun and engaging. This means showing young people how technology can give them agency in society, and how to make their own choices about technology within a given framework. Young people should be encouraged to work on creative projects they are passionate about and learn digital skills along the way. Projects should be interesting and linked to real-world issues, not framed just in terms of ‘digital skills’.?

Potential solutions: Nominet could address this by supporting and amplifying the work of digital skills providers who are making digital skills fun. They could also support and amplify the work of organisations that are showing how digital skills can help young people make a difference.

Key takeaways

Based on the adult workshops and Critical Friends session, here are our key takeaways:

• Digital skills development needs to be designed to address social inequalities
• Young people need more support in articulating their skills and getting jobs they enjoy
• Digital skills need to be embedded throughout the curriculum
• Digital skills development needs be fun and relevant
• Teachers need to be better supported and we need to learn from those who are leading the way
• Parents and carers need to be better supported (and included more in research like this)

In the final phase of the project, we will be mapping out our key recommendations based on what we heard from the overall digital skills ecosystem. We will focus on what funders could do directly, what they could influence, and what the wider sector might do to ensure that digital skills development in the UK is accessible, equitable and supportive of young people’s aspirations, professional development, and wellbeing.

Did you find this post helpful? If so, please share it with your network to help spread the word about the UK digital skills agenda. If you would like to work with Unthinkable Digital please connect with us here on LinkedIn, or reach out via email at [email protected] to discuss potential collaborations or partnerships.