The new industrial strategy - it's personal

The UK government released it's much anticipated Industrial Strategy on 27 November 2017. The purpose is to deliver against the governments objective of a leading world-class growing economy. It identified four key elements to deliver the change we need to create to survive in new economic revolution and address the issues the UK faces in productivity. 

There are four key challenges raised by the government’s white paper:

1. Productivity

2. Skills

3. Digitalisation and technology

4. Brexit 

My concern sits on an issue of digitalisation and technology as well the right skills to meet the demands of this market. 

Not only do we lack the investment required for the new economy to produce the right graduates from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects, we lack the culture and focus to interest entrants into these sectors and disciplines. 

Secondly, there is a lack of willingness to transform how goods and services are delivered to a digital and technology-based platform. 

In politics there is a fear of the rising disruptive force that digital can have - see comments on how the Russian state may have influenced the outcomes of a number of elections. 

Then turn up at a local party executive meeting - shall we invest our time and effort in digital? No - door knocking and street walking is the focus. 

Struggling with the logic? Me too...

Meeting with candidates attempting to take their businesses through the same transition the same resistance is faced. This is a groundhog day complaint. 

Without changing organisations will fail - there are too many examples of once giants of our society no longer being around - compare the High Street today to that of even just 5 years ago.

Business and organisations - from churches to education providers to local charities - THINK DIGITAL FIRST. Recall how much the ADL raised in just three weeks with their ice bucket challenge? 

Leadership teams require a digital transformation agenda, with a leading executive - the CEO or if not a board member publically sponsored by the CEO leading the change. With all members of the executive focused on how to drive it and integrate digital into the current service offering. 

But what can we do as individuals? Should we sit at home waiting for the government to save us? If we were to become the positive economic agents we could be, much of what the economy needs may well be transpired and indeed exceed expectations with the right investment both personally and by the government. 

There are courses and sources out there that you can sign up to and enjoy - for little or no cost, here are just a few:

• For marketing look at Google's digital garage 
• For data science and programming Udemy
• More strategic viewpoint Coursera 
• Learning Meetups cover a range of subjects and topics
• The governments' digital skills white papers 

Think digital first as members of your local borough, employees, students, activists and become lifelong learners. Why?

Because those who have been winning:

• On the road - consider Uber v London black cabs
• In politics, those who engage digitally are winning: Labour, Trump, Brexit
• On the now virtual high street those who dominate deliver at home - Tesco, Amazon, iTunes

In your workplace - who is getting paid more and promoted around you - those with the digital skills who are applying them to improve the organisation. They also have a more lucrative secure future.