University’s Involvement with Birmingham Tech Week Addresses the Digital Skills Divide

What are the jobs of the future and how can we ensure the workforce have the skills to access them? Student writer Akshita Puri investigates.?

Global business and society are enduring one of the most complex and demanding skills challenges in decades.?

Young people are learning skills for careers that don’t yet exist, while firms compete for talent in a narrow pool being outstripped by the pace of change. Moreover, it is imperative to ensure people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to access the careers they want against a backdrop of deepening social inequity amid unprecedented economic shocks.

Already valued at over ￡15bn, the West Midlands’ tech sector is projected to achieve further growth while manufacturing shrinks over the next decade. Ensuring the best minds from all backgrounds have access to a growing digital future is an increasing concern for industry and government alike. So, how do we create equal opportunities that close the digital divide??

The Digital Skills Symposium?

Comprising the basis of most modern industries, digital skills are valuable in every sector. But low computer literacy in the existing workforce is an issue that is preventing people from accessing roles in the professional, scientific, and technical sectors.?

The 英国伯明翰大学 sought to address this by staging conversations with industry leaders in the tech sphere during Birmingham Tech Week 2022. The event, which welcomed over 5,000 delegates for digital bootcamps, hackathons, panel discussions, and networking, showcased the strength of the region’s growing tech investment.?

UoB hosted the Digital Skills Symposium at its city-centre venue, The Exchange, bringing together business leaders, local government, and academics to devise new solutions to close the digital skills divide. These talks are now driving new collaborative efforts in skills innovation and investment, combining cross-sectoral insights.

Damian Collins MP and Mayor Andy Street discuss the investment in young people’s futures.

An address from the minister for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport , Damian Collins MP, and West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street , focused on the progress the region has made in enabling innovations in the tech sector. Street announced that the West Midlands has been named the UK's fastest-growing tech sector thanks in part to increased investment in digital skills, with more jobs to be created by 2025.?

Collins reinforced this message, announcing a new cutting-edge telecoms lab to be established in Solihull – the first of its kind in the country. The Minister attributed the government’s investment to the West Midlands’ workforce being the most qualified it has ever been, with hiring by Birmingham tech firms up by a fifth in 2022 and a third across the West Midlands.

Birmingham Digital Futures & Digital Skills Innovation District

Following the launch of Birmingham Digital Futures (BDF) – a joint venture between the 英国伯明翰大学 , 普华永道 Midlands, and Tech She Can to inspire future generations about the opportunities of tech – Deputy Director of Business Engagement, Victoria Pargetter-Garner , announced that the University will launch a new Digital Skills Innovation District (DSID).?

The project represents an ambitious, long-term skills strategy developed by the region, for the region. The DSID will be a dedicated space for regional industry, education, and policy to co-create, co-deliver and co-diffuse cutting-edge skills programmes that meet the pressing demands of social mobility, workforce equality and sustainable regional economic growth.

The innovation district will be sector agnostic, recognising the importance of digital skills to all employers, while at the same time mapping onto key regional sectors wherever possible to ensure continued contribution to economic stability and growth.?

To support this, the DSID will employ a nodal model. New approaches to digital skills innovation will be developed at scale from The Exchange, situated in the heart of Birmingham’s business district, in partnership with businesses in the proximity and key regional innovation assets that represent industrial strength and high growth potential. For instance, new digital skills programmes for the green economy will be developed with Tyseley Energy Park , and for life sciences and healthcare with the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus.

The proposed district will demonstrate the shared commitment and ambition across our regional ecosystem to achieve the aims of devolution and the levelling-up agenda. It is an opportunity to present a united front in tackling the regional skills challenges that will attract investment, increase innovation and drive new opportunities for cross-sectoral R&D.

The DSID is underpinned by Birmingham Digital Futures, which is inspiring schoolchildren to think differently about the future of technology. The project is building a network of STEM ambassadors across regional firms who are delivering guest lessons, talks and mentoring to schoolchildren, describing their own journeys into technical careers to encourage young people to consider new career pathways.?

As Birmingham’s manufacturing employment is expected to shrink by 40% by 2040, solutions that enable the workforce to access the skills for the growing professional, scientific, and technical sectors are crucial to ensure thousands of children in the region can access the jobs of the future.?

Our partners combine some of the best talent in the region with academic minds. Tech She Can – which provides lesson plans and teaching resources for BDF volunteers – is a charity that works closely with industry, government, and schools to improve the ratio of women in technology roles. Their insight and knowledge in engaging industry and underrepresented communities combine with 普华永道 ’s regional influence and the University’s civic responsibility to provide a comprehensive programme to future generations of the regional workforce.?