Since more than 10 years, we’ve talked about the digital skills gap in the UK. The infrastructure for awareness has been built with reports, roundtables and policy pledges. The gap is growing despite all the national attention. Maybe it’s time to stop talking and get started.
What we face in 2025 threatens much more: our economy losing PS27.6 billion by 2030, 380,000 full-time jobs being wiped off the table, and the global competitiveness of Britain’s key growth-driving sectors sinking into mud. The threat we face in 2025 is much greater: Our economy will lose PS27.6 billion between 2030 and 2030, 380,000 jobs are at risk, and the global competitiveness for Britain’s growth-driven sectors will be a mudslide.
You can bet that the problem will only get worse. Recent studies have shown that innovation has been so rapid, the Half-Life of tech-specific skill is now only 2.5 years. Before most transformation programmes are implemented, the skills that they’re supposed to develop have already become obsolete. This alone should alter the way we view digital upskilling. It’s no longer a reactive, one-time fix but rather a continual process of reinvention.
The biggest problem with our national conversation is that it’s focused on the wrong issue.
The AI industry is taking over the spotlight, and this is undermining digital skill
AI has captured our collective attention. Each boardroom discussion, each news cycle and every funding decision seem to be based on being “AI-ready”.
AI literacy is important. It’s not enough. The skill deficit that is holding back the commercial sector has a much deeper foundation: data analysis and cybersecurity, digital communications, tech-enabled productivity. These skills are what keep businesses running. This ecosystem is much more than AI. Without people to manage, build and secure this ecosystem, AI will not matter, because it won’t get delivered.
Here are the cracks. Only 59% can perform the 20 digital tasks that are considered basic in today’s economic environment. Here, we’re not talking niche skills, but rather basic capabilities like staying safe online, updating software on devices, or using Microsoft tools.
Over 30% of employees in the tech industry, where digital capabilities should be expected, are unable to perform digital tasks. Where’s the point in businesses being AI-ready when they lack the practical skills to support that transformation?
Long-term problems cannot be solved by short-term fixes
It’s not just the focus that’s a problem, but also the approach. Businesses invest in digital skills training because of fear-mongering headlines, rather than a long-term plan. A quick course is provided when a new tool is released. A new threat is detected, so a webcast is launched.
This is not a road map to digital fluency, but crisis management. It also does not address the rapidity with which digital capabilities are fading.
It’s important to anticipate where technology is headed, and not simply react to what has been done. This means embedding digital learning into the core of your work, and allowing for a wider definition of it. Not just IT workers, but also those in HR, Marketing, Finance, and Operations who interact with digital systems every day.
Effective training requires precision engineering
Prioritisation would be given to updating a cloud system every 2,5 years. Human infrastructure should be treated with the same urgency.
It’s all about relevancy – ensuring that the right people are trained in the correct skills at a pace which keeps up with the technological changes. This requires a consultative strategy that looks at what businesses and industries need.
Instep approaches the challenge in this way: we partner with businesses to identify skills requirements, map those against current and future job roles, then design programmes that address these needs in real-time.
This often involves helping businesses access government funding via mechanisms such as the Growth and Skills Levy. It is more important to equip people with digital skills that are both durable and evolving. thinking digitally is more important than just knowing how to usethe newest software.
This includes skills such as digital logic, data-processing, understanding of how systems work, applied mathematics, and solving real-world problems. They are the foundations for individuals to adopt, adapt and work with new technologies as they arise. The next app or program is not the goal, as most of them are outdated before the manuals have dried. It’s all about creating the cognitive infrastructure that keeps up with innovation. Tools change; mindsets don’t.
The government is aware, but it cannot act alone
Digital inclusion is a priority for the government. In February 2025 a new Digital Inclusion Action Plan will be launched to combat digital exclusion, expand access to devices, and provide skills training. This is an important intervention, but it’s not the whole solution.
The government sets the tone. Businesses must respond by developing strategies that treat digital capabilities as a living, evolving asset. This includes understanding digital workflows, navigating cybersecurity risks and automating tasks. 7.5 millions adults lack essential workplace digital skills. Priority must be given to readiness, not just access.
You’ve heard enough
The digital skills gap is not just a challenge for businesses; it’s also a structural problem that affects productivity, cybersecurity, and the ability of workers to adapt. Cloud infrastructure, automation, and data-driven systems are becoming more embedded in every department. The ability to interpret data and understand system logic, as well as collaborate digitally, is quickly becoming the minimum standard.
We need to prepare for a world where digital fluency will be as important as literacy and numeracy in all fields, professions and walks of living. To achieve this, we must be serious about our training and implement smarter, more targeted learning to equip people with the skills to adapt to technology as quickly as it does.
