The UK has historically been considered to be a place with very favourable conditions for entrepreneurs and start-ups. A renowned education system, a global outlook and a desired location for creatives have led to the UK becoming a country at the forefront of innovation. Over the last few years, one industry in particular that has gained momentum in the UK is the digital sector. However, despite its success, the industry must address some deep-rooted issues if it is to maintain this growth. Here we explore some of these issues in more detail and outlines steps the digital sector can take to overcome them.

The UK is a country at the forefront of innovation - it currently ranks ninth in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index for 2014-15 ahead of the likes of Sweden and Denmark, New Zealand and Australia. Driving this innovation are new creative industries, like digital, and according to a recent report by TechCity, the sector is worth £100 billion to the economy.

However, despite the successes the industry has had over the past few years, it has come to a critical point. In order to continue to thrive, the digital industry must first confront and address some of the major issues that threaten to significantly hinder its process.

Some of these key issues are explored below:

Skills shortage

One major issue the industry faces is a growing nationwide digital skills shortage. The problem lies in the fact that as the sector grows at such an exponential rate, the number of skilled workers needed to fill these new positions is increasing – and at present there just isn’t enough people possessing these vital digital skills.

This digital skills shortage is particularly apparent in the digital marketing sector. With stats suggesting that 71 per cent of businesses plan to increase their investment in digital marketing, the demand for digital marketers is at an all-time high. As more brands appreciate the importance of optimising their online marketing channels, digital marketers are needed to fill both in-house and outsourcer roles. However this surge in demand has led to a distinct skills shortage across the sector, and those skilled workers looking for jobs are snapped up before many smaller companies even have a look in. So what can be done to rectify this problem?

One way that the sector as a whole can work to overcome this sizeable skills shortage is by developing skills from within. This can be done by investing in distance learning courses. These courses allow organisations to train-up their employees and decide exactly what is being taught, the web-based programmes also allows employees to learn online in their own time.

Another way the sector can work to increase its number of skilled digital workers is by lobbying the government to place the digital technology sector on the Shortage Occupation Lists (SOL). Placing the sector on this list would help to increase the flow of international graduates that possess these much-needed digital skills into the UK. Allowing an increase of international workers would not only help to reduce the skills shortage but would also allow digital start-ups to grow more quickly, which in turn would create more jobs and more economic growth for the country as a whole.

Education providers are also doing their bit to reduce this skills deficit. For example in September 2014 a compulsory science curriculum was launched in the UK across all key stages with a strong emphasis on computer science. It is the hope that this course will help build children’s digital knowledge from a very young age and excite many of them to pursue digital-based careers as adults.

Funding

Another major issue that needs addressing is funding. We just have to look to the US to see where the UK digital sector is lacking. In world-renowned tech hotspot Silicon Valley, the digital sector receives support and promotion by the media - this helps to increase the number of people with an active interest in digital. The sector also benefits from a generous amount of seed funding and venture capital, which helps entrepreneurs and start-ups find their feet in the initial stages of launching their business. However, in comparison, in the UK this funding amount is not available. This coupled with a lack of promotion from the media means that often digital start-ups face a very tough journey to become established. To overcome this, the sector should work together and engage in conversation with the government to identify funding opportunities and to try to raise the overall profile of the digital industry.

Calling upon the government for help

TechUK, a trade body representing 850 UK technology companies, has called for the government to make several high-profile digital appointments – including a Chief Privacy Officer, to help protect the digital economy from the threat of cybercrime and digital ministers to help use the power of government to grow British-based tech. These appointments would help to give the industry the attention it deserves, and so the sector should keep up the pressure on the government to make sure these demands are met.

The government does however seem to be taking tech seriously as it has invested heavily in the Help To Grow scheme, which supplies growth loans to companies that need between £500,000 and £2m investment in order to grow.

However in order to maintain the sector growth and to secure the UK’s position as a country at the forefront of the digital evolution, the government must continue to invest resources into the sector. The industry itself must also work hard to promote itself and develop employee’s skills from within. Working together with the government, the digital sector can make real headway in addressing these key issues and should continue to grow. Confronting these problems will help not just the digital industry, but the UK economy as a whole, as it will drive revenue and put the UK on the map as being a place synonymous with creativity and innovation.

 

By Howard Jackson, Chief Executive of HCSS Education. 

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