The digital skills gap: ensuring technological acceleration doesn’t leave anyone behind

A key point highlighted by the panel was the essential need for local authorities to look beyond traditional conceptions of the so-called “digitally excluded” population when identifying who needed assistance.

“We found it was more of an economic issue,” one attendee said of digital exclusion.

“We sometimes put digital inclusion in its own inclusion bracket, when actually it’s just part of a broader inclusion issue. If you struggle with reading or writing or paying bills, digital is just there on the list.”

“On issues relating to inequalities, Covid-19 really put those into sharp relief. Without these skills, people’s futures are definitely blighted,” another panellist said.

“It’s really important that we give people access to broadband, and they know how to use it.”

A third participant said of the ‘digitally excluded’: “People like to say that it’s not just the over-50s, but before Covid-19 that is what everyone thought it was.”

They added: “We found 25% of young people on an employment scheme didn’t have devices… It wasn’t just access to devices, but also data poverty.”

All participants in the roundtable hailed the impact of community hubs, such as libraries, in their efforts to equip residents with the tools to thrive online.

One said: “The jewel in [our council’s] crown are the libraries. They’re all Wi-Fi enabled, and the majority have ‘digital helpers’. Libraries are now genuinely community hubs.”

Others highlighted the role of partnerships – both with the private sector and with other public bodies. As one person said, “When tech works, it works really well. But it also takes an awful lot of collaboration and commitment – and creativity as well. It is hard work.”

Another added: “The thing that has been a real success has been partnerships, and dedication around this. We had a local tech firm set up our local tech aid [scheme] and tech recycling initiative. Our CCG is also really committed to this agenda.”

One council representative shared that they had enjoyed success by employing a flexible model of skills training – offering residents the choice of individual or class-based learning environments, as well as face-to-face walk-in sessions.

Although the entire panel agreed that Covid represented a great leap forward in digital transformation, they also expressed the view that it was of vital importance to maintain this forward momentum over the coming years.

“We do need to move forward now on from the Covid experience. It’s hard to talk about positives from that time, but it was a positive.

“We need to maximise [tech] adoption now. We need to stop seeing digital as only for some niche services. When we talk about digital inclusion, I worry there’s a bit of preaching to the converted. It’s the same faces we see, and the same themes.”

Another attendee discussed the importance of tone and approach when working directly with residents to reduce digital exclusion. Councils must avoid “being paternal”, they said.

“We need to make sure our citizens are brought on a journey. That’s got to be something they want to do, that’s not something we’re forcing them to do.”

The nature of the role of the public sector means that the challenges it faces are infinitely complex and evolving.

Closing the digital skills gap won’t solve all of our problems overnight. But as this roundtable discussion clearly demonstrated, it will help improve services today, tomorrow and years into the future.

Digital infrastructure is something of an elephant in the room. The gains of recent years couldn’t have been won without first-rate connectivity networks – and yet there is much more to be done.

Enabling councils and other public sector bodies to communicate with residents, private sector partners and each other will be key going forward.