From Inclusion to Empowerment: The Barclays Digital Development Index

2

Contents

3 Foreword

4 ExecutivesummaryThe international picture UK performance

8 AburningplatformWhat is digital empowerment?Pillars of empowerment

11 Individualempowerment:amixedpictureThe skills spectrumThe confidence trickLearning to learnOld and new divides

19 Empowermentpolicy:playingcatch-upStart with educationBeyond coding Filling the gap: the role of businessAttitude and inclusion

23 Nextsteps

25 Appendix:surveydetailsanddatasourcesSurvey detailsData sources and references

3

Foreword

The digital revolution signals an era of huge opportunity for individuals, businesses and societies. Our world is changing, and at an incredible speed and scale. Not even the industrial revolution was as transformative as the coming digital age.

Wecanalreadyglimpsetheextentofthischangeinthe

wayweorderataxi,doourshoppingorbookaholiday–

andthisisonlythebeginning.

Forpeopleandforsociety,thisisbothempoweringand

challenging.Empoweringbecauseitprovidesbusinesses

withmoreopportunitiesandconsumerswithmorechoice.

Italsomeansthatservicescanbedeliveredatgreater

speedthaneverbefore.Butitischallenging,requiring

peopleandbusinessestoacquire,retainandconsistently

developnewskillsandunderstandingtotrulybenefit.

Theoldwaysofdoingthingswillbecomeobsolete,

traditionalskillsarelessrelevant,andbusinessesgrow

orfailatspeedsneverpreviouslythoughtpossible.

Inthisnewworldofdisruptiveinnovationanddigital

advancement,itisthoseindividuals,businessesand

societieswhohavethegreatestlevelofaccess,abilityand

understandingwhowillcontinuetoprosper.Thosewhich

havetheleastwillfallbehindandfinditprogressively

hardertocatchup.

That’swhyBarclaysisabsolutelycommittedtousingour

insights,expertiseandscaletoensurethateveryonecan

realisethefullbenefitofthedigitalage.

Weunderstandhowimportantdigitalskillsandconfidence

arebecausewe’reonadigitaljourneytoo–workingto

makeourappsandonlineservicesaccessibleforeveryone

andusingtechnologicalinnovationtomakeliveseasier.A

networkofthousandsoftrained‘DigitalEagles’nowoffer

face-to-facehelpandadvicetoanymemberofthepublic

freeofcharge;ouronline‘DigitalWings’modulesoffer

accessiblelearning;andthisyearwewillopenseveralnew

‘EagleLabs’toprovideaccesstoworkspacesandtoolsfor

digitalcreationandinnovation.

Ofcourse,ourambitionisthattheUKbecomesthemost

digitallysavvynationonearth,butweknowthatthere

willbemanylearningsandopportunitieswhichcross

geographicalborders.Thisiswhywehaveembarkedon

thecreationofthisIndex.

FromInclusiontoEmpowerment:TheBarclaysDigital

DevelopmentIndextakesthepulseofthecurrentsituation

forworkersandbusinessesintenmarketsacrossthe

globe.Itaimstoconsidernotonlytheoutcomesofdigital

empowermentonanindividuallevel,butalsothewider

context,attitudesandpolicieswhichcanencourageand

fosterconfidenceinadigitalworld.

Wehopethatitinspiresconversationsandinnovations

aroundthedigitalskillswhichwillbevitalforourcontinued

andfurtherdevelopment.Together,weneedtomakesure

wethriveinthedigitalera,andBarclaysisdedicatedto

securingthestrongestfutureforourcustomers,economy

andsociety.

AshokVaswani

CEO,BarclaysUK

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Executive summary

As technology-led disruption of businesses and industries continues apace, workers in the UK and other developed nations are at risk. Their confidence in their digital skill levels is too low, despite several years of public and private sector efforts to boost them. In emerging markets, meanwhile, skills assessments and confidence levels are much higher than those in many advanced economies.

Rapidtechnologicalchangemeansthatthedigitalskillsof

mostcountries’workforceswillnotkeepthemcompetitive

intomorrow’sworkplace.Beforelong,beingdigitally

‘competent’or‘literate’willnotbeenough;workerswill

havetolearnmoreadvancedskillsthathelpthembecome

creators–ratherthanjustconsumers–ofdigitalcontent.

Theywillhavetobecomedigitally‘empowered’,anditisup

togovernment,businessandotherstakeholderstocreate

theconditionsforthistohappen.

“Oneorganisation–whethergovernment,business

orcharity–willnotbeabletotacklethisproblem

alone.Norcantherebea‘onesizefitsall’approach.

Thesolutionsmustbetailoredtotheneedsand

circumstancesofthepeoplethataregoingtobe

usingthesetechnologies.”

EllenHelsper,AssociateProfessorinMediaandCommunications,

LondonSchoolofEconomics

Governmentsmustensurethatthephysicalinfrastructure

isinplacetoenabledigitaleconomiestoprosper–super-

fastbroadband,forexample.Theymustalsoensurethat

digitallearningisacorepartofschoolcurricula;that

teachershavetheskillsandequipmenttoteachchildren

whattheyneedtoknow;andthattheysupportindividuals

andcompaniesbyprovidingaccesstotrainingand

practicalsupport.

Businesshasanimportantroletoplaytoo.IntheUK,

employersrecognisethatthereisaskillsdeficit;many,for

example,areconvincedthatproductivitywouldincreaseif

theiremployees’digitalskilllevelswerehigher1.Companies

canaddressthis,andimprovecareerprospects,by

investingintrainingandsupport.

TheBarclaysDigitalDevelopmentIndexisaneffort

toshiftpublicdebateintheUKandelsewherefroma

discussionofbasicdigitalcompetencetowardsoneof

digitalempowerment,andtounderstandhowreadythe

UKworkforceisforthedigitaleconomy,comparedwithits

rivals.

Theindexcomparestheworkforcedigitalskillsand

attitudesofnations,alongwiththepoliciesthatareinplace

toimprovethem.Itisbasedonaself-assessmentsurvey

thataskedadultworkersin10countriestoevaluatetheir

currentdigitalskills,whatthey’llneedinthefuture,and

howtheiremployersandgovernmentsarehelpingthemto

addressthegaps.

Theobjectiveoftheindexistounderstandhowwell

countriesareequippingtheirworkersforthedigital

economy.Itlooksatabroadspectrumofcountries,

includingthosecurrentlycompetingwiththeUKand

thoselikelytobecompetitorsintheyearsahead.These

countriesincludeperceiveddigitalpioneerssuchasEstonia

andSweden,majorindustrialandhigh-techgiantssuchas

Germany,SouthKoreaandtheUS,andrapidlydigitalising

marketssuchasBrazil,China,IndiaandSouthAfrica.

1DigitalSkills–Workers,surveybyOpinium,2016

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Digital Development Index online

To explore the findings in more detail please visit - digitalindex.barclays

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Theindexassessesthe10countriesintwopillarsof

empowerment:

• TheIndividualEmpowermentIndexmeasuresworkers’

self-assessmentoftheirdigitalskillsinsixcategories

rangingfrombasictoadvanced.Italsoincludes

questionsabouthowwelltheirbusinessesandemployers

arehelpingtodeveloptheirskills.

• TheDigitalEmpowermentPolicyIndexassessesnational

effortstocreateadigitallyempoweredworkforce–from

gettingtheinfrastructurerighttoembeddingdigitalskills

educationinschoolsandtheworkplace.

Thestudy’smajorfindingsareasfollows:

Theinternationalpicture

• EstoniaandSouthKoreaarejointleadersindigital

empowerment.Likemost(thoughnotall)developed

countriesintheindex,theirpositionsarebasedonactive

andwell-organisedgovernmentandbusinessefforts

toimprovetheteachingofdigitalskills.Eveninthese

technologyleaders,however,workforceconfidencein

digitalskillsislowerthanamongdeveloping-country

rivals.

• Workersinemergingmarketsaremoreconfident

aboutdigitalskillsthanthoseindevelopedmarkets.

Workerself-assuranceinemergingcountriesisespecially

highwhenitcomestobasicskillssuchaswebsearch

andevaluation,communicationandcollaboration,and

protectingdataanddevices.Butitalsocomesthroughin

themoreadvancedareasofcoding,problem-solvingand

overallattitudestowardslearningtechnology.

• Whenitcomestodigitalempowermentpolicy,

developedcountriesboaststrongerframeworks.

Thesecountriesdominatetheupperhalfofthetable

inallpolicycategories.Oneinferenceisthatwhere

individualconfidenceindigitalskillsislower,stronger

policyframeworksareneededtodevelopskillsandbuild

greaterconfidence.

CombinedRank

= 01 Estonia 6.4

= 01 South Korea 6.4

03 Sweden 6.1

04 UK 6.0

= 05 China 5.9

= 05 USA 5.9

07 India 5.7

08 Germany 5.6

09 Brazil 4.5

10 South Africa 4.2

Note: Country scores are on a 1-10 scale.

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UK performance• TheUK’sdigitalempowermentstrengthsareoffsetby

clearweaknesses.ItranksfourthoverallintheDigital

DevelopmentIndex.ThisplacesitbelowEstonia,South

KoreaandSweden,butabovearguablyitsbiggest

rivalsinthedigitaleconomy–theUS,ChinaandIndia.

Comparativestrengthsinselectedareasofdigital

skillspolicyandadvancedskillslearningareoffsetby

relativelylowconfidencelevelsindigitalskillsamongthe

workforce.

• Workforceconfidenceisparticularlylowinbasicdigital

skills,includingsecurity.TheUKplacesnohigherthan

sixthoutof10inanybasicskillscategory.Whilestronger

thanmostotherdevelopedcountriesintermsofonline

communicationandcollaboration,itsworkforcecomes

jointlastinresearchingandevaluatinginformation

online,andnexttolastinsecurity–protectingtheirdata

anddevices.

• TheUKranksjustseventhoutof10whenitcomesto

assessmentofcontent-creationandcodingskills.Thisis

akeyindicatoroftheabilitytobea‘digitalcreator’rather

thanjusta‘digitalconsumer’.Indialeads,producingthe

mostschoolpupilswithcodingskills–almost10times

asmanyastheUS.Codingismakingacomebackinthe

nationalcurriculumoftheUK,however,aswellasin

SouthKorea.

• Inadequateteachertrainingisamajordragoneffortsto

improvedigitaleducation.AnambitiousUKcomputing

curriculumhasnotbeenmatchedwithadequatebudget

forteacherupskilling.Norareenoughnewcomputing

teacherscomingintothesystem.Asaresult,there

isheavyrelianceonstretchedvolunteernetworksto

providetraining.

• Employeeawarenessofdigitaltrainingofferedbytheir

employersislow.Only38%ofUKworkerssaythat

theiremployerofferstrainingindigitalskills;thisfigure

isconsiderablyhigherinChina,theUSandIndia.The

sameistrueofawarenessofgovernment-sponsored

training.Businessesandgovernmentsmaybeoffering

suchtraining,buttheyneedtodoabetterjobofmaking

workersawareofitsexistence.

Theindexalsothrowsintorelieftwotypesofdigitaldivide

forpolicymakerstoconsider.Oneisagendergap:inthe

UKandSweden,menexhibithigherlevelsofassurancein

mostskillcategories,whetherbasicoradvanced.Women’s

statedconfidenceintheUKisextremelylowintheareaof

onlinesearchandinformationevaluation.

Theotherdivideisbetweentheyoungestagecohorts

intheworkplace.IntheUKandelsewhere(butnotin

theUS),newworkplaceentrants(thoseaged16–24)

emergeaslessskilledthantheirolderbutlessdigitally

‘native’counterparts.Manymaybeexpertsindigital

communicationandentertainment,buttheystumblewhen

itcomestocreativity.Despitegrowingupinadigitalworld,

theyfacethechallengeoflearninghowtocreatedigital

contentandnotjustconsumeit.

Only38%

ofUKemployersoffertheirworkersdigitalskillstraining

16-24 less digitallyskilled than their older colleagues

year olds are

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A burning platformIn most countries, digital technologies have transformed the workplace – there are few business processes today that are not driven or underpinned by technology. This digital revolution is ongoing. Businesses of all sizes face potential disruption, with knock-on effects for their employees. Whether or not such predictions come true, it is clear that, in order to thrive in the digital economy that is taking shape, the workforce will need to master more advanced digital skill sets.

Inmanycountries,workersarefailingtokeeppacewith

change.AnOECDstudypublishedin2013foundthatone-

fifthoftheworking-agepopulationacross33countries

couldnotcompleteanonlinetestbecausetheylacked

experiencewithcomputers2.TheOECDalsofoundthat

31%ofworking-ageadultsintheUKlackevenbasicdigital

problem-solvingskills(theaverageacrosstheOECDis

37%)3.AccordingtotheHouseofCommonsScienceand

TechnologyCommittee,thedigitalskillsgapiscosting

theUKeconomyanestimated£63billionayearinlost

additionalGDP4.Thehumancostisjustastroubling:

millionsofpeoplearenotbeinggiventhechancetofulfil

theirpotentialandcouldfalltothebottomofthepileasthe

digitalworldcontinuestogrowaroundthem.

Thishasnotgoneunnoticedbycommentatorsand

politicians.InFebruary2015,theHouseofLordsSelect

CommitteewarnedthattheUKfacesastarkchoice:

addressitsdigitalskillsshortageorjeopardiseitsplaceas

aglobaldigitalleader5.InNovember2015,digitalinclusion

advocatesTinderFoundation,alongwiththecharityGo

ONUK(whichpromotesdigitalskills),calledforurgent

fundingintodigitalskillstrainingtoboostproductivityin

theworkforce6.

TheUKgovernmenthasrespondedwithinitiativesto

promotedigitalinclusionbyboostingthedigitalabilities

ofgroupssuchasolderpeopleandtheunemployed.Ithas

alsotakenstepstointroduceorexpandtheteachingof

computerskillsinschools.ButintheUKandelsewhere,

muchofthefocushasremainedontheteachingofbasic

skillssuchascompletingonlineforms.

Competinginthedigitaleconomywillrequireproficiency

inhigher-levelskills,suchassearchingandevaluating

informationonlineandusingavarietyofdevicesand

softwareprograms.Usingtechnologycreativelyto

developcontentorsolveproblemswillalsobeamust.

Andattitudeswillbeimportant:overcomingthefearof

newtechnologiesandbeingwillingtolearnnewskillson

anongoingbasis.Inbrief,workersmustbecomedigitally

empowered.

“There’sbeenalotoffocusonthenutsandbolts

ofourdigitalworldbutnotsomuchonthebigger

pictureandhowitreallywilltransformthewaywe

liveandwork.”

NickCorston, Co-founder,STEAMCo.

2OECDSkillsOutlook2013:FirstResultsfromtheSurveyofAdultSkills,OECD[http://skills.oecd.org/OECD_Skills_Outlook_2013.pdf]3SurveyofAdultSkills(PIACC),OECD,completedin2012andpublishedin2013[http://www.oecd.org/site/piaac/surveyofadultskills.htm]4HouseofCommonsScienceandTechnologyCommittee,Digitalskillscrisis,June2016[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmsctech/270/270.pdf]5LordssaydigitalskillswillmakeorbreaktheUK’,www.parliament.uk,February2015[http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/digital-skills-committee/news/report-published/]6TinderFoundationandGoONUKcallforurgentdigitalskillsfundingtosupportGovernment2020“fastbroadbandforall”pledge’,GoONUKpressrelease,November2015[https://www.go-on.co.uk/blog/2015/11/tinder-foundation-and-go-on-uk-call-for-urgent-dig/]

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Whatisdigitalempowerment?Mostnationalandinternationalassessmentsofdigital

skillshavethusfarfocusedon‘competence’or‘literacy’.

Somestresstheimportanceofcreativityandattitude,

andafewconsiderproblem-solving.TheEuropean

Commission’sDIGCOMPinitiative,forexample,sets

outtodefine‘digitalcompetency’,whichalongsideskills

alsoconsiderspeople’sknowledgeofandattitudesto

technology.“Alotofpeoplehaveskills,”explainsRiina

Vuorikari,aResearchFellowattheCommission.“But

theydon’thavetherightattitude:it’snottunedinto

digitalthings.”

Digitalempowermentistheabilityanddesiretouse

one’sdigitalskillstoworkproductivelyandcreatively,

andtohavetheopportunitytocontinuallyupgrade

themtokeeppacewithchangingtechnology.Itisnot

onlyaboutlearninghowtocodeorcreatecontent,

butcontinuallyrefreshingandgrowingsuchskills.It

isalsoaboutconfidence,whichco-existswithskillsin

amutuallyreinforcingfeedbackloop:thebetterone’s

skills,themoreconfidentandabletolearnnewskills

onebecomes.Digitalempowermentalsorequires

government,businessandotherstakeholdersto

togetherprovideworkerswiththenecessarydigital

infrastructure,trainingandsupport.Forallstakeholders,

itmeansunderstandingandembracingthedigital

future.

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DigitalEmpowermentPolicyIndexIndividualEmpowermentIndex

Pillars of digital development

The index consists of two equally weighted pillars:

Thisisbasedonaself-

assessmentofdigitalskills

fromasurveyof1,000working

adultsineachmarket.It

numberssixcategoriesrelating

tobasicandmoreadvanced

skillsandcompetencies:

researchingandevaluating

information;communicatingand

collaborating;protectingdata

anddevices;contentcreation

andcoding;solvingproblems;

andknowledgeandattitude.To

createaggregatecountryscores,

weattachedanumericalscore

toeachskillsleveluptoascore

of10.

Thissub-indexevaluates

thepoliciesthatguidethe

developmentofadigitally

empoweredworkforce–from

gettingtheinfrastructure

basicsrighttoensuringthat

therighttrainingprogrammes

areinplace.Itcomprisesfour

categories:broadbandaccess

andpolicy;digitalskillspolicy;

digitalskillsincompulsory

education;andvocationaland

workplaceskills.

MostindicatorsinourDigitalEmpowermentPolicyIndex

arebasedonassessmentsofcountries’policies,strategies

andtargetsregardingimprovingdigitalskillsandaccessfor

thebroadpopulation.Qualitativeindicatorswerescored

initiallyona1to5scale(andconvertedtoa0to10scale

foraggregationpurposes)usingtightlydefinedcriteria.

Severalindicatorsarebasedonquantitativedata–

particularlythoserelatingtointernetandbroadband

access,aswellasseveralrelatingtoeducation,suchasthe

percentageofstudentstakingcomputersciencecourses.

Tonormalisethequantitativeindicators,wechose‘ideal’

targetsthatcountriesshouldbestrivingtoreach.For

example,thetargetforinternetaccessisfor100%ofthe

populationtobeabletogetonline.Countrieswerethen

scoredonascaleof0to10basedontheirproximityto(or

distancefrom)thesetargets.

For a complete index methodology, visit

digitalindex.barclays/methodology

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Individual empowerment: a mixed picture

Among the more striking findings of the index is that emerging-market workforces are more confident about their digital skills than those in advanced economies, including the US and UK. Emerging-market workers are particularly self-assured in what the index classes as ‘basic skills’ – web search and evaluation, communication and collaboration, and protecting data and devices. But greater confidence also comes through in the more advanced skills areas of coding, problem-solving and overall attitudes towards technology learning.

Typically,youngerpopulations,combinedwithhigherlevels

ofICTtraining,mayhelptoexplainthisimpressiveshow

ofempowerment.InChina,IndiaandBrazilinparticular,

youngerworkersaremoreprominentintheworkforcethan

inmoredevelopedmarkets;thisisreflectedinthesurvey

usedtobuildtheindex(theshareofyoungerworkersin

thesampleislowestintheUKandSweden).Developing

countriesalsohavegenerallyhigherlevelsofICT-specific

training.

Combined,thesefactorssuggestthatemerging-market

workforcesareatconsiderableeasewithtechnology.If

theirpolicyandinfrastructureenvironmentsimprove(see

‘Empowermentpolicy:playingcatch-up’),workforcesin

China,Indiaandotheremergingmarketswillcompete

increasinglystronglywiththeirdeveloped-worldrivalsin

thedigitaleconomy.HowistheUKworkforceequippedto

respond?

TheskillsspectrumIntoday’sworkplace,basicdigitalskills–suchastheability

tosearchforinformationonthewebandcommunicating

withcolleaguesviaemailandsocialmedia–area

fundamentalrequirement.Thesameistrueofknowing

howtoprotectdataanddevices,athomeandatwork.For

EmmaLindley,FounderandMDofonlineidentityexperts

InnovateIdentity,basicdigitalskillsareamust:“Ithinkit

wouldbereallyhardforanyonetooperateintheworkforce

withoutbasicdigitalskills–they’rejustnotgoingtobeable

togetagoodjobinfuture,”shesays.“Soitisworryingthat

intheUK,overone-fifthofpeoplestilldon’thavedigital

skills.”

UKskillsweaknessesshowthroughintheindividual

empowermentpillaroftheindex,wherethecountryranks

nohigherthansixthinanybasicskillscategory.UKworkers

ratethemselvesparticularlypoorlyonresearchingand

evaluatinginformationandprotectingdataanddevices

(ninthinbothcases).Thelatterisespeciallyconcerning

giventhedangersofcyberfraudandtheimportanceof

protectingdataonline.

Thepictureisbrighterwhenitcomestomoreadvanced

skillsandabilities.Theyarerelativelyunsureabouttheir

abilitytocodeandcreatecontent(rankingseventh),but

UKworkersaremoreassuredthantheirdeveloped-world

peersoftheirabilitytosolveproblems,suchasremoving

unwantedappsfromdevicesorfreeingupdiskspaceon

theirdesktopcomputers(UKworkersrankfourth).

UKworkersratethemselvesaspooronprotectingdataanddevices

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Individual empowerment index

= before the rank indicates a tie in rank with another geography

OverallScore

01 5.9

02 5.8

03 5.7

04 5.4

05 5.2

06 4.9

07 4.8

08 4.6

= 09 4.4

= 09 4.4

Researchingandevaluating

01 5.5

02 5.3

03 5.1

04 4.7

05 4.5

= 06 4.3

= 06 4.3

08 4.1

= 09 4.0

= 09 4.0

Communicatingandcollaborating

01 6.0

02 5.6

03 5.3

04 4.9

05 4.7

06 4.0

= 07 3.6

= 07 3.6

09 3.4

10 3.2

Protectingdataanddevices

01 5.7

= 02 5.6

= 02 5.6

04 5.4

05 5.3

06 5.2

07 5.1

08 5.0

09 4.9

10 4.4

Contentcreationandcoding

01 6.2

02 6.1

03 5.9

04 5.1

05 4.7

06 4.4

07 4.2

08 3.6

= 09 3.0

= 09 3.0

Solvingproblems

01 6.6

02 6.5

03 6.4

04 6.1

= 05 6.0

= 05 6.0

07 5.8

08 5.7

09 5.4

10 4.8

Knowledgeandattitude

01 6.4

02 6.1

03 5.9

= 04 5.8

= 04 5.8

= 06 5.7

= 06 5.7

08 5.6

09 5.5

10 5.3

China

Brazil

Estonia

Germany

India

SouthAfrica

SouthKorea

Sweden

UK

USA

Key

13

The confidence trick

In a world of rapid technological change it is not enough for people simply to learn new skills. Workforces need confidence in their digital abilities to engage productively with technology and establish and develop those skills.

Confidencecanbeinfluencedbymanydifferentfactors.

Educationlevels,standardsofgeneralliteracy,attitude

andsimpleaccesstotechnologycanshapehowpeople

approachandinteractwithtechnology.Learningnew

skillsinordertooperateandusetechnologyisofcourse

important,butisnotenoughtobuildempowerment.

Peoplemustbeinterestedinusingtechnologyinexciting

andcreativenewways,ratherthanfeelingintimidatedby

it.DavidHardman,CEOofInnovationBirmingham,points

outthatthisappliestobothhomeandworkplace:“There’s

abasicleveloftrainingneeded,butalotofitisabout

confidence,”hesays.“Everythingfromhowtoprogramme

aDVDplayertousingsocialmedia–youneedtobeableto

continuetodothat,andbeabletodoitintheworkplace.”

Alackofconfidence,ontheotherhand,canexacerbate

feelingsoffearanduncertainty,preventingpeoplefrom

furtheringtheirdigitalskills.“Peoplesaytothemselves,

‘Oh,Idon’tknowhowtousethat,soI’mstupid’,”explains

EmmaLindley.“Thentheyjuststopusingit.”

SaulKlein,PartneratventurecapitalfundLocalGlobe,

suggeststhatoftenpeoplecanbeputofforeven

frightenedbytheideathattheyneedtobecreativewhen

itcomestodevelopingandapplyingdigitalskills.“Infact,

youneedtorecognisetheskillsyoudohaveandknowhow

toapplytheminthedigitalworld.”Hecitestheexampleof

Uber:“Driversusetheskillstheyalreadyhavebutinstead

theyapplytheminanewway,inanewbusinessmodel

whichplugsintothedigitalage.Insteadofthinking‘Ican’t

possiblybepartofthis’,weneedtothink‘whataremy

skills,whatdoIlovedoing,whatdoIexcelatandhowcan

Ileveragethesethings?’inordertomakethemostofthe

opportunitiesofthedigitaleconomy.”

TheUK’sworkforcedisplaysacomparativelypositive

attitudetowardsacquiringtechnologyknowledge,ranking

thirdinthiscategory–belowonlyChinaandSouthAfrica.

Thisisencouragingforpolicymakers:itmeansthatwhile

workersmaybelackinginsomedigitalskills,atleastthe

majorityhavetheconfidencetoattempttochangethis

shouldtheywantto.

Moretroubling,however,isthefairlynoncommittalattitude

ofalargeminorityofUKworkerstowardsimprovingtheir

situation.Inthesurveyconductedforthestudy,one-fifth

ofUKrespondents(higherthantheaverageacrossall

countries)believethattheydonotneeddigitalskillsfor

theirjobs,whilealmost30%ofworkershavenointerest

orconfidenceinupdatingtheirskills.Partoftheproblem

maybealackofexposuretotechnology,asEllenHelsper,

AssociateProfessorinMediaandCommunicationsat

theLondonSchoolofEconomics,highlights:“Ifyouare

inanenvironmentwherenobodyelseusestechnology,

andifthere’snoonearoundtohelpyououtifsomething

happensortosuggestwheretolookforhelp,”shesays,

“thatquicklyleadstodisengagement.”

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Workforceattitudestowardstheimportanceofdigitalskillstotheirjobs

Next5years

Critical Important Useful Unimportant Unnecessary

I could not do my job without these skills/I will not be able to do my job or advance my career without these skills

This is a key facet of my job/this will be a key facet of my job or future career

It helps me in my job/it will help me in my job or future career

It doesn’t especially matter in my job/it won’t especially matter in my job or future career

I don’t have the need for such skills in my job/I won’t have the need for such skills in my job or future career

31% 32%28%

25%22% 22%

9% 8% 10% 12%

I could not do my job without these skills/I will not be able to do my job or advance my career without these skills

This is a key facet of my job/this will be a key facet of my job or future career

It helps me in my job/it will help me in my job or future career

It doesn’t especially matter in my job/it won’t especially matter in my job or future career

I don’t have the need for such skills in my job/I won’t have the need for such skills in my job or future career

Careersofar

Critical Important Useful Unimportant Unnecessary

32% 32%

24% 22%26% 25%

9% 9% 9% 11%

Allcountries

UK

Allcountries9760,UK:1001

Howimportanthaveyourdigitalskillsbeeninhelpingyouadvanceinyourjobandcareerthusfar?Andhowimportantdoyoubelievetheywillbeinthenext5years?

15

Learning to learn

There is a line of thinking that digital education should be less about teaching specific skills and more about simply encouraging people to learn.

Byfosteringanenvironmentinwhichchildren(andadults)

canfeelconfidentininteractingwithtechnology,teachers

canencouragethemtothinkcreatively–andevento

usethetechnologyinnewandunexpectedways.What

shouldbeencouraged,thethinkinggoes,islearningabout

learningitself–theprocessofassimilatinginformationand

usingittoimproveone’sknowledgeandskills.Sorather

thandevisingspecificlessonstoteachparticularskills,

schoolsandcollegesshouldfocusonprovidingaccessto

therighttoolsandanenvironmentinwhichpeoplecanbe

encouragedtoexploittheirnaturalcreativity.

ItisanargumentsupportedbyTimO’Reilly,Founder

andCEOofO’ReillyMediaintheUS.Heusesasporting

analogy:“Ifpeoplearesittingtheresaying,‘Wewantto

producealotmorebasketballplayers,’youwouldn’tputon

basketballclasses,”heexplains.“Youwouldcreatemore

playgroundswithbasketballhoops.It’smakingsurethat

there’saccess,there’sinspirationandtherearetools.”

GiFernando,FounderandCEOofFreeformers,adigital

transformationcompany,adds,“It’saboutskillsand

mindset.Thebiggestenableristhedemocratisationof

information–thefactthatknowledgecanbestreamedlike

music.Thismeansanyonecanlearnjustaboutanyskill–if

theyhavetherightmindset.”

Theseviewsaresupportedbydatafromtheindex.

Thereisastrongcorrelationbetweenworkers’overall

confidenceintheirdigitalskillsandtheirwillingnessto

learn.Encouragingstudentsandworkerstocontinually

updatetheirdigitalknowledge,then,iscriticaltobuilding

confidence.Afterall,technologywillcontinuetomarch

on,andwhatareconsideredadvancedskillstodaymaybe

deemedtobebasicinafewyears’time.

HasanBakhshi,SeniorDirector,CreativeEconomyandData

AnalyticsatNesta,aninnovationcharity,arguesthatformal

educationisimportantfordevelopingdigitalempowerment

amongcitizensandworkers:“Digitaleducationstartsinthe

homeandinschool,”hesays.“Wehaveseenanumberof

positivechangesinrecentyears,intheimplementationof

thecomputingcurriculumandtheproliferationofcoding

clubs.Still,morecanbedonetokeeptheUKcompetitive

globally,andsomeofthesethingsinvolvethinkingofthe

differentdigitalskillstheeconomyrequires.”

Forexample,addsHasanBakhshi,employersare

increasinglydemandingadvanceddigitalskills,suchas

datascienceandmachinelearning.“Fromouranalysisof

on-linejobads,weseegrowingnumbersofemployersin

arangeofsectorsseekingworkerswithadvanceddigital

skills.TheseskillsarefundamentaltothevitalityoftheUK’s

mostinnovativeandfastestgrowingbusinesses.”

“Anyonecanlearnjustaboutanyskill–iftheyhave

therightmindset”

GiFernando, FounderandCEO,Freeformers.

16

Old and new divides

Much policy discussion in the UK in recent years has revolved around eliminating digital divides –between urban and rural residents, for example. Internet access and connection speeds have usually been the focus of attention.

Thisstudysuggests,however,thattherearedigitalskills

gapsbetweendifferentpartsoftheworkforcethatalso

needtobeaddressed–oratleasttakenintoconsideration

whenreviewingnationaldigitalstrategy.

Agendergapisonesuchdivide.IntheUK(aswellasin

Sweden),menexhibithigherlevelsofstatedassurance

inmostskillscategories,whetherbasicoradvanced.

Womens’opinionoftheirconfidenceisextremelylowin

theareaofonlinesearchandinformationevaluation.Itis

onaparwithmaleconfidence,however,intermsofoverall

attitudestowardstechnologylearning,whichsuggests

thatminimisingthegapsthatdoexistshouldnotbean

insurmountablechallenge.

Ofcourse,itmaybethatmenaremorelikelytoproject

confidence,whereaswomenaremorehonestaboutwhat

theyknow.Nevertheless,genderdividessuchastheseare

familiartoElisaLironi,DigitalDemocracyandCampaigning

CoordinatorattheEuropeanCitizenActionService,who

seesastronglinkbetweengenderdisparitiesindigitalskills

andgendergapsinwidersociety:“Researchshows,for

example,thatcountrieswhichareveryadvanceddigitally

haveincludedwomenintosocietyinotherways.Inother

words,countrieswithabettergenderbalancetendtobe

moreadvancedintheirdigitalskills,whereascountriesthat

arelaggingdigitallyarethosethataren’tasinclusiveas

theycouldorshouldbe”.

Agedividesarealsonoticeable.Inallcountriesthereare

broadlypredictabledifferencesindigitalskillsbetween

youngerandoldergroupsofworkers,withtheformer

generallymoreconfidentthanthelatter.Thereisone

interestingexception,however:withintheUKandmost

othermarkets,newworkplaceentrants(thoseaged16–24)

appearlessskilledthantheirolderbutless‘digitallynative’

counterparts(thoseaged25–34).Theyoungestgeneration

ofworkersmayhavelearnedhowtoconsumedigital

content,butitmightnotyethavelearnedhowtocreate

it.Thishighlightstheneedfortrainingandsupport,rather

thanassumingthatnewworkforceentrantswillgraspnew

toolsbydefault.

Individualempowermentscores,bycountryandagegroup

4.9 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.7

6.0 6.1 5.9 5.7 5.4 5.36.1 5.9

5.24.8

4.54.8

4.3 4.3 4.1

5.2 4.9 4.8 4.94.6

5.8 6.05.6 5.3 5.6 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.2

4.4 4.6 4.4 4.2 4.24.6 4.5 4.5 4.7 4.4

5.7 5.6 5.45.0 4.7

UK Brazil China Estonia Germany India SouthAfrica SouthKorea Sweden USA

16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64

Note: All scores are on a 1-10 scale.

17

Empowerment policy: Playing catch-up

Policy is vital to delivering digital empowerment. It shapes the framework within which people acquire and enhance their skills, and how the latter influence career development. Without training and the digital infrastructure to support it, people will not have the ability to acquire new digital skills even where they have the desire.

Thepolicypillaroftheindexconsidersfourareas:

broadbandaccess(learningdigitalskillstodayisalmost

impossiblewithoutadequateinfrastructure);digitalskills

policyformulation;compulsoryeducation;andvocational

andworkplaceskills.Theresultsshowbroadlythereverse

oftheindividualskillspillar:moredevelopedmarkets–

particularlyEstoniaandSouthKorea–arethestrongest,

anddevelopingmarketstheweakest.Oneinferencemay

bethattheirworkforces’lackofconfidenceinskillsis

leadinggovernmentsandbusinessindevelopednations

totakeconcertedpolicyactiontoimprovethem.

TheUKranksfourthoverallindigitalempowermentpolicy

– abetterperformancethaninindividualempowerment.It

performsbestinthepolicycategory,wherethegovernment

receiveshighmarksforformulatingacoherentdigitalskills

strategyandforgoodcoordinationwiththeprivateand

voluntarysectors,althoughtheremaybeexcessivereliance

onvolunteerstoimplementthepolicy.

Thecountryreceivesalowscore,however(andaranking

ofeighth),whenitcomestoeffortstoprovidevocational

andworkplacetraininginICTskills;adulttraining

programmes–whichcouldprovideavitalin-roadformany

ofthedigitallyexcluded–receiveinadequatesupport.In

itsplansforbroadbandroll-out,theUKisnolessambitious

thanmanyothercountries,butthereisstilluncertainty

overhowgoodcoveragewillbeinruralareas7.

Inmostdigitalempowermentpolicycategories,theUKand

otherindexcountriescedethehighgroundtoEstoniaand

SouthKorea.TheBalticcountryboastsanambitiousand

well-fundedbroadbandaccesspolicyandcomprehensive

trainingprogrammes,includingteachertraining.

ItsstrengthintheindexisnosurprisetotheEuropean

Commission’sRiinaVuorikari:“Estoniaisveryadvancedin

applyingdigitalinpublicservices,forexample,”shesays.

“Theydon’thavetheburdenoflegacysystems,andare

doingthingsthatothercountriesarestilltalkingabout

andwonderinghowtodo.”SouthKoreaisaworldleader

inbroadbandprovision(italsohasambitiousexpansion

plans),whileitsdigitalskillspolicy–informaleducationas

wellasadulttraining,includingforthoseoutofwork–is

well-balancedandeffectivelyimplemented.

7AccordingtoanOfcomreport,Makingdigitalcommunicationsworkforeveryone,publishedinFebruary2016,“Ruralcustomershavegreaterproblemsmakingcalls,andarelesssatisfiedwiththeirservicesthananyoneelse.”

South Korea is a world leader in broadband provision

18

Digital empowerment policy index

= before the rank indicates a tie in rank with another geography

OverallScore

01 8.5

02 8.4

03 7.7

04 7.1

05 6.7

06 6.4

07 6.0

08 5.8

09 3.2

10 3.0

Broadbandaccessandpolicy

01 8.4

02 8.3

03 8.1

04 7.8

05 7.6

06 7.5

07 5.4

08 4.2

09 3.7

10 3.5

Digitalskillspolicy

01 10

=02 8.8

=02 8.8

=02 8.8

05 7.5

=06 6.3

=06 6.3

08 5.0

=09 2.5

=09 2.5

Digitalskillsincompulsoryeducation

01 9.2

= 02 8.3

= 02 8.3

04 7.5

05 6.7

=06 5.8

= 06 5.8

08 5.0

09 3.3

10 1.7

Vocationalandworkplaceskills

=01 7.4

=01 7.4

03 7.2

04 6.7

05 6.6

06 6.3

07 5.3

08 4.7

09 3.7

10 3.1

Note: All scores are on a 1-10 scale.

China

Brazil

Estonia

Germany

India

SouthAfrica

SouthKorea

Sweden

UK

USA

Key

19

Start with education

Adult training programmes are important to boosting empowerment, but it is at schools that the real work begins. Yet while the will to educate may be there, there is still uncertainty in many countries over the way to go about it.

IntheUS,forexample,thereisinvolvementincurriculum

developmentfromthird-partyorganisations,butcourses

andstandardscanbemixedasaresult.Aninitiativesuch

ascode.org–widelylaudedforitsachievementsinhelping

togiveschoolpupilsaccesstoprogramming–isbacked

bytheITindustry,whichcouldlimittherangeofskills

orlearningopportunitiesthatpupilswillbeexposedto,

includinginsuchareasascontentcreationandproblem-

solving.Thesedifficultiesarecompoundedbyashortage

ofqualifiedteachers.

SherryCoutu,ChairmanofFounders4schoolsandonthe

boardofRaspberryPi,saysthatbusinessworkinghand

inhandwitheducatorstobringdigitalrolemodelsinto

classroomsandcareersfairsandopeninguptheirdoorsfor

studentvisitsisverypowerful:“Theevidencedemonstrate

thattheseface-2-faceinterventionscantriplethenumber

ofstudentsthatchooseSTEMsubjectsinjustonesession

offourrolemodels,whichtakesminutesforateacherto

organiseontheirmobiledevice.”Shehasrecommended

thegovernmenthelpalledtechinnovatorsbycreating

anAPIforthenationalpupilsdatabasesothatthemost

successfulinterventionscanbeunearthedandamplified

hundredsoftimesfaster.

IntheUK,theoutlookisslightlymorepositivethanfor

someofitsrivals–ithasarevisedcurriculum,forexample

– buthere,too,theissueisteachers.AccordingtoBill

Mitchell,DirectoroftheBCSAcademyofComputing,

“Mostofthepeopleresponsibleforteachingcomputingin

schoolshaven’tgotmuchofabackgroundinthatsubject

andneedsupporttounderstandwhatcomputingactually

is.”Theworkofvolunteersisinvaluableinthisarea,but

withouttheteacherstoimplementacurriculum,the

systemwillfounderinthelongerterm.

“Ourstaffandstudentsareencouragedto

beinnovativeandentrepreneurial.Digital

empowermentplaysakeyroleinboththeseareas

andweendeavourtosupportstafftodevelop

inorderthattheycaninturnoffersupportand

inspirationtotheirstudents.”

BobCryan, Vice-Chancellor,UniversityofHuddersfield

20

Beyond coding

Ask someone what skills they think are necessary for digital empowerment, and chances are that one of the answers will be coding – essentially, learning how to write software.

Codingisfindingitswayintoprimaryeducationinsome

countries,includingtheUKandSouthKorea(itisnow

compulsoryinthelatter’sschools).Indiaproducesthe

mostschoolpupilswithcodingskills–almost10times

asmanyastheUS(althoughthepercentagesofthose

graduatingfromhighschoolaresmall).

Fortheexpertsinterviewedforthisreport,introducing

codingtoschoolcurriculaisawelcomestep.However,

“Developinggoodcomputationalskillsisaboutmuch

morethancoding,”saysBCSAcademyofComputing’sBill

Mitchell.DavidHardmanofInnovationBirminghamagrees:

“Basiccodinghelps,butwedon’tallneedtobewhizz

coderstoliveinthedigitalworld,”hesays.“Wedoneedto

understandhowbesttoaccessthewebandsocialmedia

andtheimpactofthat,andtheresponsibilitiesassociated

withallofit.”

AccordingtoNickCorston,CEOofSTEAMCo.,aUKnot-

for-profiteducationorganisation:“Codingisonlypartof

thesoftwaredevelopmentorproblem-solvingprocessand

mustbetaughtwithinawidersystems-designviewthat

encompassesunderstandingthechallenge,definingand

deliveringthesolution,anditeratingit.”

AccordingtoJamesStewart,ResearchFellowatthe

UniversityofEdinburgh,gettingchildrentobuildvideo

gamescangivethemnotonlyabasicunderstandingof

algorithmsbutalsonovelideasabouthowtoengage

withtechnology.Mitchellsuggeststhathavingkids

devisingminimacrosforMinecraft,orperformingHamlet

inthevideogameHalo,wouldalsoservethispurpose.

“They’reessentiallylearningtowritelotsoflittlecomputer

programs,buttheydoitforthesocialinteractionitgives

themandtheincreasedstatusonline,”hesays.“They’re

showingtheycandomorethanjustusethetechnology–

theycanmasteritandshowthey’recapableofmakingbits

ofcodethatadaptthetechnologytotheirownuse.”

Schools(andgovernments)maybaulkattheideaof

allowingchildrentoplayvideogamesinclass,orusetheir

smartphonesastoolsofdigitalexpression.ForStewart,

however,thiswouldbeshort-sighted.“Manyconventional

waysofteachingdigitalskillsintheclassroomjustaren’t

workingverywell,”hesays.

21

Filling the gap: the role of business

In some countries, such as India, weakness in public digital skills policy is partly counterbalanced by strong involvement of the private sector.

Thereisanopportunity,forexample,forsomebusinesses

(andtheirleaders)topushforrecognisedqualifications

andtrainingprogrammes.Moreimportantly,employers

haveaclearroletoplayinprovidingskillstraining.India’s

technologysuccesssuggeststhatbusinessinvolvementin

educationandtrainingcanpluggapsleftbygovernment,

anditcanbedecisive.

Nooneentitycanmeetthischallengealone,arguesSherry

Coutu.“Government,businesses,volunteerorganisations,

schools–theymustco-ordinate,andoftencombine,their

efforts.Thisisnotjustbecausethere’snotmuchmoneyto

goround–it’salsobecauseeachstakeholderhasdifferent

strengthsandperspectivestooffer,”shesays.

SaulKleinurgesabroadfocusandthejoiningupofefforts.

“Thoseofusinbusinessandinthepolicyandeducational

environmentneedtoencourageareframingofthinking

abouthowpeopleusetheirexistingskillsinadigitalera,”

hesays.“Andweneedtosupporteverygeneration–there

aresomanyintheover50scohortwhoarenotgetting

enoughoutofthedigitaleconomy.Improvingengagement

withdigitalmustbeanationwideexerciseforevery

generation.”

IntheUS,TimO’Reillyhighlightstheroleofcloudservices

companyRackspace,whichhastakenaproactiveapproach

totraining.“Rackspacehasitsownschoolbecauseitdidn’t

haveenoughpeoplewhoitcouldhire,”heexplains.“It

trainspeopleandhirestwo-thirdsofthem,andtheother

thirdgoestoothercompanies.Almostallofthemgetjobs.

Peoplewhogotothestateuniversity,however,generally

don’tgetjobs.”

RecentresearchshowsthatamajorityofUKemployees

whohavetakenthetimetoboosttheirdigitalskillsreport

apositiveimpactontheircareerprogression8.IntheUK,

thereisnoshortageofdigitalskillstrainingprogrammes

offeredbyemployersorvoluntaryorganisations,butthere

isworktobedoneonbothsidesofthetrainingdesk.

AccordingtoOpiniumResearch,Britishbusinessesare

failingtoinvestsignificantlyindigitalskillstrainingfortheir

workers.Mediumandlargebusinessesplantoincrease

theirinvestmentineithertrainingorrecruitingdigitalskills

byjust22%onaverageoverthenextfiveyears.Thereis

somevariationbysector:financialservicesfirmsplanto

investmost(about£12,000intotaleachyearforthenext

fiveyears),andprofessionalservicescompaniestheleast

(lessthan£5,000intotaleachyearforthenextfiveyears)–

butoverallthereisdefiniteroomforimprovement.

What’smore,oursurveymakesclearthatawarenessof

theseprogrammesamongemployeesislacking.Only38%

ofUKworkerssaythattheiremployerofferstrainingin

digitalskills–afigurethatisconsiderablyhigherinChina

andtheUS(48%inboth),andmarkedlyhigherinIndia

(67%).Thesameappearstobetruewhenitcomesto

awarenessofgovernment-sponsoredtraining.Thisdoes

notnecessarilymeanthatbusinessesandgovernmentsare

notofferingsuchtraining;itdoessuggest,however,that

governmentandbusinessmustdoabetterjobofensuring

thatpeopleknowaboutit.

“Digitalskillstrainingintheworkplaceisessential.

Somanyotherwisegoodemployeeswillfounder

withoutit.Withtraining,theycouldbesomeofyour

bestemployees.”

EmmaLindley, FounderandMD,InnovateIdentity

“Innovationisnotaboutwhoyouareorwhereyoucome

frombutanindividual’spreparednesstodosomething

aboutit.ThevarietyofpeopleandbackgroundsIhavemet

hasledmetobelievethatthereisnomonopolyongood

ideas,skillsorabilitytocreatesomething.Some,however,

arepreparedtodosomethingaboutit.It’stheskillof

iteration,changeandadoptionthatmakesthedifference.”

TonyFish, Co-Founder,FabLabLondon

8DigitalSkills–Workers,surveybyOpinium,2016

22

Attitude and inclusion

One example in the UK of just how useful workplace training can be is e-marketing firm Smarter Digital Marketing.

Thecompanyclassesitselfas“whollydigital”,and

assuchitiscommittedtoensuringthatitsstaffare

comfortablewithdigitaltasks.Afteritsinceptionin2014,

thecompany’smanagersstartedtonoticethattherewas

adearthofsuitablyskilledgraduatescomingintothejob

market.Ratherthandespairatthelackofdigitallytrained

personnel,thecompanytookadifferenttack:itdecidedto

hirepeoplebasednotonhowoldtheywereorwhatdegree

theyhad,butontheirwillingnesstoengageinallthings

digital.

Itsreasoningissound:thecoreofitsbusiness–digital

marketingandsearch-engineoptimisation–involves

specificskillsthatcanonlybelearnedthroughhands-

onexperience.Somanagersencouragetheirstaffto

continuallylearnnewskills,bothintheirownsparetime

andaspartofthecompany’smentorscheme.Asthe

company’sCEOBrianLonsdaleexplains,“Thespecificskills

neededtosucceedinadigitalagencyareveryprecise,so

we’rehappytofacilitateasmuchtrainingasneeded.Itcan

betemptingtostepinandtakecontrol,butifwedoitthat

wayourstaffwillbecomestagnantandnotincreasetheir

skills.Sonowwestepbackandgainarealsenseofpride

whenwewatchourstaffemploytheonlinetechniques

theylearnhere.”

Othersagree.“Innovationisnotaboutwhoyouareor

whereyoucomefrombutanindividual’spreparednessto

dosomethingaboutit,”saysTonyFish,Co-FounderofFab

LabLondon,adigitalfabricationworkspace.“Thevarietyof

peopleandbackgroundsIhavemethasledmetobelieve

thatthereisnomonopolyongoodideas,skillsorabilityto

createsomething,butsomearepreparedtodosomething

aboutit.Andit’stheskillofiteration,changeandadoption

thatmakesthedifference.”

Digitalskillstrainingisbeingusedextensivelyinthepublic

sectortoo.TheUK’sNationalHealthServiceisrunning

aschemecalled“WideningDigitalParticipation”,which

aimstoimprovethedigitalskillsofthosemorelikelytobe

excludedfromtheonlineworld:older,pooreranddisabled

people.Thereisawealthofhealthinformationandadvice

availableonline,andthegoaloftheschemeistoenable

andencourageotherwisedisadvantagedgroupstoaccess

ittoimprovetheirownwellbeing,partlywiththehelpof

communitynetworksandserviceproviderpartners.The

schemehasambitioustargets–byMarchthisyear,some

400,000peoplewillhavebenefitedfromitswork.

AnotherexampleistheBBC’s‘MakeItDigital’campaign,

whichaimstoinspirepeopleofallagestogetinvolved

withdigitaltechnology.“Wewanttohelppeopletake

thefirststep”saysJessicaCecil,Controller,BBCMakeIt

Digital.“Amazingthingshappenwhentechnologymeets

creativity,”sheadds.“It’sabouthavingtheopportunity

togetstartedonthejourneywhichwehopewillthen

sparkfurtherengagementwithdigitalandleadto

empowerment.”

23

Next steps

This report makes clear that becoming digitally empowered is not just about acquiring specific skills. It is very much about building confidence in their application. New technologies can be daunting to many, but innovative educators – in schools, workplaces and vocational training environments – are helping people to overcome their fears. Importantly, they are seeking to give students the confidence to go on learning. This is critical, because the rapid pace of technological change is not likely to abate.

IntheUK,somestrengthsinbuildingdigitalempowerment

areoffsetbyclearweaknesses,andgovernmentandother

stakeholdershavemuchworktodotoredressthese.

Theworkforce’slackofconfidenceinbasicdigitalskills

suggests,forexample,thatsomepoliciesarebeingapplied

inthewrongareas,orthatpolicymakersareover-relyingon

volunteerstodomuchofthework.Ashortageofteachers

qualifiedtoprovideinstructionindigitalskillsisaparticular

impedimenttoprogress.

Ourcomparisonofdigitalconfidenceandpolicyacross

countriespointstofiveobjectivesthatUKpolicymakers,

businessesandotherkeystakeholdersshouldjointly

pursuetobuilddigitalempowerment:

AccelerateeffortsWhilethereismuchhappeningacrossthepublic,

privateandvoluntarysectorstohelppeopleand

organisationsgetonline,thefocusshouldnowbe

onhowtoaccelerateprogresstoincreasingdigital

skillsandconfidence.Itisnotenoughtomaintain

currentmomentumsolelyfocussedondigital

inclusion.Strongpartnershipisalsorequiredas

nooneorganisationorinstitutioncanbuilddigital

empowermentalone.

Governmentisnaturallywellplaced,butnot

appreciativeoftheneedtogalvanisetherequired

collaborativebehaviourandbringdisparateactivity

together.

WidenthefocusUKeffortstodatehavefocusedontheextremes

– eitheronencouragingadvancementatthehigh-

techendofthespectrumoronaddressingdigital

exclusion,withlimitedemphasisonthosewhohave

basicdigitalliteracybutmaybejust‘gettingby’online.

Thegovernmenthastakenconcretestepstoembed

digitaltraininginschools.Itmustalso,though,help

toensurethatadultsreceivetraininginadvanced

skillstoavoidbeingmarginalisedbyrapidtechnology

change.Theaimmustbetomoveallgroups–the

mostvulnerable,the‘forgottenmiddle’andthose

withadvanceddigitalskills–forwardtowardsdigital

empowerment.

24

TrainmoretrainersProgressinintroducingrigorousdigitaltraining

intoschoolcurriculawillcountforlittlewithout

qualifiedprofessionalstoprovideit.Fromprimary

schoolteacherstouniversityprofessors,educators

mustbeproperlyequippedtosupportdigitallearning

andgrowingconfidenceatalllevels.Newteachers

mustbetrainedandencouragedtofindcreativeways

ofhelpingstudentstonotonlyusebutmasternew

technologies,andthedigitalskillsofexistingteachers

mustbeupgraded.

Keepnon-ITentitiesinvolvedThecontributionofIT-focusedorganisations

indesigningskillsinitiativesiscertainlypositive,

butthereisalsoariskofskewtowards‘hard’

technologyskillssuchascoding–whichareonlypart

ofthewiderempowermentinitiative.Inputfromother

sectorsisimportanttomaintainabalance.While

nationaloversightandco-ordinationbetweenpublic,

privateandthirdsectorisessential,localandtailored

deliverybypartnerorganisations

isalsokey.

TeachlearningskillsDigitalskillsarenotsomethingthatoneacquires

once.Peopleneedtobeinspiredtokeeplearning:

technologywillcontinuetochangerapidly,sothekey

skillsneededinfiveyears’timewillalmostcertainlybe

differentfromtheonesneededtoday.

Itmustalsobeeasyforpeopletolearnforthemselves.

Noteveryonelearnsatthesamepaceorrespondsto

thesametrainingformat,sotheremustbeflexibility

andarangeoflearningchannels.

25

Appendix: survey details and data sources For a complete index methodology, visit digitalindex.barclays/methodology

Surveydetails

ThesurveythatformspartoftheBarclaysDigital

DevelopmentIndexwasanonlinesurveyconductedon

behalfofLongitudeResearchforBarclays.

Itwascarriedoutin10countries:

Brazil(1,008respondents),

China(1,013respondents),

Estonia(702respondents),

Germany(1,007respondents),

India(1,004respondents),

South Africa(1,005respondents),

South Korea(1,013respondents),

Sweden(1,006respondents),

UK(1,001respondents),

andtheUS(1,001respondents).

Barclayswouldliketothankthefollowingindividualsfor

theirtimeandinsightsincontributingtothisreport(listed

alphabetically,bysurname):

Hasan Bakhshi,CreativeEconomyDirector,Nesta

Jessica Cecil,Controller,BBCMakeItDigital

Nick Corston,Co-founder,STEAMCo.

Sherry Coutu,Chairman,Founders4schools

Bob Cryan,Vice-Chancellor,UniversityofHuddersfield

Gi Fernando,FounderandCEO,Freeformers

Tony Fish,Co-Founder,FabLabLondon

David Hardman,CEO,InnovationBirmingham

Ellen Helsper,AssociateProfessorinMediaand

Communications,LondonSchoolofEconomics

Saul Klein,Partner,LocalGlobe

Emma Lindley,FounderandMD,InnovateIdentity

Elisa Lironi,DigitalDemocracyandCampaigning

Coordinator,EuropeanCitizenActionService

Brian Lonsdale,CEO,SmarterDigitalMarketing

Tim O’Reilly,FounderandCEO,O’ReillyMedia

James Stewart,ResearchFellow,UniversityofEdinburgh

Riina Vuorikari,ResearchFellow,EuropeanCommission

The views expressed in this report are the views of third parties, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Barclays Bank PLC nor should they be taken as statements of policy or intent of Barclays Bank PLC. Barclays Bank PLC takes no responsibility for the veracity of information contained in third-party narrative and no warranties or undertakings of any kind, whether expressed or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information given. Barclays Bank PLC takes no liability for the impact of any decisions made based on information contained and views expressed in any third-party guides or articles.

Barclays is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register No.122702). Registered in England. Registered number is 1026167 with registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP.

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