This EPI report highlights a growing demand for digital skills within the job market that’s not being met. A substantial 29% of vacancies reported as a result of skills shortages relate to a lack of digital skills, including 17% relating to a lack of advanced digital skills.
The report indicates that this unmet demand looks likely to worsen over the coming years, considering take-up of IT and computing courses at GCSE level has fallen by almost half (43%) since its peak in 2016. Curriculum reforms that led to the withdrawal of the IT GSCE, in favour of the less popular Computer Science GCSE, go some way to explaining this drop. Take-up of digital skills at this earlier stage of education strongly predicts take-up in the 16-19 phase.
The report also highlights a worrying and worsening gender divide, recommending that particular focus should be given to increasing the proportion of female students studying digital skills. Concerningly, this has reduced from 23% in 2012 to just 17% in 2020.
As with the uptake of digital skills at GCSE, the report highlights that apprenticeship starts within the ICT sector have fallen dramatically since their 2015/2016 peak, with 50% fewer starts in 2019/2020 and 66% fewer in 2021/2022.
Though the rollout of three digital T levels may provide a quality option for many students, almost a quarter of students taking existing digital skills qualifications wouldn’t have the GCSE grades expected to access the new qualifications.