Ufi and leading organisations sign FutureDotNow’s Workforce Digital Skills Charter
Launched during the Workforce Digital Skills Summit, Ufi has signed the Workforce Digital Skills Charter to help close the digital skills gap across the UK.
Ufi are part of the first wave of leading organisations who have signed FutureDotNow’s Charter including the Department for Education, M&S, the Alan Turing Institute and PwC. The Charter is a shared statement of ambition designed to ensure upskilling the workforce with essential digital skills is recognised as a critical part of the UK’s digital skills challenge.
As highlighted by FutureDotNow, closing the workforce digital skills gap presents an opportunity rather than merely a challenge, especially given the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.
Currently over half of working adults cannot perform all the 20 digital tasks industry and government agree are vital for today’s workplace. That is approximately 22 million adults who are unable to do things like check a payslip online, set secure passwords, or use digital tools to improve productivity. At the same time, only 4 in 10 adults plan to build their digital skills this year.
Through our questions in Learning and Work Institute's Adult Participation in Learning Survey, we have seen how this shortage of essential digital skills could be contributing to a lack of confidence when using technology to learn and work. For example, despite 95 per cent of people using technology as part of learning and work, only two in five adults are confident in joining video meetings for work (40 per cent) or for learning (39 per cent).
Developing a digitally skilled workforce will not only ensure economic opportunities and global competitiveness but will also strengthen resilience against cyber threats and support adults to engage in learning, benefiting individuals and organisations alike across the UK.
Together with FutureDotNow, Ufi have united with organisations from across the business, government and civil sectors to build a future-fit, digitally confident workforce to ensure everyone has the digital skills needed to prosper in work now and in the future.
The primary goals of the Workforce Digital Skills Charter are to raise awareness of current digital skill levels across the workforce, inspire organisations to take action, and underscore to policymakers the importance of this issue.
As part of the workforce Digital Skills Charter, Ufi have committed to:
- Raising awareness of the essential digital skills gap in the workforce and the opportunity to be realised through concerted action.
- Working together as part of a national change programme to supercharge action on workforce digital skills.
- Empowering people of working age to build-solid digital foundations.
Josh Smith, Head of Public Affairs at Ufi, said:
“To ensure every adult in the UK has the opportunity to thrive we must build a digitally confident workforce, where productivity stems not just from technology but from effective utilisation. With over half of working adults lacking crucial digital skills, in every age group and every part of the workforce, there's an urgent need to address this gap and empower individuals to thrive in the digital age.”
Join us on our journey of paving the way for a future where digital skills are not just desirable, but essential. Find out more at www.futuredotnow.uk/charter.
