The rise of digital

Digital skills are becoming increasingly important for all elements of life. Online access to information and content is now typical, with virtually all adults (99%) aged 16 to 44 in the UK counted as recent internet users (Office for National Statistics, 2019). Fake news is regularly reported in the media and digital education is seen as a method for tackling the spread of misinformation. Interactions with everyday services like insurance, banks and shopping are now often in an online space. With this increase in online access, comes a rising demand for greater digital skills in both Higher Education (HE) and the employment market. Digital is clearly influencing the changing nature of employment and the skills required for job roles ‘with more technology at our fingertips, digital technologies are […] driving some significant changes in the world of work, and are deeply implicated in others’ (Beetham, 2015, 5).

Growing pressure from UK government and policy makers also increases the demand for digitally developed employees, employers and customer bases. Embedded in government policy is the desire ‘for the UK to be a worldleading digital economy that works for everyone [where] it is crucial that everyone has the digital skills they need to fully participate in society’ (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 2017). Driven by aspirations of economic growth, where digital investment indicates substantial financial returns, is the ambition to ‘put the UK at the forefront of the Artificial Intelligence [AI] and data revolution [where] embedding AI across the UK will create thousands of good quality jobs and drive economic growth. A recent study found digital technologies including AI created a net total of 80,000 new jobs annually across a population similar to the UK. By one estimate, AI could add ￡232bn to the UK economy by 2030’ (HM Government, 2017). With this potential and with the ease of access to online, it is clear why there is a huge push for digital skills development.