How to help young people build digital skills

Over 80% of all jobs advertised in the UK require digital skills and over 92% of employers say that digital skills are important. Meanwhile, research by the King’s Trust has found that over a third (37%) of young people aged 16–30 in the UK worry they do not have the digital skills to get a good job.

 

Many young people do not feel that digital careers were “for people like them”, with only one in ten (11%) identifying with jobs like Robotics Engineer, Cyber Security Analyst, and Computer Games Developer – despite these jobs being seen as well-paid and creative, two priorities for young people in employment.

All of this means that young people and employers are held back by problems preparing young people with digital skills for the workplace.

 

The good news is that almost four in five young people (79%) would be interested in training or retraining in basic or advanced digital skills. In this article, we dig deeper into the King’s Trust’s research and explore their recommendations for the charity sector to help young service users, employees, and volunteers build digital skills.

 

 

Engaging and including young people

 

The report found that over a third of young people in the UK (37%) did not study a digital or technology-focused subject beyond Key Stage 3, when students are typically 14 years old. This represents the “engagement gap”: that young people are not experiencing enough early, positive engagement in digital skills while in education. Meanwhile, the “aspiration gap” refers to young people’s lack of appetite in pursuing digital careers. That’s why charities should inclusively engage young people with digital skills and careers, raising raise awareness of their benefits.

 

 

Service users

 

Among young service users, the King’s Trust recommends that charities should focus on engaging groups of young people who already face challenges accessing employment.

 

Young people who can face additional barriers to work include those disadvantaged by their financial backgrounds, those with additional needs or special educational needs and disabilities, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, those who have been in care, and those who have been involved with the criminal justice system. Young people also view mental ill-health as a major barrier for entering and progressing in the workplace.

 

Those who are digitally excluded are two to three times more likely to be unemployed, according to research by Deloitte. These findings correlate to the fact that, according to the King’s Trust, young people who are not in employment, education, or training show the lowest confidence and engagement with pursuing digital skills and jobs.

 

Raising awareness about the need for digital skills in future careers and building confidence in young peoples’ ability to learn digital skills can help set them up for future success.

 

 

Employees and volunteers

 

To help recruit digitally skilled young employees and volunteers into your own charity, clearly communicate about the core digital skills required, as well as the benefits of digital work. These can include creativity, progression, flexibility, and financial security.

 

Entry level roles should be accessible and appealing to young people, say the King’s Trust. When promoting digital jobs, the charity recommends that you highlight the diversity of those already involved in those roles, including the variety of educational backgrounds. To make the workplace digitally accessible for people with disabilities and older people, check out AbilityNet’s services.

 

 

Providing high-quality learning opportunities

 

In understanding their future careers, young people are experiencing a “language gap”, leaving them confused and uncertain about the digital and technology skills they will need. Pursuing relevant skills, training, and jobs is also unobtainable for many young people, due to digital exclusion and other personal pressures. The King’s Trust calls this the “accessibility gap”.

 

Below, we outline some of the ways charities can clarify the world of digital skills and improve access to high-quality opportunities to learn.

 

 

Service users

 

Providing young people with free, high quality, practical learning experiences can help young people to develop their digital skills. Here are some ways you can get started with providing learning opportunities for young people:

• Consider joining Good Things Foundations’ Digital Inclusion Network, a group of local safe spaces where digitally excluded people can get free support to get connected
• Consider joining the Digital Champions Network, a unique training and support community for aspiring and experienced Digital Champions
• Explore existing support for basic and advanced digital skills in our ultimate guide to boosting your digital skills, considering where you can increase young people’s access to these opportunities or build upon them, filling gaps in provision

The King’s Trust suggests collaborating with employers to ensure that all young people have access to in-demand digital skills that could lead to positive employment outcomes. That may mean, for example, working with a particular local industry to inform training for young people, understanding what digital skills are needed.

 

To ensure equal access, charities should also support young people to overcome practical barriers to training, say the King’s Trust. There’s an assumption that all young people are tech savvy “digital natives”, but that’s not the case. Factors other than age play into someone’s access, ability, and confidence when engaging with digital tools, such as the affordability of devices and broadband at home, the accessibility of digital tools and the online world, and their degree of personal safety and wellbeing online. These factors impact people of every age, from children to older adults. To help young people, charities can support them to overcome practical barriers, for example through broadband provision and device donation schemes.

 

 

Employees and volunteers

 

As an employer, the King’s Trust recommends that you help to provide practical training for young people that is free to access and provides experience relevant to future employers. Helping with this could mean financially supporting educators, training providers, or other third-party organisations, or it could mean getting involved through co-delivering training where possible.