We are delighted to have completed a major research project commissioned by the Greater London Authority and the London Enterprise Panel (London LEP) to map and analyse Digital skills, STEM and technology provision in schools, colleges and industry across London, develop a new computing toolkit and support the London LEP’s upcoming £5m Digital Skills Fund. The research was conducted by The Education Foundation in partnership with UKIE’s NextGen Skills team between January and April 2015 and findings will be shared this summer.
London’s digital economy is strong and growing, with clusters housing a high proportion of UK industry. However, against this positive backdrop, analysts including Demos and the Royal Society have identified skills shortages and shortcomings in ICT education. London’s schools and colleges are looking to meet London’s growing digital economy needs but need support from industry, government and other stakeholders to make this happen.
Therefore the London Enterprise Panel (LEP) is seeking to improve the quality of digital training and education and ensure that it is relevant to the skills needs of London’s growing digital sector and supports local talent to enter the industry. £5 million has been secured through the Growth Deal with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to implement this work from April 2015 to March 2017.
This new Digital Talent programme will build on existing work, including the London Schools Excellence Fund, and will be informed by our research, consultation and mapping to ensure it is targeted to meet gaps, provide valued careers and curriculum support resources and truly meet industry needs. For more details on the research project contact Ian Fordham at ian@ednfoundation.org