Following on from its Industrial Strategy published in January, the government has launched its Digital Strategy aimed at creating a world-leading digital economy.

The Strategy aims to deliver the digital infrastructure that businesses across the country need to be able to take advantage of the UK’s digital skills and tools.

A key part of the Digital Strategy is to ensure that everyone has access to the skills they need. This includes a pledge that adults in England who lack core digital skills will not have to pay to access the digital skills training they need, mirroring the approach taken for adult literacy and numeracy training.

A new Digital Skills Partnership will be established helping people to access digitally-focused jobs at a local level, bringing together technology companies, local businesses, local government and other organisations to identify digital job vacancies and take action to help people move into these jobs.

These new initiatives are in addition to those already planned to develop digital skills which include:

• Relevant digital skills will be included in all of the 15 technical education routes as set out in the Skills Plan, as well as the creation of a specialist digital route
• A digital degree apprenticeship has been introduced
• The National College for Digital Skills opened in September 2016.