03/03/2017.
A Digital Skills Partnership in which government, businesses, charities and voluntary organisations work together to deliver more than 4m free training opportunities is at the heart of a new UK Digital Strategy that aims to
- empower innovative businesses
- deliver world class connectivity
- ensure everyone has the skills to flourish in a digitally-driven economy
The following are among the businesses that have made training commitments.
- Lloyds Banking Group plans to give face-to-face digital skills training to 2.5m individuals, charities and small firms by 2020.
- Barclays aims to teach basic coding to 45,000 more children and assist up to 1m people acquire digital skills and cyber awareness.
- Google will help boost digital skills in seaside towns as part of a wider commitment to provide free digital skills support.
Other initiatives in ‘UK Digital Strategy: Policy Paper’ to support innovative businesses and increase connectivity include
- five international tech hubs to create and develop partnerships between UK companies and local tech firms in emerging markets
- a new competition to spark the development of new FinTech products
- a Secretary of State-led forum to facilitate collaboration between the government and tech community
- a Business Connectivity Forum to bring together business organisations, local authorities and communications providers to help businesses access fast, affordable and reliable broadband
- a £1billion programme to keep Britain at the forefront of digital connectivity, which was first announced at Autumn Statement 2016
The strategy also features additional support for the UK artificial intelligence sector, including
- a review to identify the critical elements necessary to ensure AI will thrive