The government’s long-awaited Industrial Strategy, includes a strong focus on digital and technology skills for organisations of all sizes. Digital and technology is one of eight key growth (IS-8) sectors, aligning with BCS’ position that economic growth will come through investment in technical education, skills and training, and digital literacy across the curriculum.
Tech and digital highlights of the Industrial Strategy include:
- £86 billion investment into UK R&D, targeted towards the IS-8
- Reforming the skills and employment support system to create a strong pipeline into the IS-8; an increase in technology training and boosts for digital skills; a new Global Talent Taskforce that supports tech as a high-growth sector and attracts talented individuals to the UK.
- A specific Sector Plan for digital and technology in order to support building our sovereign capability in important areas including: £670 million to drive the development and adoption of quantum computers in the UK, £500 million delivered through the Sovereign AI Unit, and a new programme of AI Growth Zones.
The Strategy rightly recognises technology not only as a sector in its own right, but as a critical enabler across all key industries.
Apprenticeships and Skills
The government will utilise the position of Skills England to simplify the skills system, aligning with the strategic needs of UK PLC, this notably includes AI; an area BCS has been working hard to ensure is properly recognised.
Crucially, the government has recognised the role of apprenticeships in delivering skilled workers into workplaces and has made it clear that apprenticeships will continue to grow, particularly in target areas such as technology.
- Align apprenticeships and wider skills support with strategic economic priorities like the IS-8 and AI, creating clear pathways into key sectors through collaboration across education, employment services and the nations and regions.
- Government will ensure there are sufficient courses to support an additional 65,000 16–19 year olds in England by 2028-29 and has identified digital as a priority sector.
- Additional funding to ensure high quality teaching in further education, with a focus on key sectors like digital. This includes additional funding for 16-19 provision of £400 million in 2025-26, and government are investing a further £160 million in colleges and other providers to address priorities, such as recruitment and retention. In addition, almost 6,000 early career FE teachers in areas such as STEM have received Targeted Retention Incentive payments worth up to £6,000 tax free.
- Investment in the estate and facilities required to deliver skills training including £200m investment in including expanding Technical Excellence Colleges.
- From January 2027, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement will support people to upskill and retrain throughout their careers. The first approved modular courses will focus on pathways into the IS-8. Devolved Adult Skills Fund investment, aligned with Local Growth and Skills Improvement Plans, will further support this through programmes like Skills Bootcamps, Sector-Based Work Academies, and Free Courses for Jobs.
- Government will also provide £1.2 billion of additional investment in skills per year by 2028-29.
- In addition, Higher Education funding is to be better targeted towards future skills needs through the Strategic Priorities Grant.
Artificial Intelligence
- Expanding the Government’s AI Research Resource (AIRR) by at least 20x by 2030, accelerating AI innovation through significantly increased compute capacity and support for start-ups.
- Establish a new Sovereign AI Unit, within government, with up to £500 million to maximise the UK’s stake in frontier AI. The Unit will work with the British Business Bank to make investments alongside a wider offer on data, compute and talent to build UK AI capabilities in partnership with the private sector.
The Strategy builds on existing interventions with new skills packages targeting IS-8 priorities. This includes the £187 million TechFirst initiative to boost digital and AI learning nationwide, support for over 4,000 tech specialists and 1 million schoolchildren, and a major industry partnership to train 7.5 million workers in AI skills by 2030.
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Sharron Gunn, Chief Executive of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said:
“The UK’s future depends on a workforce that is skilled and confident with technology, and which meets shared professional standards of ethics and accountability. So, it’s a very positive step that the Industrial Strategy prioritises investment in digital skills and education. These are themes that BCS’ community has championed for years.
“The commitment to expand digital training and deliver landmark investments in areas like AI, quantum, and cybersecurity recognises that growing the number of skilled technology professionals is vital to our long-term growth and role in the world.
“The strategy rightly identifies the opportunity; now turning vision into impact will require close collaboration between government, professional bodies, industry and the education sector.”
