London, United Kingdom —
In 2017, the Local Enterprise Partnership for London launched the Digital Talent programme to promote skills development in the digital, technology and creative sectors, with a focus on youth, women and people from ethnic minorities.
The programme offered work placements, created tailored learning opportunities, assisted university students and helped businesses and start-ups access the skills they need to support business growth.
The City of London, United Kingdom, is facing digital skills shortages due to the quick increase in the labour demand in digital, creative and technology sectors. The Digital Talent Programme aimed to increase the volume and quality of training in digital technology and thus increase the digital skills of young people, women, people from disadvantaged groups and ethnic minorities.
The programme, which was funded by the Local Enterprise Partnership for London and managed by the City of London consists of different projects with various stakeholders involved, including local businesses and SMEs, universities, training providers and educators.
In addition to improving opportunities for under-represented groups in the digital and technology sectors, the programme promoted initiatives to young people aged 18-24, including digital skills development, career advice and support to set up their own digital business. Furthermore, it provided support to employers and educators to better shape digital career guidance for young people and facilitate partnerships with higher education institutions and SMEs. Finally, it identified research, resources and case studies relevant to the tech and digital sectors.
As part of the programme, the Tech Pathways London project sought to train educators working with young people aged 11-24 years old, so that they can better support and orient their students. The project linked educators with industry partners from across the digital and culture sectors, and provided up-to-date labour market information and industry insight to educators through a blog and an unconscious bias toolkit.
Another project is the Digital Grid Partnership, supported by the Mayor of London and the European Social Fund, which aimed to improve the relevance of higher-level digital training through improved university-SME partnerships. The project was delivered by a consortium led by Newham College and with partners such as London South Bank University, Goldsmiths University of London, University of the Arts of London and SMEs in the creative and tech industries.
The programme is characterised by a high level of flexibility, which makes it easily replicable in other contexts. First, it adopted a sectoral approach that was used as a framework for the development of a wide range of projects. Secondly, it was inclusive and aimed to involve under-represented groups in the digital and tech sectors. Finally, it benefited from broad partnerships and collaborations with education and training institutions, and employers.
OECD (2022), "Future-proofing adult learning systems in cities and regions: A policy manual for local governments", OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2022/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/11fa26cc-en.
