Universities and colleges have
appealed for help in equipping young people with digital skills, admitting they
lack the resources, knowledge and infrastructure to tackle the UK-wide tech
talent shortage on their own.
Vice-Chancellors and Principals
at many higher education institutions across the country have told Microsoft
students are under more pressure than ever before to ensure they graduate with
digital skills that employers are looking for. However, one Deputy
Vice-Chancellor admitted that “trying to develop students’ digital capabilities
alone is not going to work”.
The findings have been included
in a new report from Microsoft and LinkedIn – DEGREE + DIGITAL How today’s UK
academic institutions can equip students to thrive in tomorrow’s workplace –
that lays bare the work that the UK still has to do to close the digital skills
gap.
Paul Philips, Principal and Chief
Executive at Weston College, said: “There is a huge pressure on younger
students from their parents to make sure they are on a solid route to
employment. I have never seen it so great as now.”
A Deputy Vice-Chancellor at
another higher education institute admitted: “The university trying to develop
students’ digital capabilities alone is not going to work…I need to offer
digital capabilities to our students and to our employees, but I need help to
do it.”
The report found that the vast
majority of senior leaders at universities and colleges are looking for support
in preparing young people for a digital workplace, where the skills required
are quickly evolving. These skills range from being able to confidently use
documents, presentations and spreadsheets to at least a working knowledge of
data, AI and Cloud.
However, there is a stark
mismatch between what employers are looking for and how students are being
prepared for the workplace. This is where partnerships between educations and
industry – including companies like Microsoft, which has developed Career Coach
and recognised professional certifications – can help.
Dr Derek Foster, Programme
Leader, Computer Science at University of Lincoln, said: “We have to ensure
that our students are best equipped when they graduate, not only with the
degree programme, but [also] offering them employability opportunities around
certification.”
As technology changes, the
companies and organisations using it have to change, too, in order to remain
competitive. A Microsoft study from 2020 found that 80% of UK leaders believe
investment in digital skills will be important to the country’s economic
recovery following COVID-19, while 78% also view a large pool of digital talent
as essential to driving UK competitiveness. However, more than two-thirds (69%)
of UK business leaders believe their organisation is currently facing a digital
skills gap, exposing the country to the risk of being left behind as technology
changes the world’s economies.
As well as being held back by a
lack of resources and knowledge, universities and colleges are also being
hampered by budget restrictions, a difficulty in knowing what employers are
looking for and the fast pace of digital change.
For example, in 2018 LinkedIn
revealed that the top three digital skills companies were looking for were
cloud computing, statistical analysis and data mining and middleware and
integration software. In 2020, that had changed to blockchain, cloud computing
and analytical reasoning.
However, it is not only technical
or IT-related skills that are in demand. Nearly every job in every sector now
requires digital competencies as well as soft skills, like team working,
critical-thinking, communication and leadership. More than ever before all
students need access to relevant, up-to-date advice on how to futureproof their
education by aligning their chosen area of study, alongside their skills
development, to those that are required in the workplace.
Alex Warner, Principal at Milton
Keynes College, said: “Digital is not going anywhere. It is only going to grow.
Irrespective of what discipline that you go into, you are going to need to
learn to work with digital technologies. Is every nurse going to have to be a
data scientist? Absolutely not. Is a nurse going to have to be able to read the
warning signs, because actually the data that is informing their ward is saying
that patient X is going to need more care than patient Y today? Yes.”
To support universities and
colleges with digital skills, Microsoft and LinkedIn have developed three ways
to accelerate digital transformation and augment the opportunities institutions
offer their students:
Personalised career coaching through Career Coach. Developed by
Microsoft in partnership with LinkedIn, this tool provides students with
personalised career guidance to help them increase their employability
World class curricula and professional certifications. Microsoft,
through Microsoft Learn, along with LinkedIn Learning can help universities and
colleges bolster traditional subject courses by providing extra modules and
professional certifications centred around digital capabilities that can
ultimately be integrated into traditional courses across all subject areas.
LinkedIn data shows members with a Microsoft Professional Certification on
their profile are 2.4 times more likely to be hired
Boosting workplace productivity. Every job requires a level of
digital understanding and competency and Microsoft’s professional
certifications and learning curricula can help to ensure that every student
that graduates from higher or further education has the skills and expertise to
thrive in a modern, hybrid work environment.
Chris Rothwell, Director of
Education at Microsoft UK, said: “For the UK to lead the way as an economic
powerhouse we need to equip young people with the digital capabilities
employers are crying out for that will help us continue to invent and innovate.
The combined expertise of industry and academia has the power to unlock a new
kind of education experience that combines learning with employability skills
and helps academic institutions blend the academic and industry skills
required. By working alongside further and higher education institutes
Microsoft can help teaching keep pace with technology changes and ensure
students learn the skills they will need from day one in the workplace. Equally
importantly, we can make sure today’s students are prepared for the workplace
of the future, which will rely ever more heavily on advanced technologies
including AI, data and cloud computing.”
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