Digital Competence
We believe every child should be equipped with all that they need for learning from home, including a laptop and adequate wi-fi provision, we would introduce a ‘digital entitlement’ for all learners, committing to ensure provision of digital devices and highspeed internet access for every pupil.
We would implement a major new collaborative programme on digital skills bringing together education, employers and Government. At its heart would be a national collective effort to ensure that more people (particularly the young) are choosing to engage in technical and digital education programmes to match society and the economy’s demand for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills and competencies. We would set a target of producing 5,000 additional technology graduates a year, with a strong emphasis on increasing the number of women graduates, black and ethnic minorities, and other underrepresented groups.
We would review the role of specialist education and training academies, such as the National Software Academy and Institute of Coding, to assess if they are adequately prepared to meet current demand and the potential future expansion we require. We would assess whether specialist academies can work more closely with schools, Further and Higher Education, and work-based learning institutions in mainstreaming specialist digital training, this would also help to reduce the digital divide, in terms of gender, age and social class differences, in the context of the current digital workforce.