We need more experts – a lot more experts. A 2021 government report, Quantifying the UK Data Skills Gap, found a shortfall of 178,000 to 234,000 individuals with data competency in the UK alone. It also found that nearly half (48 per cent) of businesses are recruiting for data roles, with 46 per cent struggling with recruitment. Digital skills – from data analytics to cyber security – are in short supply, with demand coming from far more than just the tech sector. In fact, Microsoft estimates that 77 per cent of jobs will call for technical skills in the next decade.
This is not just a problem in the UK; in no part of the world can there be said to be an abundance of software engineers. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the global shortage of software engineers could reach 85.2 million by 2030.
Professor Rachid Hourizi, director of the Institute of Coding, attributes the digital skills gap to continued rapid advances in tech while education...