The Prince’s Trust and Solutions Research, supported by Cognizant, have recently launched a report that reveals over one in three young people across the UK are worried they do not have the digital skills to get a good job. More than two in five young people say they do not feel confident making choices about what skills they need to develop their future career.
The new findings show that a lack of knowledge, exposure and accessibility to digital skills and development opportunities, are preventing young people from pursuing training in this area. This results in low confidence among young people to pursue a relevant career, and particularly in those who already face disadvantage2 such as those who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) and those with poor access to the internet. NEET young people were also more likely than their peers to have poor access to the internet, and to face financial challenges with access.
The report, Decoding The Digital Skills Gap, investigates the barriers stopping young people from pursuing digitally enabled training and jobs, and provides insights on how to unlock their interest and ability to engage with these careers. It is based on a nationally representative survey of 2,001 young people aged 16-30 years old and 20 focus groups with young people across the UK.
