Basic Digital Skills: Expert Overview - August 2024

Digital skills are integral to the UK's economy, with most sectors now requiring a level of digital literacy for work. Yet 8.5 million adults in the UK lack the most basic digital skills. Once gained, digital skills are not necessarily retained. Skills can be lost or get outdated.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research calculated a £13.7 billion benefit to the economy in upskilling 5 million people with basic digital skills and providing devices. 

‘Skills’ are a critical part of the ‘pointless triangle’ coined by Kat Dixon, during her Fellowship of the Data Poverty Lab: 

For a comprehensive overview of the main UK datasets on digital inclusion, see Digital Inclusion: What the main UK datasets tell us, a collaboration with Lloyds Banking Group, Nominet and the University of Liverpool.

• 8.5m adults lack the EDS Foundation skills; 1.3m can’t do any tasks at this level
• 4.4m adults lack the EDS Life Skill; 1.5m adults can’t do any tasks at this level
• 7.5m adults lack the EDS for Work; 1.9m adults can’t do any tasks at this level
• 21.7m adults (54% of UK labour force) cannot do all 20 tasks in the EDS for Work

Adults who lack basic digital skills are in one of four broad groups (with some overlaps):

• Working age adults in work
• Working age adults seeking work or ‘economically inactive’ 
• Older people aged over 65 
• People with a disability or long-term health condition.  

Digital skills (including basic skills) is also an issue for some young people, especially those experiencing multiple barriers to economic and social participation. Across 18-24 year-olds, almost half (49%) can’t do all 20 of the EDS Work tasks. This raises important questions for schools-based solutions; it also points to the likelihood that some EDS tasks may need to be learned on the job as well as through further or higher education (25-34 year olds are most likely to be able to do all the EDS Work tasks) (CDI/FDN).

The UK Consumer Digital Index 2023 report measures the Work EDS amongst all adults aged 18+ (who are not retired) labelled as ‘labour force adults’. Of these, 8.5m adults lack the EDS Foundation skills; 1.3m can’t do any tasks at this level; 4.4m adults lack the EDS Life Skill; 1.5m adults can’t do any tasks at this level; 7.5m adults lack the EDS for Work; 1.9m adults can’t do any tasks at this level. Around 21.7m adults (54% of UK labour force of 40.2 million) cannot do all 20 tasks in the EDS for Work. Around 10.8 million labour force adults are ‘on the cusp’ of being able to do all 20 Work tasks. The 2023 report finds that using digital tools to improve productivity is a key challenge; the task most struggle with is the use of productivity tools, where only 69% of the labour force can complete this task. This is also holding back the proportion who can do all 20 tasks. 

In 2018 (updated in 2022) the Department for Education (DfE) and cross sector partners developed the EDS Framework for Foundation, Life, and Work basic digital skills. This was a pivotal moment. (See Annex 1 for a simplified description of the EDS Framework; FutureDotNow and Lloyds Bank detailed framework is here). DfE no longer owns the framework, raising a question about whether this is helpful and/or who is best placed to own a single framework for the UK (as well as seeking clarity across the four nations on whether a single framework works for all UK nations).

In England, the DfE used the framework to develop skills standards, qualifications, and the Essential Digital Skills Entitlement (free provision at Entry and Level 1 only). These new qualifications replaced prior qualifications for IT and Computing for Adults. Public funding was provided through the (largely devolved) Adult Education Budget (AEB), although there is little flexibility in how the AEB is allocated and audited. DfE data suggest the approach is failing to meet the needs of adults in England. For example, DWP JobcentrePlus refers job seekers to local providers and their EDS provision where a claimant is lacking basic digital skills. In 2023, 1.5 million people were unemployed and seeking work, yet in 2022/23 only 17,510 total people (including those seeking work) started an EDS qualification. By contrast, in 2022/23 there were 222,990 course starts for literacy. This may reflect high demand and limited AEB funding for other entitlement areas or a reflection that the AEB has been cut by £1 billion since 2010. But, providers clearly do not prioritise basic digital skills learning. It may also reflect a mismatch between the EDS entitlement being qualifications based and the type of support valued by people who need or want to learn basic digital skills.

In Scotland, SCVO was in the cross-sector group behind the EDS framework, since developing the EDS Skills Checkup and Essential Skills for Digital Champions qualification. EDS level 3 and 4 qualifications are on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. In Wales, Essential Digital Literacy Skills are part of the suite of Essential Skills Wales. In Northern Ireland, funded essential digital skills training is available in a number of FE colleges.

It is clear that the EDS Framework is out of date. Basic digital skills for a future-looking workforce will need to include AI literacy. In 2018, the Framework was developed by a cross-sector, and cross nations, group of organisations but then taken in-house (in England for example) by DfE. Should the Essential Digital Skills (EDS) framework be updated (e.g. basics of using generative AI)? If so, how/how often should this be done and by whom? 

In England, is more flexibility needed over how the Adult Education Budget is used for basic digital skills learning? What is needed in the devolved nations?

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:  ”Our first mission in government is to grow the economy, and for that we need to harness the talents of all our people to unlock growth and break down the barriers to opportunity. The skills system we inherited is fragmented and broken. Employers want to invest in their workers but for too long have been held back from accessing the training they need.”

In England, the Government has launched Skills England to bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions to meet the skills needs of the next decade, and have strategic oversight of the post-16 skills system aligned to its Industrial Strategy. It aims to provide a responsive skills system to grow the economy and open new opportunities for young people and British businesses. 

A new Growth and Skills Levy will replace the Apprenticeship Levy. Skills England will hold responsibility for maintaining a list of Levy-eligible training, and ensuring government funded training for learners and employers aligns with the skills needed.  This could be an opportunity to integrate bite-sized, tailored basic digital skills learning, targeting sectors where there is a high need among workers for these skills. However, it is likely that the new Government will not want the numbers of people taking the Apprenticeship route to reduce, and therefore there may not be much scope for more innovative use of the Growth and Skills Levy.

Digital inclusion and skills could fall between priorities in this comprehensive overhaul of England’s post-16 skills system. Updating the Essential Digital Skills (EDS) framework and piloting or scaling programmes could maximise the opportunity, building on learning from cost-effective, impactful programmes in the UK nations and regions.

Skills England must have a role in working with employers and others to determine how to bring essential digital skills into their new strategy. Otherwise it will remain an outsider in the “fragmented and broken” skills system.

People have different needs, circumstances, and preferences for how they learn new skills and knowledge. Findings from the 2023 UK Consumer Digital Index reflect this: independent learning (79%); online learning (75%), from friends (68%), through work (66%). One third of people (34%) want to be able to get skills support in a local or community setting. 

People also have different interests and needs which shape what they want to learn, why they want to learn, and what they hope to gain or achieve (outcomes). Past experiences of education or training, and wider circumstances, often affect people’s self confidence to learn new things, and to seek support with this. On the supply side, people are enabled - or limited -  by the opportunities available to them. 

Tackling digital exclusion - where basic skills and lack of digital confidence is either the primary or a main barrier to opportunities - requires an ecosystem of support which enables different people to learn the skills they need to achieve outcomes that matter most to them, and to society and the economy. Economic activity and employment is a policy priority. Learning digital skills and confidence is also vital for social participation, accessing services, including the NHS, and keeping up with rapid societal changes.

Formal, publically-funded, adult learning provision - in Further Education colleges and with accredited providers - has become a main route for government funded provision of basic digital skills. Low takeup of EDS qualification courses in England suggests this only works for a minority of adults who face digital skills barriers. Other routes - in particular informal community learning, online learning, and work-based learning - are needed alongside.

The Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and Ufi VocTech Trust (Ufi) explored how to use technology to help every adult get the skills they need to participate and benefit from a transitioning economy. They found that “a golden thread was the power of locally tailored solutions, which recognised the diversity of learners. Patterns included rural and urban, digital inclusion and exclusion through infrastructure and technology access, re-skilling for local industry contraction and growth, and differentiated approaches by age and community connectedness of learners.”

Good Things Foundation coordinates the National Digital Inclusion Network. Network members include public and community libraries, community adult skills providers, branches of national networks (e.g. Citizens Advice, Age UK), local authorities, housing associations, community centres, et al. Many provide opportunities for people to get free, informal support to develop their basic digital skills and confidence, and usually this is embedded alongside other support needs they may have such as finding a job, learning English, or using public online services, as well as accessing food parcels or debt advice for example. Funding sources vary widely, including from local authorities, JobCentrePlus, and charitable funds. 

Informal community learning is particularly important for people who have had poor past experiences of education, lack confidence to learn, and face a range of barriers. For people of working age, who are out of work or economically inactive, accessing informal community learning can build confidence to progress to further learning or into work or work-related opportunities (like volunteering).

Online learning content (for free and paid-for) is readily available covering the foundational digital skills and the essential digital skills for life and work. It has been developed by businesses and public sector bodies (for customer or staff support, CSR or ESG funded), and by education providers, charities and social enterprises. FutureDotNow offers its members a directory of online content from coalition partners such as Accenture, Lloyds, and Cosmic. This provides a searchable list of links categorised by level (Foundation, Essential, Advanced) and by free or paid. Other online learning provision not included exists, such as Google Digital Garage. 

Online learning brings significant benefits and opens up learning opportunities for many. It requires motivation and learning confidence, ability to find appropriate learning content, and - critically - access to a connected device, and the soft skills to learn in this way. Dorset Council, Digital Unite, and others provide Digital Champions at council and/or community level to support digitally excluded people to learn. Many National Digital Inclusion Network members, including many public libraries, provide access to connected computers and support, using Learn My Way.

Digital skills gained at work do not automatically transfer or translate into skills gained outside work, and vice versa. Across the labour market - and for private and public sector employers of all sizes - a digitally literate workforce is a basic requirement. Employees may benefit from work-based learning to acquire basic digital skills and understanding for specific tasks, and also to keep pace with changing use of digital technologies in the workplace, and in service provision and customer communications.

FutureDotNow is an industry coalition working to tackle the digital skills and confidence gap in businesses across sectors (commercial and public). Recognising the gap exists, and that it affects a significant proportion of the labour force, is a priority alongside empowering businesses to take action. A case study from FutureDotNow coalition partner Travis Perkins is in the ‘good practice’ section below. 

Digital exclusion - across access and skills - is recognised as a barrier to seeking work, securing work, progressing in work - including resilience to labour market changes and emergence of new technologies, such as generative AI.

High levels of ‘economic inactivity’ in the UK’s working-age population, and a mismatch of skills supply and demand in many parts of the country, create a need to provide basic digital skills training as (1) a pathway into employability support, and (2) as an integral or embedded part of employability support. 

For those facing multiple barriers to economic participation, it is likely that provision of a suitable device and data connectivity will be needed alongside skills training - to build digital confidence through regular use, as well as for job search and learning.

Evidence from evaluated initiatives across the UK shows the importance of tailored, person-centred support, blended learning, confidence building (and other soft skills), responding to people’s personal motivations and fears, and ‘quick wins’ to build motivation to keep learning.

Nominet Digital Youth Index 2023 report points to both the importance of digital skills, but also differences in motivation, access and opportunity to gain these especially where young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET): 

• 73% of young people agree that digital skills are essential for their future job or career. This is higher among young people living in urban areas (76%).
• Young people who are NEET are much less likely to feel that digital skills are essential for their future job or career (61% vs 73%). By contrast, students in higher education are significantly more likely to feel that digital skills are essential (78%). 
• Young people who are NEET are significantly more likely than the average young person to learn digital skills by themselves (65%). They are also much more likely to learn from the internet than others (38% vs 31%). 

The report notes: “This is worrying, because we know that 3 in 10 young people who are NEET do not have access to a laptop or desktop computer. Their internet access, if they can get any at all, may be limited to a smartphone or tablet.”

A new report from The Prince’s Trust, Decoding the Digital Skills Gap, surveyed 2,001 young people aged 16-30 across the UK to identify barriers stopping young people from pursuing digital skills training and jobs. It found that:

• Over one third of young people worry they do not have the digital skills to get a good job.
• 42% of young people do not think digital skills will be essential to their career, increasing to 52% for those not in education, employment, or training.
• 79% of young people are open to undertaking further digital skills training.

The Prince’s Trust report outlined three key recommendations that employers can take to reduce the barriers identified in the report: 

• Clarify ‘key’ digital skills expectations and evaluate entry level jobs.
• Invest in upskilling young people and co-delivery of training.
• Highlight workplace diversity and benefits of digitally enabled jobs.

Organisations, such as Catch 22, deliver digital skills programmes aimed primarily at young people looking for work in the tech sector, including pre-work and pre-apprenticeship level support.

Digital exclusion - and the lack of basic digital skills and confidence to engage online - is a barrier to gaining or maintaining skills and knowledge more broadly. There are now significant overlaps between ‘digital literacy’ and other types of literacy and numeracy needed for social and economic participation at all ages. In particular: 

• Media literacy, including some aspects of online safety education
• Financial education, to support financial inclusion
• Health information literacy (strong overlaps with digital and media literacy)

From a policy (reserved, devolved) and regulatory perspective, the landscape of duties and funding is complex. From a literacies and education perspective, each of these literacies has specialist approaches, providers, evidence base and distinct elements. From a person-centred perspective, there is a case for making it much easier for people and groups to get the skills and understanding they need to engage in a digital society and economy - irrespective of literacy labels. What is the scope for a holistic approach which cuts across ‘literacy silos’, so people can keep pace with living in a digital society and economy?

West Midlands Combined Authority: A new Digital Skills Curriculum

WMCA has recognised the urgency of tackling digital exclusion and has outlined its ambitions in a comprehensive Digital Roadmap, taking a holistic approach: accessibility, connectivity, and skills. The Digital Skills Curriculum Blueprint aims to be a guide for organisations across the region. It was created as good practice initiatives across the region were often isolated and constrained by short-term funding. So the blueprint supports a more cohesive offer to support residents from their first interaction with a digital device through to accredited learning and, ultimately, employment. 

WMCA had already worked with Good Things Foundation, local authority partners, the VCSE sector to expand networks of support and create pathways for local residents. The Digital Skills Pathway for Shared Prosperity project (UK Community Renewal Fund) engaged over 2000 residents in an innovative pathway. WMCA has also promoted use of the National Databank; and secured £4 million for its Connect Services Project to distribute over 17,000 digital devices to digitally excluded residents via local authority partners. The new digital training curriculum is designed to bring this all together into a cohesive offer to meet the immediate needs of residents and the building blocks for accredited skills training. 

Travis Perkins: Embedding digital skills training in apprenticeships

With support from FutureDotNow, Travis Perkins PLC has embedded digital skills training in the majority of their apprenticeship programmes. The training equips apprentices with the specific digital skills they need, and also trains coaching skills to provide face-to-face support to colleagues. The support focuses on: (1) building digital confidence; (2) data entry; and (3) signposting to other resources that meet a person’s individual needs for digital skills support. Already, the training approach is felt to be working well - increasing the company’s digital capability. (See FutureDotNow case study, p41)

Digital Skills Pathways to Shared Prosperity

The Digital Skills Pathways to Shared Prosperity projects in three English Combined Authorities (2021-2022), showed the positive impact of a community-based pathway on supporting digitally excluded people’s progression towards education, employment and wider health and social outcomes. The projects mainly targeted people seeking work or economically inactive, and building relationships between community learning and FE college provision. 5347 people were engaged; 79% were motivated to keep on learning - with progression to informal learning (39% respondents), non-accredited courses (20% respondents). Progression often took place within the community hub as some people were not ready to progress onto a course within a FE provider. Hubs felt that for many people (particularly Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic women) confidence was a key barrier to FE progression. Lack of a suitable, connected device was a barrier for 83% of people taking part in North of Tyne, 80% in Greater Manchester and 72% in West Midlands. (See Annex 2 for infographic.)

London Borough of Camden: Addressing digital exclusion in the council workforce

In Camden, the Technology Adoption team is leading the council’s activities on tackling digital exclusion - including basic digital skills - in its workforce. Using the Minimum Digital Living Standards framework, the team identified which MDLS elements it should address as an employer. Non-office staff were prioritised. The work has revealed high levels of digital exclusion. As well as providing devices, there has been a refreshed approach to content and delivery of staff training to tackle motivation barriers. The council is committed to supporting all staff to reach a minimum digital living standard. 

Ukraine

Diia.Education — Ukrainian Edutainment Platform for Reskilling and Digital Literacy  targets a broad and diverse range of audiences including children and young people, lifelong learning for all adults, public servants, teachers, librarians, job seekers and veterans. There is an online learning platform and offline ‘digital literacy’ hubs. They have 2.1m registered users for the online platform, 6m+ Ukrainians involved in digital literacy programmes, and 5000+ offline hubs. 

Australia

Between 2017 - 2020, the Australian Federal Government invested AU$22million in the Be Connected programme - a digital literacy programme for older Australians. This consisted of growing a new digital inclusion network across Australia, supporting digital literacy through grants to local network providers, and an online learning platform.  The 2017-2020 programme was independently evaluated by Swinburne University; the programme has been extended with full funding from the Federal Government to 2028.

The evaluation found: “the funding of digital skills and literacies support through Be Connected is a useful policy” with good value for money with AU$4.01 created in social value for every $1 invested, resulting in Be Connected creating an additional $229.5 million in social value (in the three years 2017-2020). They conclude “Be Connected represents an appropriate, effective, and efficient investment in older Australians’ digital inclusion. .. With the positive impact identified through evaluation of Be Connected, there is an opportunity to broaden the scope to all Australians who need to develop their digital skills. Along with older Australians, other groups need support, such as those with disabilities, people on low income, low education and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Some Network Partners are already addressing these needs and are well placed to add further social value through an expanded program.”

The Be Connected programme has been extended to 2028, and is jointly delivered by the Office of the e-Safety Commissioner, for the online learning platform, and Good Things Australia, for network growth and support, grants for digital literacy, and digital mentors. 

The UK Government could set an ambitious vision to end Digital Exclusion by 2035 (within a decade) for both access and skills; with some digital services (especially NHS, government and other public services) needing to provide alternative support for people who can’t use them (reasonable adjustments, vulnerable customers).

The UK Consumer Digital Index tracks progress measured against the Essential Digital Skills framework. There is scope to draw on this and other frameworks and metrics (both existing and new) to agree a core set which can be used more widely (e.g. ONS) at UK, devolved, regional and local levels.

[Update January 2025: Collaboration on core metrics is now underway building on this briefing on UK datasets on digital inclusion.]

Different Demographics - Possible Solutions 

A simplified overview of the Essential Digital Skills framework (FutureDotNow and Lloyds Banking Group)

Digital Skills Pathways for Shared Prosperity (Good Things Foundation)