New report highlights UK civil service digital skills gap

A new government report shows that fewer than half of UK civil servants (42 percent) believe that their department has the tools, resources and skills necessary to utilise technology in transforming the public services they deliver.

The report by the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) and Google Cloud shows that digital transformation is being held back by legacy tech, budget and skills. Sixty-three percent working in digital transformation say legacy technology is a barrier, 61 percent cite funding and half (50 percent) say inability to hire qualified talent. 

Limited understanding of more advanced technologies is also hampering digital ambitions. More than a third (37 percent) say they have few or no skills in artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation; 39 percent say the same for cloud technology.

But at the same time, recognition of tech as an enabler of innovation is strong; 76 percent believe that technology is the key to unlocking public sector transformation.

Eighty-six percent believe that it is their job to innovate and optimise public services, and more than three quarters (78 percent) want more digital skills training.

In a blog post, CDDO chief executive, Megan Lee, said she doesn’t underestimate the challenges the organisation faces when it comes to attracting and retaining digital talent.

“In an increasingly challenging external environment, the Civil Service will need to work smarter and faster to deliver great services to the public, and to deliver policies with greater precision and impact. Only through leveraging the power of digital and data can we do that. It will take concerted cross-government effort and focus to make the type of progress we can be proud of,” she said.

Lee said she was pleased to see that civil servants would like to receive more digital skills training, and that “Government is already rising to meet this demand.”

She said that by 2025, CDDO, which leads the digital, data and technology (DDaT) function for government, has committed to upskill at least 90 percent of senior civil servants (SCS) on digital and data essentials, with learning embedded into performance and development standards. To support this, CDDO has launched Digital Data and Technology Essentials as a required standard for all SCS to meet.

DDaT upskilling

The chief exec added that 90 percent of DDaT professionals will undertake DDaT related training at least once a year, recording their skills to support the prioritisation of learning interventions and associated investment 

She also said CDDO was strengthening the departmental offer to existing and prospective talent by aligning role definitions to the DDaT Capability Framework, embedding a government wide recruitment standard which reduces average time to hire to 30 days.

Alongside the report, Google Cloud has launched its first ever industry consultation on digital skills across the civil service. It says its goal is to understand where the industry is today as the starting point to create the digital skills training and awareness needed.