A report from the Commons Science and Technology Committee has found that the UK is facing a digital skills crisis, with 745,000 more workers with digital skills needed by 2017.

Regina Moran, CEO of Fujitsu UK & Ireland. “It is a shocking, but unsurprising, finding that the UK will need another 745,000 workers with digital skills by next year. Our increasingly digitally-led business environment means that STEM and digital skills are essential in the UK, both within technology firms and virtually every other industry. To protect our future economy, we must encourage uptake of STEM subjects among schoolchildren, and government initiatives like the upcoming Digital Strategy are important. However, it’s clearly an issue that STEM subjects still suffer from an image problem. It’s often assumed that the only jobs that you can get with a degree in maths or engineering are highly technical, difficult and even dull. 

“We must tackle these prejudices and showcase how exciting digital jobs can be, both within tech and other sectors. Technology is being used to address some of the most crucial issues in the world, and solutions are becoming ever more people-centric. Creativity and innovation can be as important as technical skill in fast-moving digital jobs that present new challenges every day. It is only by engaging a diverse array of young people in STEM that we can hope to protect the future competitiveness of the UK economy.”