Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

'Huge shortage' in digital skills says Apprentice winner

'Huge shortage' in digital skills says Apprentice winner

"Right now, I have 14 roles immediately available and over the last month we've had one application."

Mark Wright runs the digital marketing company Climb Online, which he launched after winning BBC TV show The Apprentice in 2014.

While digital marketing is a growing field, the entrepreneur says there simply aren't enough people available with the necessary skills.

"It's very, very worrying," he told Radio 5 Live's Wake Up to Money.

"Facebook advertising, Google advertising - some of this stuff has only been around five to 10 years and there's a huge skills shortage," says Mr Wright.

He echoes the concerns of industry experts who have warned the UK is facing a digital skills shortage "disaster".

Earlier this month, the economist and former cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell told the BBC the UK would "get left behind" if it didn't become "highly competitive globally" in terms of these "new skills".

According to research from LinkedIn, the professional networking site, 150 million new technology jobs will be created in the next five years.

CEO of UpSkill Digital, Gori Yahaya (centre), says people shouldn't be put off learning new technologies

Yet nearly 40% of the UK's working population lack digital skills.

A report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2020 found that 61% of the active population in the UK had digital skills - compared to 69.4% in the US.

The UK government has promised a skills "revolution" to try to bridge the skills gap, by providing opportunities for adults to retrain and "upskill".

Mark Wright says he too is providing training, but it won't immediately alleviate the pressing need firms like his have for staff.

What are digital skills?


"We're actually starting an academy to train people but that's a bit of a 'slow boat' - we need people now and we can't find them anywhere," says Mr Wright.

According to a UK government report in 2019, digital skills were required in 82% of job adverts online posted in the 12 month period between April 2017 and April 2018, but the precise skills in demand were not uniform across the country.

'Digital skills' is a loose term. It could mean anything from sending emails and taking part in video calls - something many of us will have adjusted to during the pandemic - to more complex talents such as data science and coding.

But learning those more complicated skills is likely to pay off, says Jennifer Openshaw who recently changed career.

'I thought the tech world was closed to me'


History graduate Jennifer turned to coding after a career with the National Trust. And she's just landed a job as a software engineer at BAE Systems.

Jennifer Openshaw moved from a career with the National Trust to software engineering

"I started looking at digital jobs because while I was being a full-time mum to our two little boys, we moved 200-odd miles away from where we had been living, so I needed to explore new avenues and a new career.

"I had thought that the tech world was closed to me. I thought it was too late, and I didn't have a computer science degree, so there was no hope really.

"Then a friend mentioned coding boot camps. She explained to me that they were a way to learn new computer programming skills.

"There were so many more opportunities from having completed the course. You only have to do one Google search for 'software engineer' or 'software developer' to see that there are so many roles," she adds.

Katherine Rust is a science graduate, but needed additional digital skills to secure a job in data science


Katherine Rust is a science graduate but had to learn new digital skills in order to secure her current job.

"I had a job at a little convenience store. Obviously with Covid, I got stuck there a lot longer than I wanted to be," she says.

"I was applying for different science roles the entire time but it was always an issue of 'you've not got enough experience', because I'd never worked in a data role before."

Katherine went online to look for courses and started teaching herself basic Python, a computer programming language.

She is now a data analyst at Bidnamic, in Leeds, which helps retailers make the most of online sales.

For others who are similarly thinking about retraining for a new career, how do you join the dots to make sure you have the right skills, in the right place and at the right time?

"Have a think about your own skills, your strengths," says Gori Yahaya, founder and CEO of Upskill Digital, a computer skills training provider.

"Think about what might be the best areas that you want to invest in; what jobs seem attractive to you - maybe your organisation is investing in a particular tech.

"Then go online - have a look at some of the programmes and free training that exists out there."

Above all, he stresses people with long careers in other disciplines should not be put off learning new skills, many of which have only evolved in the last decade or so.

"A lot of these are new technologies. People have had to teach themselves how to do them, or companies have had to teach them."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
×