Lancashire chosen for UK’s first Digital Skills Partnership

Lancashire will serve as the testbed for a new government scheme to boost digital skills.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is piloting the Digital Skills Partnership in collaboration with the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP’s) Skills and Employment Hub.

It is hoped the initiative will identify gaps in the county’s digital skills provision, encourage partners to work together to address them and attract investment from outside bodies.

Through the Digital Skills Partnership, tech giant Google and banks TSB and Lloyds have committed to providing more support to digital skills training in the area.

Google’s support will include working with local partners as it trains 1,000 people and businesses through its Google Digital Garage programme.

The Digital Skills Partnership was announced at The Lancashire Digital Skills Summit in Preston. Held at at the headquarters of ecommerce company EKM, the event showcased work already underway to enhance digital skills in the county and discussed what steps were needed.

In total, 43 Lancashire businesses, charities and public bodies signed up on the day – among them the county’s three universities, Digital Lancashire, Lancashire County Council, various schools and a raft of digital-focused SMEs.

LEP director Mike Blackburn OBE said: “In the last few years we have invested millions in the learning infrastructure through Growth Deal funds and vocational training through European Social Funds and also other initiatives, so we are delighted to have established the first Local Digital Skills Partnership in the country.

“Digital industries are clearly set to be a key sector for driving economic growth and creating new jobs in Lancashire, and this is another example of the LEP’s commitment to improving skills in order to unlock opportunities and realise the county’s commercial potential in this area.”

Lancashire’s creative economy is worth £1.3bn annually and employes 36,000 people.

But a recent survey found that 57% of fast-growing businesses in the county are struggling to find technically capable staff with advanced IT or software skills.