A pilot scheme to help people and businesses in the Humber region improve their digital skills has been officially adopted by the Government.
The work, delivered by the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, has been recognised as a best practice exemplar and will now be incorporated into a funded programme.
The announcement was made at Leeds Digital Festival by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Minister Chris Philp.
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Humber Local Digital Skills Partnership began in March 2020, with the need to address future digital skills demands, due to growing automation and digitalisation in the region, having been highlighted - with University of Hull a key driver.
The Covid-19 pandemic has since seen unprecedented accelerated digital growth with a rapid reliance on various digital platforms as a way to navigate through the crisis.
University of Hull pro-vice chancellor for education, Professor Becky Huxley-Binns, chaired the work.
She said: “I am delighted that the Department for Digital Media Culture and Sport has recognised the work of the independent Humber Local Digital Skills Partnership. “This announcement places a welcome spotlight on the region and acknowledges the importance of the great work being done by the local partnership to identify and tackle digital skills needs and maximise digital careers opportunities across the Humber.
“The partnership brings in key voices from industry, as well as the third sector, to share best practice and identify opportunities. The partnership recently collaborated with the LEP’s Growth Hub to develop a digital capabilities tool for SMEs, aimed at identifying employer needs along with signposting to providers who are able to fill digital skills gaps. The recent announcement of support by DCMS means that we can continue this important work at a critical time.”
The Humber was home to the first independent digital skills partnership in the country and brings together public, private and third sector organisations to help increase the digital capability of individuals, businesses and organisations in the Humber.
They stem from a 2017 commitment within the UK government’s Digital Strategy, which aims to provide everyone with access to the digital skills required to meet the rising needs of industry.
The announcement means the Humber Local Digital Skills Partnership can continue its vital work for another 12 months, and will also benefit from network opportunities with some of the world’s largest tech sector organisations at a time when digital skills have never been more important.
James Newman, chair of HEY LEP, said: “I am thrilled that the hard work of the Humber LDSP over the last 18 months has been recognised by the government, and that the steering group will now have all the advantages of becoming an official pilot scheme, adopted by DCMS.
“HEY LEP is focused on ensuring everyone in our region has the skills they need to succeed in work and strong digital skills are an integral part of this. For businesses to grow, develop and be resilient they also need to adopt digital ways of working and the Humber LDSP has worked tirelessly to support these aims across our region.”
