“Digital skills – together with the right economic and policy conditions – are what will make our economy as resilient as possible,” says Gerard Grech, Tech City UK CEO.
A reassuring insight on what it will take to sustain a robust digital economy, from the man driving the organisation tasked with accelerating the growth of digital businesses across the UK.
But, how can we make the digital revolution truly inclusive, taking the country’s non-technical population along for the ride? Despite smartphone adoption having skyrocketed, how do we address a very real digital divide? And what conditions do governments, business leaders and policymakers need to provide to sustain the magnificent growth the sector is enjoying?
I’ve been investigating these oft-contentious themes in Telefónica’s digital economy themed mini-specials, as part of the wider Digital Futures series. Early interviewees include Innotech’s Jennifer Arcuri and the UK’s digital economy minister Ed Vaizey, and I was keen to hear from Gerard Grech.
“Tech startups are not about technology, they’re about people,” asserts Grech. “These people of course ultimately create the tech that powers the products and services, but it comes down to talent,” he continues.
Grech is also a member of the government’s Digital Economy Council and Greater London authority’s Smart London board, both focused on economic growth through digital innovation. He is clearly proud of the visible progress the UK is making on the global stage, highlighting that over 40% of all tech unicorns created over the last ten years hail from the UK. He also reminds us that 10% of GDP in the UK can be attributed to digital, a figure he feels could be higher.
When pressed on the tangible steps that could be taken to create a robust pipeline of talent for the sector, Grech responds: “It’s the responsibility of those of us already in the tech industry to educate, inspire and inform others.”
On addressing gender inequity in the industry, he suggests that targeting school leavers is key, particularly girls, and training them in technical subjects. And while gender diversity is a huge priority for the tech sector, Grech and I agree that other gender agnostic elements are also at play here and must be dealt with head on – skills and talent diversity for instance.
Watch Grech in conversation with me here.
Ultimately, Grech wants to ensure that both women and men have a “perfectly good shot at doing very well out of the digital economy”. I recognise this belief as one shared by Telefónica, which has pledged a long-standing commitment to supporting the development of digital skills globally.
In March, Telefónica will publish the most comprehensive Global Index on Digital Life ever developed. It aims to model and measure key aspects of digital life in 34 countries to understand the balance of factors that contribute to a healthy digital economy. One focus will be how digitisation drives entrepreneurship and subsequently economic growth.
Does living a digital life make us more entrepreneurial? Share your thoughts with us using the hashtag #MyDigitalLife.
Shivvy Jervis is producer of The Trailblazers and Digital Futures – follow her on Twitter @shivvyjervis
