O2’s HR director highlights ‘job opportunities for young’
The UK will need another three-quarters of a million digitally skilled workers by 2017, research from O2 has found.
More technologically minded employees will be needed to satisfy growth potential in the digital sector, the telecommunications giant said.
According to O2’s study, this demand for skills presents particular opportunities for young people, as more than one-fifth (up to 182,000) of the jobs needed to support economic growth will be ideally suited to the current generation of digitally-savvy youngsters.
O2’s research also suggested that greater collaboration between the public and private sectors could see another 100,000 jobs created, in addition to the projected three-quarter of a million roles.
The report said that existing government initiatives designed to boost the digital economy were expected to generate output worth £7 billion per year by 2017, but there was potential to produce a further £4 billion annually.
The study also recommended greater co-operation between government and employers to improve awareness of digital careers amongst young people. And it urged businesses to get more involved with the delivery of digital skills education in schools and offer young people work experience.
Ann Pickering, O2’s HR director, told People Management that with nearly one million under-25s currently unemployed, the growth of the digital sector provided “a big opportunity” for young jobseekers.
“Young people today have digital skills in abundance. A lot of them don’t realise it as they have grown up with social media and the internet,” she explained.
“It’s important that both large and small companies in Britain step up to the plate and give young people opportunities. That could range from a full-time job to a two-hour mentoring session,” Pickering continued.
“Giving them that first experience of the world of work in important. And it is not just an altruistic act – its good for business. If we are not careful we could have a lost generation that becomes lost innovation.”
Pickering was speaking at the first day of Campus Party – one of the world’s largest technology festivals which is running until Friday at the O2 arena in London.
More than 10,000 people are expected at the festival this week, which features keynotes from techpreneurs, innovation workshops, product launches and hackathons.
There is also a ‘digital skills market place’, designed to showcase digital careers and potential employers.
The O2 research released today was based on an analysis from the firm Development Economics, which used econometric modelling to identify and predict the UK economy’s digital skills needs over the next five years.