Campaign launches to discover the nation’s digital skills

A new campaign has been launched recently to better understand the UK’s digital skills and raise awareness of the barriers in society. 

Created by the education charity NCFE, No One Left Offline is aiming to highlight the importance of every individual in the UK possessing the essential digital skills needed to navigate the modern world.

This includes professionally, such as applying for jobs and using digital tools in the workplace, as well as in everyday life, including staying safe online, understanding your digital footprint, and carrying out tasks such as banking or booking a GP appointment.

As part of the campaign, NCFE has provided access to its digital assessment tool for a limited period. From Monday 02 September until Friday 20 September, the usually paid-for service will be free to everyone and provides a quick assessment of an individual’s digital skills level, including any strengths and areas to work on.

David Redden, Digital Skills Specialist at NCFE, said:

“We’re living in an increasingly digital world; from train tickets to card payment-only hotels, to booking taxi journeys. So, when we say digital skills are lacking in the UK, it’s hard not to be sceptical.

“However, there remain millions of people that don’t have the skills to get by. Being digitally savvy allows access to the best deals for shopping and utility bills, access to lucrative jobs, a greater awareness of health matters, and the ability to travel around more easily. Those who don’t have these skills are at risk of being left behind.

“There’s also a misconception that digital skills are only a weakness for older people and younger people are on their phones and online 24/7. But this isn’t the case. That’s why we are asking people of all ages and abilities to complete our free digital assessment and get a better understanding of their own skills.”

According to the Charity Digital Skills Report 2024, more than half of charities see growing their online presence and increasing digital fundraising as top priorities, yet only 46% view improving their staff and volunteers’ digital skills the same way. Despite this, 47% see the lack of digital skills as a significant barrier to progression – up from 41% in 2023.

David Redden added:

“Digital skills are on every Local Skills Improvement Plan as a high priority for each region, so in the same way we need to overcome the embarrassment of our maths abilities, we need to be brave to admit we could improve our digital skills.”

Later in the year, NCFE plans to release a report using the anonymised data from those who’ve completed the digital assessment to provide a snapshot of the nation’s digital skills level and highlight the areas that need to improve.

To discover more about the No One Left Offline campaign and take the free digital assessment, please visit: www.ncfe.org.uk/no-one-left-offline.