of obsolescence due to ever-changing digital needs. “There’s no doubt that the digital skills gap in the UK is pronounced,” he said. “Covid rapidly accelerated digital adoption as everyone was forced online, and many businesses woke up to the benefits of digital. Since then, demand for emerging technologies has increased ahead of the skills required to deliver them.” A £200m digital skills training scheme has been


launched by the government aimed at training across high-growth UK sectors, including green energy and construction. As well as enabling UK colleges and universities to


Meanwhile, the UK’s world-leading financial


services sector has not been slow in realising the future importance of AI. A European-wide survey conducted by EY found that “the UK is currently the most enthusiastic financial services market when it comes to the adoption of AI”, with the industry spending about $6.7 billion in technological innovation. Patrice Latinne, EY’s data and artificial intelligence


partner for EMEIA financial services, commented: “Europe’s financial centres are increasingly tapped into the disruptive capabilities that AI offers today. AI is infinitely innovative, which – while exciting – comes with challenges. Governance and transparency are increasingly crucial to the safe adoption of the technology, and ethics must remain central as firms progress their tech capabilities.” Sugata Gupta, global head of banking and financial


services operations at multinational technology-services company HCL Tech, said: “It’s rapidly becoming clear that the financial services industry is undergoing a major transformation because of advancements in artificial intelligence and allied technologies. “The World Economic Forum, in association with


the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, has revealed that 85% of financial services organisations have already deployed AI-based solutions. Everything from compliance automation to fraud prevention now seems destined for AI solutioning, translating to reduced costs and increased revenue.” Even as AI unleashes new potential for the industry,


it has also introduced new disruptions in traditional operations and “paves the way for new operating models and innovations” he added, writing on the techUK website last month. “At the current pace of adoption, experts believe that the next two years will lead to mass adoption of AI across the financial services industry.”


DEVELOPING DIGITAL SKILLS Nevertheless, as many leaders across all industries have found, the shortage of digital skills remains the number one barrier to the effective implementation of tech innovation. A survey conducted earlier this year by Gallup and Amazon Web Services found that only 11% of UK workers possessed the necessary digital skills. It also recorded that 72% of UK businesses had vacancies for workers with digital skills and more than two-thirds (68%) found it difficult to hire the digital workers they needed. Ben Foster, CEO of internet marketing service SEO Works, said the skills shortage was the result


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increase training opportunities for prospective job seekers allowing them to zone in on more specific digital skills gaps, the fund will increase access to higher technical qualifications (HTQs), an alternative to degrees. “This investment is about boosting local industries, building people’s skills and ultimately future-proofing our economy and the career prospects of the next generation,” said Education Secretary Gillian Keegan. Industry itself is doing its best to increase training opportunities. For example, the UK division of FANUC, one of the world’s largest robotics companies, firmly believes “Gen Z could be the secret weapon the manufacturing sector needs to harness the power of automation.” But the company said it was incumbent on industry to make sure this younger generation was “turned on” to careers in engineering and robotics. “Despite our reputation as a strong manufacturing


nation, productivity has long been the Achilles’ heel of the UK’s economy,” added the company FANUC’s training academy at its Coventry HQ now


offers accredited courses that can feed into mainstream education, with students gaining hands-on experience in areas such as operating, programming, troubleshooting and integrating robots. In the summer, the company also ran its first Work Experience Week, aimed at giving young people aged between 16-18 practical insight into the world of automation. “We firmly believe that this type of close, mutually


beneficial cooperation between industry and education will be the key to the success of the new T-Level system and is precisely the direct intervention we need to attract younger people to manufacturing,” said Oliver Selby, head of UK sales at FANUC. “There is a great opportunity for the robotics


and advanced manufacturing sector to change the perception of manufacturing. Embracing automation, and the development of an engaged and empowered Gen Z workforce is a key part of this puzzle.” But that might not be enough, according to Russ


Shaw, founder of Tech London Associates, whose main policy demand, he told the ‘New Statesman’ in November, was that: “Every adult should have to take digital skills training.” And the rewards for doing so could be substantial. A report from KPMG estimates that the adoption of generative AI alone could add 1.2% to the level of UK productivity, representing an additional GDP output of £31 billion per year. Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said: “It will take time for the new technology to be adopted across the economy. Changes to working practices, skills, and significant levels of digital investments are required to unlock the productivity benefits.” If that happens, the UK’s productivity puzzle might finally be solved.


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