Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating the Science and Technology Framework to include policies on apprenticeships; and if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Education to increase the number of apprenticeships in the (a) engineering, (b) technology and (c) other key sectors.
Answered by George Freeman
The Science and Technology Framework outlines our goals and vision to 2030, including initial work that departments will undertake, but is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of the actions the government is taking. DSIT is working with the Department for Education (DfE) to expand opportunities for participation in STEM skills programmes. DfE's cross-government action plan on STEM talent and skills aims to develop the pipeline of individuals studying and working in priority sectors, including those taking up apprenticeships.
With over 350 high-quality apprenticeship standards available in STEM sectors, apprenticeships are an important route for supporting people to begin, or progress in careers in science and technology. From 3 April, small employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy are able to recruit as many apprentices as their business needs where previously they were limited to 10 new apprenticeship starts. There are opportunities available through other routes, too: in the March budget, £63 million was announced for additional places for Skills Bootcamps and Sector-Based Work Academy placements, which will cover technical skills, digital skills and green skills. Apprenticeships are at the forefront of DfE's employer-centred skills system reforms.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has to work collaboratively with the Department for Education to help ensure sustained growth in the (a) engineering, (b) technology and (c) other sectors.
Answered by George Freeman
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) to develop a strong talent pool across industry and academia ensuring engineering, technology and other sectors have access to the skills needed for innovation and growth, for example sharing workforce data on skills demand. We are also working with industry to help them tackle skills shortages, for example co-developing a skills action plan with the space sector.
As set out in the Science and Technology Framework, DfE is working on a cross-government action plan to build on the UK’s enviable talent and skills base.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skills within the (i) IT programming, (ii) IT hardware and network engineering, (iii) cybersecurity and (iv) data analysis sectors.
Answered by Paul Scully
DCMS publishes rolling employment estimates for DCMS sectors. As of 2021, the Digital sector was made up of 1.8 million filled jobs, an increase of 108 thousand (6.3%) compared to the previous calendar year and 249 thousand (16.0%) since 2019. DCMS also published an assessment of the UK’s regional digital ecosystems, which has information on digital occupations and skills gaps for each UK region.
IT programming
Consistent with the trend of previous years, in 2021, employment growth in the Digital Sector was particularly driven by the “IT, software and computer services” (960 thousand filled jobs) and “Computer programming, consultancy and related activities” (967 thousand filled jobs). Within the “IT, software and computer services” sub-sector, employment increased by 88 thousand filled jobs, while the same increase stood at 82 thousand within the “Computer programming, consultancy and related activities” sub-sector. There were over 94k vacancies in total for Software, Java, Full stack and Front-end developers in 2022 (People and Skills report, 2022). Burning glass found that programming skills are not required in isolation. In IT roles, 25% of the skills required are employability skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem solving.
IT hardware and network engineering
Engineering and security are in the top five most required skills for tech vacancies in 2021 (People and Skills report, 2022). The percentage of businesses in the ‘manufacturing and electronics and computers’ sub-sector with at least one skills gap in their workforce was estimated to be 17.4% (DCMS sector skills shortages and skills gaps). The highest number of network engineering vacancies advertised in 2019/ 2020 was in the South East England (12.6K) followed by South West England (5.6K), West Midlands (5.4K) and East of England (4.3K) (UK’s regional digital ecosystems). The percentage of ‘telecoms’ companies with at least one skills gap in their workforce was estimated to be 9.1% (DCMS sector skills shortages and skills gaps).
Cybersecurity
The DCMS-commissioned 2022 cyber security labour market survey estimates the cyber security sector requires approximately 21,600 individuals per year to meet demand. Around 7,500 individuals entered the cyber workforce in 2021, suggesting an annual shortfall of around 14,100. Increasing the number of people with good cyber security skills is a key objective in the government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy.
Data analysis
DCMS analysis published in 2021 found that UK businesses were recruiting for 178,000 - 234,000 roles that require technical data skills, and almost half (46%) of companies recruiting struggled to fill these roles (Quantifying the UK Data Skills Gap). To assess demand for digital skills, DCMS worked with Burning Glass to develop a skills projections model. This model identifies data analysis as the cluster likely to grow fastest over the next five years. DCMS have rolled out the highly successful pilot of degree conversion courses in data science which aims to widen the pipeline of talent entering the IT sector. The scholarships ensure the AI that is built and used in the UK reflects the needs and make-up of society.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent estimate she has made of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skill shortages in (i) bricklaying, (ii) joinery, (iii) plastering, (iv) civil engineering, (v) plumbing and (vi) roofing.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Department does not produce assessments of construction vacancies or skills shortages. These are produced by the Construction Skills Network, which produces annual forecasts of demand for construction skills by occupation and by region and Devolved Administration. The forecast for the 2023-27 was published on the 18 January 2023, and identifies the need for 225,000 additional construction workers during that period, based on likely demand. This forecast is publicly available on the website of the Construction Industry Training Board: https://www.citb.co.uk/about-citb/construction-industry-research-reports/construction-skills-network-csn/.