Funded ICT training take-up falls by half

A review of ICT skills by Baroness Estelle Morris has found that 50 percent fewer adults are taking up free courses than five years ago.

According to the report, which outlines why digital life skills have an important role to play in the wellbeing of citizens and the wider UK economy, the number of people taking up funded ICT training has fallen by half since 2004-05.

This has been largely due to shorter courses being replaced by longer training, which leads to qualification. But the report also found that a complex system of different providers, funding routes and qualifications makes it hard for adults to access the skills they need to get online.

Morris said all adults in England should be entitled to free training in basic ICT skills. Her report recommends a social marketing campaign, as part of the government's Digital Britain strategy, to highlight the benefits of getting online.

In addition, it says a single helpline and website should be created with online learning modules and links to a range of free resources, provided by broadcasters and other commercial suppliers.

Morris said: "We must be ambitious about the level of ICT skills in the community. Increasingly, those who are not ICT literate will find themselves excluded as technology impacts on more parts of our lives.

"The government set high standards in 1997 and progress has been made. We need to be careful, though, that we don't settle for that. It is vital that all citizens, no matter what their age or background, are given the chance to develop basic ICT skills.

"If this is to happen, the government needs to have a clearer focus, be less bureaucratic and not as complex. It must work with its partners from the voluntary and private sector to persuade people that they need to learn computer skills and make it easy for them to do so. The entitlement proposed in this review is a step towards achieving that."