Barclays’ commitment to the digital skills agenda and their activity in this area over a number of years is well established, as they’ve invested in the digital capabilities of their colleagues, customers, and the general public. During the last 2 years, the membership of Barclays’ Digital Eagles programme in the FutureDotNow coalition is an example of how a collaborative approach can help close the digital skills gap.
Ross Martin, Engagement Manager for Digital Eagles tells us: “It’s been fantastic to join the FutureDotNow coalition, as together, we have a common goal to empower people with the digital skills they need to thrive in a digital world. We’ve been proactively working together to ensure both our programme and the FutureDotNow vision complement each other. A key example of this is our involvement in helping shape the FutureDotNow Playbook by sharing our knowledge and best practice.
“The most rewarding part of being a member of the coalition has been sharing with other organisations across various industries and sectors, the journey we’ve been on at Barclays and how we can learn from one another. It’s not about working in silos anymore; it’s about working as a collective so everyone in the UK can benefit.
“Also, through our interactions it’s been great to understand the purpose of ‘The Essential Digital Skills Framework’ as this has helped to validate and confirm that the content and resources we provide are adding value in both people’s working and personal lives. This framework also ensures that there is a consistent approach to accelerating the UK’s digital skills.
“We’re now in the process of aligning all of our content on our free-to-use Digital Wings platform to the skills and subjects found in the Essential Digital Skills Framework. It’ll be a real endorsement when we can say that if you use our platform, not only is it free, but it’s aligned to the Government’s central digital skills framework.
“Our next goal is to be able to build on this and provide users completing relevant modules with an accredited qualification that’s directly aligned with the framework.
“I think it really highlights just how much more work we can do to raise awareness of the importance of digital skills, and of the help that’s out there. It would be great to see every coalition member acting as a custodian of the framework and actively promoting it. I really look forward to our Digital Eagles programme continuing to play a key role in driving the digital skills agenda.”