Building digital skills in the public sector at scale- the time is now

The UK economy will need more than 600,000 new workers by 2028 if it’s to achieve the OBR’s prediction of 1.8% annual GDP growth. Many – if not nearly all – of those roles will require digital skills of one kind or another. What’s more, with persistently lagging productivity in the UK, without a massive increase in the digital skills of the entire public and private workforce, we won’t see those numbers improve. 

For the public sector, digital skills are already at a premium. Citizens increasingly expect to be able to transact with government services with consumer-like ease. But just as those expectations increase, so budgets to meet them are under constant pressure. One big part of the solution is to use AI to transform public service delivery to deliver great digital experiences to citizens, that also maximise efficiency and boost productivity.  

For example, ServiceNow analysis found that the use of AI could help frontline health workers to, at the very least, invert the current ratio of spending 60% of their time on routine admin and 40% caring for patients. And the same potential exists across other areas of the public sector. Our work with a wide range of public sector agencies and organisations proves it. AI offers the chance to liberate people from mundane tasks and allow them to focus on the rewarding work that inspires them. 

Training, not recruitment

Realising that promise requires a digitally enabled workforce. But with intense competition for digital talent, it won’t be possible for the public sector (or any other) to rely on recruitment alone. Instead, the solution lies in providing today’s people with the skills they need for tomorrow. 

The good news for the public sector is that it has a workforce that wants to learn. Research by consultancy Accenture in early 2024 revealed that among workers in all industries, public sector employees globally are the keenest to acquire AI skills. The less encouraging finding was that only 7% of public sector organisations reported that they are reskilling their people at scale.

New skills for all

That has to change fast. And there are some encouraging signs. In the UK, the government’s “Fifth mission” in its 2022-25 Roadmap for Digital and Data is all about “digital skills at scale”. To date more than 600 senior civil servants have received relevant training to help create a “cadre of leaders with digital skills”. It’s a great start, no question.

But the learning and development of digital skills must reach everyone if we are going to create the public sector workforce we need. All roles will be affected to a greater or lesser degree by the advance of AI. Some will cease to exist altogether at the same time as many we haven’t even thought of yet emerge. 

In such a dynamic environment it’s also critical to make skills development inclusive. Younger generations who have grown up digital may be the most obvious candidates for focused training. But in the multigenerational workforces that we have today, it’s vital to cater to the needs of older employees too. Not doing so risks making the existing digital divide wider still. 

Different contexts, different skills

The OECD defines digital skills as those needed for “problem solving in a technology-rich environment”. The problems to be solved and the environment in which different people operate will of course vary considerably within the public sector. That’s why skills development must equip people with what they need to flourish in their specific role and context. A frontline care worker, for example, will need to develop a digital skillset that’s very different from what’s required by a policy official. 

Digital skills must also cover more than technology prowess. The use of powerful new technologies like AI raises novel risks. These need to be addressed with training to cover areas like data privacy and the potential biases and misinformation that AI outputs could create.

What’s more, in such a fast-moving environment, upskilling and reskilling initiatives also need to harness AI to create the personalised, adaptive and predictive training that can understand each learner’s unique needs and offer up precisely the right training content at the right time, and in the right context. 

No time to lose

Overall, the wave of technology change sweeping over the public sector offers a real chance to transform the delivery of services across the board. But technology alone won’t be enough. Giving people the skills they need to thrive in this new world holds the keys to success.

Organisations need to deliver the right education to create an environment where all individuals, irrespective of their age group or circumstances, can flourish. That’s the challenge they all have to address. If they do, they’ll be able to deliver the public services citizens want, with a productive, efficient and fulfilled public sector workforce. It really is a win-win.