New ‘club’ to combat the regions tech skills gap

Technology company AND Digital says it plans to launch a new Birmingham office in order to support West Midlands businesses in narrowing the tech skills gap in the region.

AND’s new Birmingham ‘club’ will launch at the end of June and will create around 100 new tech jobs.

In its Fuelling Growth in an Age of Data report, AND outlines the capability and skills issues that many UK businesses are facing when it comes to using data to leverage growth.

Among its findings for Birmingham, the research highlights that 62% of business decision-makers say they lack the data skills they need to drive their business forward, with a further 68% citing the need for more technology to be put in place in order to boost their organisation’s data capabilities.

Paramjit Uppal, the founder of AND Digital, said: “The research calls out a pressing need in the Birmingham area for tech and data capabilities, and it is just one aspect of the so-called ‘Digital Skills Gap’ we face as a nation. Data skills are a critical component of the challenge to build the skill-mix, capabilities, mindset and ways of working most Birmingham-based organisations are trying to solve.

“We are investing to help local organisations accelerate their capabilities and equip themselves with the skills they need to not only survive but thrive in a more uncertain and increasingly digital-first world.”