future.now — Empowering everyone to thrive in a digital UK

Yesterday saw the launch of future.now, a new coalition of leading companies, education providers and charities working alongside government to empower everyone to thrive in a digital UK.

Led by the Lord Mayor of London, Peter Estlin, future.now commits to delivering digital skills training from more than 20 members (including Six) and the six founding partners: Accenture, BT, City of London, Good Things Foundation, Lloyds Bank and Nominet.

Through our long standing partnership with Lloyds Banking Group, Six have spearheaded the digital access and inclusion agenda in the UK for over five years. And now, in our new role as Brand Strategy Chair for the future.now coalition, we are further able to tackle the issues around digital skills.

The coalition is based on a shared vision that we all need to better underdtaind and access digital, whatever our starting point, in order that we aren’t left behind as individuals in modern society — and as a national economy.

While the UK is at the forefront of the digital revolution, with the pace of growth for technology, media and creative businesses outperforming the wider economy by three times, the speed of change is leaving many of our most vulnerable falling further and further behind.

Our launch coincided with World Mental Health Day. Right now, there are millions of people (literally millions!) in the UK suffering from added anxiety, stress and isolation due to a lack of digital skills, motivation and access — this simply isn’t good enough.

Our work with Lloyds Banking Group’s Consumer and Businesses Digital Indexes has exposed the following snapshot (!!!):

• 53% of UK employees do not have the essential digital skills required for the workplace
• 4.1 million adults in the UK are still ‘offline’, with 75% indicating that ‘nothing’ could motivate them to change
• 11.3 million UK adults still lack the essential skills to access the internet, communicate and solve problems online

The future.now founding members have therefore committed to the following pledges, and are encouraging other organisations to do the same — so expect to hear from me:

1. Pledge 1: Build our own capability. Be ambitious about the digital skills within our workforce, increase awareness of the benefits of digital skills in life and work, and support our employees to develop at least the essential digital skills they need for life and work.
2. Pledge 2: Build scale outside our own organisation. Inspire others — including our customers, contractors, suppliers, families and friends, and the communities around us, to recognise the urgent need to improve their own digital skills and those of the people they work with.
3. Pledge 3: Build collective action. Develop new ideas and attract new partners to support and collaborate on this vital agenda for change. We will build on existing resources and tools, working in partnership with others rather than duplicating what already exists.

We know that over 200 initiatives exist across the UK to deliver digital skills training, yet perception and motivation continues to be a large barrier to empowering everyone to thrive in our digital culture. Today, there are too many who do not see benefits in taking the time to keep up with new technologies. Even if motivation weren’t an issue, it can be hard to know where to start and understand what the priorities are.

Working with leading consumer brands and the creative industries, future.now aims to shift negative perceptions around digital skills, and move people toward a more positive view — that learning digital skills is both crucial and fun.

It has been a privilege to embark on this journey with our fellow coalition members and we at Six are committed to making a real difference to those who need it most.

So I ask you… are you doing enough to support your employees, colleagues, friends and family to thrive in a digital UK?

Can you pledge to make a difference, however small or personal?

If you would like to know more, please do get in touch or dive into:

#futuredotnow | @futuredotnowuk | https://futuredotnow.uk/