Yesterday, the Lloyds Bank UK Consumer Digital Index 2020 was published, bringing brilliant news – 1.2 million more people are able to use their devices and the internet by themselves than last year. This is a huge achievement, and no doubt due in part to the hard work from our amazing hyperlocal partners in the Online Centres Network.

But we still have a long way to go. Access to technology and connectivity is clearly a huge barrier preventing many people accessing the benefits of digital, with 1.9 million households lacking access to the internet. Through the DevicesDotNow initiative we’ve been able to distribute internet connected devices to those who need it most. You can read more about the impact the campaign is having for people like Ron Roper and Firoozeh Salimi.

The other part of digital exclusion is about skills. 

This is a bigger problem than you may think, as yesterday’s Consumer Digital Index reinforced. Around 17.2 million of the workforce lack the essential digital skills they need for work, and these stats are worryingly similar to the figures from last year. This means that the workforce has stood still in terms of digital enablement – and at the same time, 82% of all job vacancies require digital skills. 

The digital skills gap needs fixing, and this is going to be essential for the country’s longer term recovery. The Skills Toolkit offers part of the solution.

Launched by the Government a couple of weeks ago, The Skills Toolkit gives people access to free digital and numeracy courses to help build up their skills, progress in work and boost job prospects. I’m really excited that Good Things Foundation has been working with the Department for Education to offer a range of digital skills resources on The Skills Toolkit linked through our free online learning platforms, Learn My Way and Make it Click.

For the very basics, our Learn My Way resources can help people get to grips with their computer, tablet or mobile phone. Unsurprisingly, our video calling course has proved extremely popular during Covid-19.

If people are a bit more comfortable with technology, Make It Click has plenty of helpful resources, including on working from home. And for the digitally ambitious, there are courses on the fundamentals of digital marketing from our partners at Google, right through to programming essentials in Python. 

But this isn’t just about jobs and skills for work. My colleague Kevin wrote an excellent blog outlining the positive effects of adult learning beyond employability prospects, including improved social cohesion, health and security.

The Skills Toolkit is bringing new people – people we wouldn’t normally reach pre-Covid-19 – to Learn My Way. Our in-house data shows that most users who registered throughout April said they were employed, not looking for work, and have moderate to high existing internet ability. That means that people are choosing to develop their skills during Covid-19. Motivation is now much higher with 79% of people using Learn My Way last week saying that they were “more interested in developing new digital skills since the Covid-19 crisis began”.

At least one good thing to come from the current crisis is that digital skills have proved themselves to be essential in a socially distancing world. We can be sure that they are going to be crucial for our recovery as well. In our Blueprint for a 100% Digitally Included Nation, we called for the provision of free essential digital skills support for everyone who needs it. The Skills Toolkit is a positive step forward, taking us that little bit closer to achieving our vision of a world where everyone can benefit from digital.