‘Digital GI bill’ pledges to bring in a new era of prosperity
Culture Secretary to announce major jobs creation plan based on post-war US legislation
BRITAIN needs a modern “GI bill” to retrain people in digital expertise – in the way US troops were helped to acquire new skills after the Second World War – in order to revitalise the stuttering economy after lockdown, the Culture Secretary will say today.
Oliver Dowden is due to tell business leaders that the Government is drawing up a new digital jobs programme to put “fuel back in the tank” of the economy blighted by recession.
His comments come as figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that unemployment is now rising faster than during the Great Depression due to the three-month shutdown imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus.
In his speech, delivered remotely to the UK Tech Cluster Group today, Mr Dowden will say that the coronavirus has “fundamentally altered our lives” but that it has also “turbocharged” the nation’s digital transformation as businesses have been forced to migrate online to survive.
He will also say that this has sped up changes in consumers’ habits, with more shopping and people using services online, adding that as a result “tech must play a leading part” in the economy’s recovery.
As part of the digital strategy, due to be unveiled in the autumn, the Government plans a raft of measures to help retrain people who have lost their jobs in the lockdown so that they find employment in growing digital sectors.
“It means looking at ways to build a highly skilled digital workforce across every region of the UK, so that people can shift into the digital or tech sectors or digitise their own businesses,” Mr Dowden will say.
“The GI bill gave American veterans the skills and qualifications to move into new areas of work after World War Two, helping them to readjust to civilian life.
“Likewise, we need a strategy that will help workers here adjust to a digital-led economy after coronavirus.”
The US GI bill was passed in 1944 by President Franklin Roosevelt to help the millions of soldiers returning from the Second World War to retrain and reintegrate themselves back into society as civilians.
The era-defining legislation saw GIS offered grants and access to universities or vocational colleges, as well as low-cost loans to start new businesses.
Mr Dowden’s speech will come as the full extent of the lockdown’s impact on the economy is becoming apparent.
According to the ONS, 2.7 million people are now claiming unemployment benefits, an increase of 1.4million from March.
As well as retraining people for the digital economy, the Culture Secretary
‘The bill gave veterans skills to move into new areas. Likewise, we need a strategy to help workers here adjust’
is also due to outline other policy areas which will be the focus of the new digital strategy.
One such area is overhauling the rules governing online data so that businesses can “share vital information quickly, efficiently and ethically”.
Mr Dowden will also say that he aims to rapidly roll out “world-class, nextgeneration” internet, such as the 5G mobile signal, to help British entrepreneurs develop “the next killer app”.
He will say: “Right now, our clear priority must be growth – using tech to power us out of the recession, to drive productivity and create jobs in all parts of the tech industry, region by region, and in all parts of our economy.
“With offices closed, and shops shuttered during the crisis, tech has kept our economy’s engines ticking over.
“And now, as we enter recovery, tech will put a fresh load of fuel in the tank, driving a new era of growth.”