14 Feb 2024
by Nimmi Patel

Join techUK's Skills & Diversity Council

Do you work for a techUK member organisation? Applications are now open for techUK's Skills and Diversity Council.

Are you keen to promote future skills and diversity in your organisation and across the tech sector?

The Skills and Diversity Council aims to support the wider diversity and inclusion agenda in the tech sector and take concrete steps on helping the UK develop skills for the modern economy. This is an excellent opportunity to shape and led our work.

The Council brings together some of the most influential networks and people working across the industry to champion diversity in tech, relating to: ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability, neurodiversity, social mobility and gender. In addition, the Council discusses new approaches which help to address the skills gap today and in the future, including successful multi-stakeholder partnerships, innovative recruitment strategies and lifelong learning.

Shaping and influencing policy

The Council has contributed to several research projects and consultation responses to influence relevant government policies through lobbying and policy development including: the House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee inquiry on Digital exclusion and the cost of livingNational Data Strategy, and the House of Lords living online: the long-term impact on wellbeing inquiry, and more. It also support techUK's flagship skills report, Fast Forward for Digital Jobs, and has helped to organise or provide speakers for a number of events and webinars.

Bringing people together with events & networking

The Council led our Women in Tech campaign, produced a best practice report on Gender Pay Gap reporting, and expanded techUK's Returners Hub which supports those who have taken career breaks to return to work in the tech sector. The Council has continued to support initiatives like the Tech Talent Charter and Colorintech’s BlackTechFest.

Future work

In the future, the Council will focus on ways the UK can modernise the national curriculum and how tech companies are helping schools put digital at the heart of early education.

We are looking for ideas and ways to collaborate so even if you aren't an expert in this area, please consider applying.

If you are enthusiastic about driving inclusion and ensuring everyone has access to education, then we want to hear from you!

To apply for this council, please request the Council Terms of Reference and Nomination Form from Nimmi Patel.

Nomination forms should be submitted to Nimmi by Thursday 29 February, by 5pm. Successful applicants to be notified by close of play on Tuesday 5 March.

Jobs and Skills

To make sure that the UK is a world-leading digital economy that works for everyone, it is crucial that people have the digital skills needed for life and work. Rapid digitalisation is creating surging demand for digital skills across the economy and the current domestic skills pipeline cannot keep up. Digitalisation is also leading to rapid changes in the labour market that means some traditional roles are being displaced. There is an urgent need to better match the demand and supply.

Visit the hub

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion sits at the heart of digital growth. The tech sector understands that innovation thrives from diversity of thought and is continually looking to attract, recruit and retain a diverse workforce. techUK is proud to support a number of initiatives that promote this, from doing outreach work to ensure that people regardless of their background are inspired into tech, to initiatives that help build more inclusive workplaces for those with different accessibility needs.

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Authors

Nimmi Patel

Nimmi Patel

Head of Skills, Talent & Diversity, techUK

Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK.

She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers and governments. She is also a member of Chatham House's Common Futures Conversations

Prior to joining the team, she worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester and holds an MA Strategic Communications at King’s College London.

Email:
[email protected]
Phone:
07805744520
Twitter:
@nimmiptl
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimmi-patel1/

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