techUK marks Get Online Week 2025
This week, techUK is supporting the Good Things Foundation with Get Online Week!
Get Online Week is the Good Things Foundation’s annual campaign to get more people enjoying the benefits of being online and to build people’s digital skills and confidence. The backbone of this campaign is a series of digital inclusion events across the UK.
The Government defines digital inclusion as ‘…ensuring that everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in and benefit from our modern digital society, whatever their circumstances.’ Currently, 1.6 million people in the UK are not online and 12.1 million people in the UK are estimated to have very low digital capability, which is correlated with a higher age and lower income. Furthermore, around 1.5 million people do not have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. This means a very large number of people cannot access the internet, or choose not to because of a lack of skills, a lack of confidence in their skills, or because they are not sure if the internet is worth it.
This digital exclusion is an issue that really matters if we want to harness the benefits of digital, especially to improve the delivery of public services and empower vulnerable people in our society. But. vulnerable people are the most likely to be digitally excluded. This exclusion is one that threatens to become only more acute as AI technology further widens the gap between those who are digitally-savvy and those who struggle to get online.
If we want our public services to best serve those in greatest need, we must ensure that people are empowered to be able to use digital technologies to their full potential. This includes having the skills to get online but also the economic means and the will. After all, while there is research which shows people who have high digital capability save money on bills and more, people need to feel the benefits of being online.
Furthermore, some people will never be able to get online themselves. They may require non-digital support or may need somebody else to support them or act on their behalf. We must ensure that they are not left behind either, and that where digital solutions aren’t appropriate, that those who need it can find human support that is well-resourced and easily accessible. This does not mean abandoning digitalisation, in fact the reverse. The productivity benefits of digitalisation of the public sector are essential for paying for those non-digital options for those who need them, to ensure they can be as supportive and attentive as possible. In short, we must ensure that nobody is left behind.
techUK members care about this, and are already working hard to tackle digital exclusion, including through supporting Get Online Week. techUK members Virgin Media O2, VodafoneThree, Nominet and Accenture are all strategic partners of the Good Things Foundation. techUK members also take part in schemes such as the National Data Bank.
techUK members and partners also engage in their own work to tackle digital inclusion. For End Digital Poverty Day 2025, we published a series of blogs where our members and partners outlined how they are working to tackle digital exclusion, which you can find here:
techUK itself is also working hard to convene and represent the sector in tackling digital inclusion. We are proud to sit on the government’s Digital Inclusion Action Committee. It is clear that government has an essential role to play in promoting digital inclusion amongst British citizens.
techUK also work with our members through our own Digital Inclusion Working Group to tackle the digital divide. The tech sector is already working hard to tackle exclusion, but we’re eager to do more, both across the tech sector and with government and the third sector. If you are a tech company, work in government or are in the third sector, we want to work with you to tackle the digital divide.
Because we are confident that, by working across sectors, we can close the digital divide, and we can ensure all will benefit from the adoption of digital technology.
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techUK work with our members to signpost the opportunity of digital jobs and ensure these opportunities are open to people of diverse backgrounds. We strive to help our members attract, recruit, and retain a diverse workforce, whilst showcasing their work on workplace innovation. Visit the programme page here.
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Authors
Archie Breare
Policy Manager - Skills & Digital Economy, techUK
Archie Breare joined techUK in September 2022 as the Telecoms Programme intern, and moved into the Policy and Public Affairs team in February 2023.
Before starting at techUK, Archie was a student at the University of Cambridge, completing an undergraduate degree in History and a master's degree in Modern British History.
In his spare time, he likes to read, discuss current affairs, and to try and persuade himself to cycle more.
- Email:
- [email protected]
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- linkedin.com/in/archie-breare-512346230
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