Digital skills campaign helps one million UK business owners

Do It Digital has delivered on its pledge to help one million UK small business owners with their digital skills.

The campaign hit the milestone at the end of its year-long run with support from organisations such as tech giant Google, banking group Lloyds, the British Library and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Matthew Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has also supported the campaign since its launch in 2017.

Initiatives inspired by Do It Digital included FSB’s collaboration with Facebook on the #SheMeansBusiness campaign, a drive to help thousands of women start their own companies. Lloyds, meanwhile, trained more than 74k small businesses in digital skills.

Do It Digital is now calling on big organisations to keep the momentum going.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is doing just that. The company’s chief financial officer, Ruth Porat, has announced a new goal to help 100k Brits find a job or grow in their career through digital skills training in the next three years.

Do It Digital director Michelle Ovens MBE said: “Digital engagement is crucial for all aspects of business, from marketing to recruitment and stock management to banking and accounting. And the evidence has consistently shown the financial benefits for small businesses embracing digital.

“But business owners say they simply do not have the time or money to spend on expanding their digital footprint and capabilities. We want to encourage more organisations to help small business owners get the access to support and guidance they need in order to succeed and grow.”

She added: “It is fantastic that one million small businesses have benefited from Do It Digital, however there is still plenty of work to be done in order to accelerate the pace of digital engagement among small firms.”

Margot James, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, commented: “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and thanks to this great campaign more than a million firms have now had expert digital skills training from leading companies.

“We want everyone to benefit from the digital revolution and, by working in partnership, we are making millions of free training opportunities available to help the UK be one of the world’s most digitally skilled nations.”

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