IT Pro 20/20: The learning revolution starts now

Welcome to the eighth issue of IT Pro 20/20, our digital magazine that brings all of the previous month's most important tech issues into clear view.

The A-levels fiasco is by no means the first example of UK leadership woefully misunderstanding technology or viewing it as a panacea. Whether it's arrogance over the development of a centralised coronavirus contact-tracing app, or senior ministers accidentally leaking Zoom IDs over Twitter, the public sector is not exactly inspiring confidence in its ability to create a tech-savvy society.

As ever with technology, it's going to be down to the private sector to drive this change. The coronavirus has forced many companies to shrink or close entirely, leaving likely hundreds of thousands of people out of work – although unemployment is notoriously difficult to monitor.

Yet, what we're also seeing is a surge in the number of schemes offering retraining or courses in highly-sought after skills. In fact, in this month's issue we argue that the coronavirus pandemic is likely going to create a learning revolution. Whether it’s a surge in the use of coding websites or encouraging veterans into technology, the fractured job market could prove fertile ground for those retraining into STEM-based roles.

The next IT Pro 20/20 will be available on Wednesday 30 September – previous issues can be found here. If you would like to receive each issue in your inbox as they release, you can subscribe to our mailing list here.