The digital skills landscape is undergoing a significant realignment. Over recent years, the conversation has moved on from simply building digital systems towards something more complex: how they are operated, governed, and protected at scale.
While foundational digital skills remain important, employer led research consistently shows that growth in demand is increasingly concentrated in data, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. These are no longer specialist or niche capabilities but skills fast becoming core capabilities across the economy.
For employers and those working with learners in adult education and training, this shows a shift beyond whether more advanced capability is required towards how learning and skills development should support progression into roles with responsiveness and flexibility in routes to support the greatest number of learners’ needs.
A changing skills mix
According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Future of Jobs Report 2025, technology-related skills continue to dominate projected growth through to 2030 – with AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy identified as the fastest-growing skill areas globally.
Pictured: A graph showing the share of Core Skills for 2030
Data skills sit at the centre of this shift. Employers are increasingly seeking people who can analyse, engineer, and govern data so that it can be trusted and used effectively, rather than focusing solely on code as an output in itself. The WEF report highlights data and AI capabilities as foundational to productivity and decision‑making across sectors, not just within the digital industry.
Alongside data, cloud computing has become a core capability for all sectors, rather than a specialist add-on. As organisations adopt hybrid and multi-cloud environments, demand has moved away from basic infrastructure management towards skills in cloud architecture, operations, integration and security.
A recent report estimated that cloud spend will continue to rise sharply over coming years to account for 58% of IT spending by 2027. This is up from 43% in 2022, confirming its role as a critical area of technical expertise.
Underpinning all of this is cybersecurity, one of the most persistent areas of skills growth. Whilst these skills are clearly highlighted in the WEF report, UK government research demonstrates that these skills remain undersupplied. The Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2025 report found that 49% of UK organisations all show basic cyber skills gaps. As digital systems expand, so does the need for people who can secure them effectively.
The evidence also suggests changing views of how technical skills are valued. Coding as a standalone, undifferentiated skill is declining in relative labour market value as execution‑focused tasks become increasingly commoditised and automated. Instead, employers are prioritising how technical skills are applied within data pipelines, cloud systems, and security contexts.
A qualification landscape that reflects employer demand
Taken together, the evidence points towards the same conclusion; the most resilient and future‑facing digital skills are those that combine technical capability with analysis, governance and risk awareness.
This perspective has shaped how we approach our digital qualifications at NCFE. Rather than seeing ‘digital’ as a single pathway, we’ve focused on building clear progression routes in the areas where demand for applied skills is growing most consistently: data, cloud computing and cybersecurity.
Alongside our accessible provision at Entry Level and Level 1, we’ve designed two clear progression pathways in cyber and data, so that learners are able to build and progress from Level 2 through to Level 5, or alternatively, enter at a level that reflects their prior experience.
Why Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) matter
Our Level 4 and 5 qualifications are approved Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). This means they are quality marked by Skills England to show they meet national occupational standards. Designed with employer input, this ensures they focus on the skills and behaviours learners need to succeed in work.
HTQs play an important role in widening access to higher‑level skills, particularly for adult learners. Unlike traditional degree pathways and Higher Nationals, which typically require two or three years of full‑time study, HTQs are shorter, more flexible and more targeted.
They also challenge the assumption that a full undergraduate degree is always the most appropriate next step. In reality, some learners risk becoming over‑qualified for the roles available to them, investing significant time and money in routes that aren’t strictly required for their progression. Our Product Manager David Rowley has previously explored how HTQs could help to tackle the UK’s over‑qualification problem.
HTQs offer an alternative route that allows learners to develop higher‑level technical capability, move into skilled employment more quickly and progress flexibly as their career develops. Learners don’t need to follow a linear path; they may enter at Level 5 if they already have the prerequisite skills or move in and out of learning as circumstances change. This flexibility is key for working age adults to upskill alongside existing commitments in a far more adaptable manner than the current system allows.
Supporting a diverse digital workforce
As the UK’s leading awarding organisation for adult funded education, we know that digital skills needs vary widely between learners, roles and sectors, and that confidence and capability don’t develop at the same pace for everyone. This is why our digital provision covers everything from essential skills through to higher technical qualifications. Whether someone is starting out to build a strong foundation in digital skills or progress into a more specialist technical role, we can support with flexible learning, which in turn leads to meaningful outcomes.
As the digital landscape continues to shift, the need for clear, employer led and adaptable routes into higher‑level technical roles will only increase. Our recent additions of the Level 5 Diplomas in cloud systems and data are a direct response to this demand, supporting progression into roles where technical expertise, governance and applied skills increasingly sit side by side. Together, they form part of a full digital offer designed to strengthen capability and bridge digital skills gaps now, while also being future facing.
You can explore our full digital portfolio and find out more about how we support progression across the sector on our dedicated digital page.
