Read: UK 'heading towards digital skills shortage disaster'

The UK is heading towards a "catastrophic" digital skills shortage "disaster", a think tank has warned.

The Learning & Work Institute says the number of young people taking IT subjects at GCSE has dropped 40% since 2015.

Meanwhile, consulting giant Accenture says demand for AI, cloud and robotics skills is soaring.

Experts say digital skills are vital to economic recovery following the pandemic.

The Learning & Work Institute's research reveals that 70% of young people expect employers to invest in teaching them digital skills on the job, but only half of the employers surveyed in the study are able to provide that training.

Fewer than half of British employers believe young people are leaving full-time education with sufficient advanced digital skills, while 76% of firms think a lack of digital skills would hit their profitability.

Read the full story on BBC News

Closing the digital divide is one of the Levelling Up Goals, launched to set out clear objectives for the UK's Levelling Up challenge in the wake of Covid-19.