When we launched the West Yorkshire Digital Skills plan it set us on a path to deliver one of my key priorities as Mayor; making sure everyone takes part in our region’s digital shift.
From residents who want to use digital to connect with their families, to businesses looking to grow and innovate, to people looking for opportunities to work in a thriving tech sector; digital skills have a huge impact on economic growth and individual wellbeing.
As of 2024, Yorkshire and Humber residents’ ‘Essential Digital Skills for Life’ (93%) were in line with the national average, and above this for ‘Essential Digital Skills for Work (84%). Our skills plan is delivering, but to fulfil the ambitious vision of our West Yorkshire plan, we must go further.
This Digital Blueprint builds on our ambitious skills plan, laying out a strategy to drive forward digital approaches to help make our region an ‘engine room of ideas and creativity where anyone can make a home’.
It proudly champions digital inclusion, as widespread digital confidence in our communities and the employees that come from them will help us be more competitive, creative and bold in a dynamic global economy.
As the Mayor’s Business Advisor, I know local businesses have a crucial role in shaping and executing the Combined Authority's work.
With nearly 10,000 digital and tech firms employing over 50,000 people, the private sector is essential for realizing the goals outlined in this Blueprint.
Our region's digital ecosystem is robust, supported by co-working spaces, accelerators, events, and support schemes.
Key employers are already collaborating with educational institutions and government bodies, highlighting a commitment to a thriving, long-term digital economy. This spirit of partnership underscores the power of collaboration over competition.
West Yorkshire businesses are already leveraging data to fuel growth and create high-quality jobs. There is huge promise for future economic growth and job creation through digital technology and innovation.
This is underscored by our Investment Zone focus on Health Technologies and digital Innovation and promoting the region internationally as a prime opportunity for Data Analytics and AI companies.
Our region will champion emerging technologies, green technologies, and advanced manufacturing as pivotal to our region’s economic advancement.
The blueprint supports the growth of these cluster strengths, whilst also ensuring all businesses, regardless of size, sector, or stage, can excel in digital adoption, securing our competitive edge.
West Yorkshire’s Digital Blueprint provides a direction to achieve the region’s priorities, allowing us to identify the key challenges and opportunities in West Yorkshire.
The following aims and priorities have been developed through engagement with communities, businesses, local leaders and wider stakeholders.
The evidence base provides a full review of that engagement, which has informed this blueprint.
The blueprint is a key strategy for achieving our Local Growth Plan’s aim to tackle the key barriers - investment, skills and connectivity - that are holding back growth in the region.
These guiding principles have formed the foundation of this blueprint. The actions set out below have been designed to focus on the objectives we wish to achieve in partnership with government and industry, to reflect the voices of those who live and work in our region.
These will shape how we invest, deliver and measure success across three core themes: People, Place and Business.
Our YourVoice survey shows people in West Yorkshire are excited, not put off, by what digital can do for them. When asked, ‘What do you think is the biggest thing the Government can do to support the West Yorkshire digital sector’ 79% of respondents selected either ‘Ensure everyone has access to digital technologies, despite barriers such as cost, skills, infrastructure, location’ (Digital Inclusion) or ‘Increase the skills of our residents to increase the digital talent pool.’ (Digital Blueprint YourVoice Consultation.)
West Yorkshire is proud to be a leading region when it comes to making sure digital can be for everyone - ensuring digital inclusion is embedded in all our activities.
The below objectives are set out to have a broad reach, ensuring a diverse talent pipeline and that our businesses embody the theory that diversity in the workplace is better for innovation and productivity - supported by our campaign for wide adoption of the West Yorkshire Fair Work Charter.
West Yorkshire is a great place to live, work and raise a family. We are set up for people and businesses to get the most out of digital - our connectivity outperforms the rest of the United Kingdom with 85% of businesses and homes having gigabit-capable internet connections, and 90% of premises enjoying 4G mobile coverage. (West Yorkshire State of the Region, p.14)
Extending gigabit-capable broadband to all homes and businesses will attract skills and talent to the region, particularly to more rural areas. It will open up more opportunities for jobs, skills and culture and allow people to better connect with each other and the wider world. Improving wireless coverage will support commuter experience, remote work, Industry 4.0 and telehealth access. As set out in the Local Growth Plan, robust digital connectivity will be a catalyst for all work to drive growth.
High-speed connections are also a prerequisite for emerging technologies that rely on cloud computing, large datasets and machine learning. We will support our high-growth potential clusters through improving access to facilities such as data centres and access to edge computing, to improve adoption of advanced technologies and the means to develop them.
Good connectivity will underpin the future of improving public services and efficient data transfer, enabling the region to take advantage of a ‘smart cities’ approach aligned with our Mass Transit and other large-scale programmes - improving outcomes in transport, maintaining our streets and improving sustainability including energy management and flood risk measures.
We have a strong, diverse digital ecosystem. Our collage of international, national and local businesses make us the best location for high-growth start and scale-ups outside of London.
Our ecosystem has a strong talent pipeline stemming from our seven world leading universities and FE colleges.
West Yorkshire is recognised by UK Government’s High Potential Opportunities programme as a world leader in data and artificial intelligence.
West Yorkshire is also home to one of the largest AI student cohorts in the UK at the University of Bradford and the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics and Consumer Data Research Centre.
Businesses that adopt digital tools see a 20% increase in productivity compared to those that don’t. However, as of 2023, only 77% of SMEs within Yorkshire and Humber have high digital capability. (West Yorkshire Digital Skills Plan)
Without intervention, businesses with low digital capability will fall behind, missing out on opportunities to improve productivity, cost efficiency, accessibility, innovation, reach more customers and support recruitment.
We will leverage our world-class digital ecosystem to ensure that all businesses within West Yorkshire are able to take advantage of the benefits digital infrastructure and tools can have on their business.
Find out more about the evidence base supporting our West Yorkshire Digital Blueprint strategy
All information correct at time of writing - September 2024.
