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Posted by Aston Avery

Listen: urgent need for more investment in technology and skills

When the pandemic hit, people across the globe were blindsided by the impact Covid had and still to this day,
many are feeling the effects on a daily basis. Even just last week, the announcement of Plan B has meant that
people are again having to re-adapt to new circumstances. As a result, this period has highlighted the need for the
UK to be prepared in the future. In fact, according to new research released today over four fifths (83%) of Brits
believe it is essential for the UK to invest more in emerging technology and skills in order to improve its capacity to
address major issues like pandemics and climate change.

Throughout the pandemic, the nation has relied on the science and the technology to assess, predict and plan for
the next steps and when it comes to society recovering from this period, the reliance on these industries will
continue. According to IBM’s research 89% of Brits have even said that it’s technology skills which are important for
the future of the economy.

IBM has extensive and successful programmes including PTECH and SkillsBuild to address these skills gaps. To
highlight this, in December IBM invited schoolchildren [local to their new London office] and students from the
PTECH schools and colleges in Leeds and Dublin to directly ask IBM Research experts to explain Quantum
computing, including what it is, why it is important for the skills they will need in future and how it will make a
difference to the world they are growing up in.

Aston spoke to mathmetician Bobby Seagull.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

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