Abertay cyberQuarter hosts debate to launch Tay Cities Digital Skills project

Abertay University’s cyberQuarter hosted 70 attendees from across public sector, education, business to debate the future of digital skills. The event to launch the Tay Cities Digital Skills project included panel discussions and presentations on digital jobs, and the need to meet existing and future digital skills demands.

Speakers at the event included:

Councillor Grant Laing, Chair of the Tay Cities Region Deal Joint Committee
Richard Marsh, Economist and Director, 4 Consulting
Anna Ashton Scott, Programme Manager, Professional Development, The Data Lab
Gameelah Ghafoor, Executive Director of Software Engineering, NCR Voyix
Lara Findlay, Head of Regional Engagement, Codebase Dundee 
Simon Hewitt, Principal and CEO, Dundee and Angus College

The event also marked the launch of the new DigiTay branding for the Tay Cities Digital Skills project and provided partners the opportunity to see new DigiTay logo, as well as a new website that has been developed as part of the re-branding.

The Tay Cities Digital Skills project has been working with an external agency to develop a logo, branding and website to reach a wide range of stakeholders including individuals, businesses, third sector organisations, colleges and universities, and the public sector to engage with activity delivered through the project.

Over the next two years, the Tay Cities Digital Skills project will support over 180 individuals across Angus, Dundee, Fife, and Perth and Kinross access training in digital and data skills and will engage with over 60 organisations to support their digital skills needs.

Neil Gray, Wellbeing Economy Secretary, Scottish Government said:

“This Tay Cities Region Deal project will help people and businesses access digital skills training to improve employability and support innovation.

Through our National Strategy for Economic Transformation, we are creating a fairer and growing economy in Tayside.”

Councillor Grant Laing, Chair of the Tay Cities Region Deal Joint Committee, said:

“We are excited to be hosting this event as a milestone in the Tay Cities Digital Skills project, which started in April 2023. By bringing together representatives from the business, education, third and public sectors, we have the opportunity to collaboratively discuss how we can enhance digital skills opportunities in the region.

"Digital skills are relevant to every sector of our economy, and this event is just one way that we are working towards closing the skills gap to ensure quality jobs for local people across the Tay Cities region.”

Councillor Altany Craik, Fife Council Spokesperson for Finance and Economy, said:

“The Tay Cities Digital Skills project is a key initiative to building a sustainable and regenerative economy.

This event provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate the ways in which we can grow, attract and retain talent in the region, and provide jobs in our local economy.

The Digital Skills project is supporting digital innovation across a wide range of sectors and enabling Fife businesses to adapt and compete in a future digital economy.”

The event agenda included a presentation of the key findings from a Digital Skills Mapping Report, and an opportunity for businesses to network and discuss digital jobs and recruitment.

The Digital Skills Mapping Report showed that the Tay Cities region already hosts around 8,000 digital and data related jobs. The report also outlined the need for a focus on digital skills in the Tay Cities region, with an additional 1,000 digital technology vacancies expected by 2025.

The Tay Cities Digital Skills project is part of the £20 million Regional Skills and Employability Development Programme, funded by the Scottish Government, through the Tay Cities Region Deal.

The Digital Skills project was awarded over £1.5m of government funding to support regional economic growth and the digital labour market in North-East Fife, Perth and Kinross, Angus and Dundee.