Ensuring more young people have better pathways into digital careers has the potential to address the South-West’s chronic economic and social challenges, a new report says.

The report, “The Tech Frontier: Shaping the Future of the South-West Peninsula”, is funded by The Hg Foundation and is part of the work of the University of Exeter’s South West Social Mobility Commission.

The report says the technology workforce in the South-West set to expand by 26 per cent from 2022 to 2027, outpacing the growth rate of any other sector. The report takes a vital first step of exploring the tech skills mismatch in the region and developing recommendations to ensure the benefits of this growth are equitably distributed, particularly to young people from poorer backgrounds.