Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Accepted
Cabinet Office proposes civil service upskilling package, but digital skills for commercial staff remain a challenge
Recommendation
Cabinet Office also told us that it will work on a “comprehensive package of upskilling, capability and assurance” across the wider civil service to ensure that it could act as an intelligent customer. But it noted that this was an “ongoing challenge” and not a simple set of actions or that would result in change overnight.29 We therefore also asked GCF what it was doing to make sure that all those 6,000 staff within the government commercial function have the digital skills they need. The new Government Chief Commercial Officer said he was new in post and referred to experiences from his previous departmental role about general digital upskilling of senior leaders.30
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, committing to a three-phased approach to build digital commercial skills across the GCF, with target dates for each phase. This includes mandatory courses for GCF staff by September 2025, further specific training by March 2026, and a learning needs analysis for deeper specialisation.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the committee’s recommendation. Target implementation dates: first phase by September 2025, second phase by March 2026, final phase to be confirmed. 4.2 Within the GCF there are already 500 individuals who are considered experts in digital services procurement. These individuals are spread across departments in Digital Commercial Teams and lead the procurement of those services for their respective departments. 4.3 The government is seeking to build on this core expertise to broaden and deepen its digital commercial acumen across the GCF. GCF Capability, working with DSIT, has identified a three-phased approach to systematically raise the overall capability across the GCF. 4.4 This phased approach includes: • Phase 1: Raising the Baseline of Digital Capability. By September 2025. GCF and DSIT will have identified a number of existing courses that will raise awareness and understanding of digital services and technology. GCF staff will be required to complete these courses. • Phase 2: Broader Capability. By March 2026. To further build capability, there have been a further 11 hours of specific digital training courses identified by DSIT, which will need to be completed by GCF staff by March 2026. • Phase 3: Deeper Specialist Knowledge. A learning needs analysis will be carried out to identify the current skills gaps in commercial digital capability and identify the required training to overcome these. This will be carried out collaboratively by the GCF capability and DCCoE teams. Phase 3 steps are longer-term.