Post-Brexit Tech: Let’s see the positives, says Dominic Raab

Andy Cotgreave, Technical Evangelist at Tableau:

“Dominic Raab struck the right tone in positioning opportunities for the UK tech sector post-Brexit. But lingering doubts must remain over the UK’s ability to feed the sector with the talent pool it will require to maintain its position as a leader in AI and other hi-tech industries.

“Whilst there is significant investment taking place in the core technologies which underpin AI, the ability to turn the data it produces into valuable outputs is frequently siloed off as a specialist skill, held by a few highly qualified individuals. Over-reliance on universities to meet this demand is both impractical and likely to be prohibitively expensive for all but a very few organisations.

“Investing in high quality apprenticeships has a vital role to play in easing the current strain on supply and ensuring organisations have access to a more diverse talent pool. Rousing rhetoric is one thing, action is another. Capitalising on the opportunity presented to UK PLC by new and emerging technologies will need bold action and tangible investment from both government and the private sector