Innovation through Technology (BBC Micro Revisited)

The Higher Technical Qualifications are described and aim to be specialist technical courses which aim to provide the skills required for technical roles. The qualification can also act as a bridge to further study (e.g. Undergraduate, Higher apprenticeship or Masters). Studying and achieving a HTQ will result in the attainment of a Level 4 or 5 qualification, with HTQs having been developed in partnership with employers, being delivered by experts. There is a focus on the skills, knowledge and behaviours most sought out by employers.

Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are level 4 or 5 qualifications; including Foundation Degrees, Higher National Certificates and Higher National Diplomas. There are a number of different qualifications on offer in fields such as; Cyber Security, Data Analysis, DevOps Engineering, Network Engineering and Software Development.

The significance of the HTQ is laid bare in research findings which show that in England employers are struggling to meet the digital skills gap within their organisations. The HTQs aim to boost the prestige, quality and popularity of technical courses. The aim is to create 'work ready' graduates and plug the skills shortages which exist within industry. The creation of HTQs addresses to meet the demand within digital sector and ensure future growth of a sector which contributes around £149 billion per year according to Statista.

There has been research conducted; such as WorldSkills UK, Learning & Work Institute and Enginuity's collaborative research title named: Disconnected: Exploring the digital skills gap. This explicitly displays the issues and the necessity of training, factors such as industry 4.0 and fintech.

The issues have been clearly exposed, however it also brings up questions on how these issues can be addressed to increase awareness. Level 4 and 5 Qualifications have suffered with awareness issues, with branding arguably failing to drive up demand (FE Week), with questions surrounding who exactly HTQs are for.

In order to address these questions, it is important to look back to previous initiatives to improve computer literacy and apply such principles to modern technologies (Crypto, NFT, Web3, Industry 4.0, Internet of Things etc). This will be done by assessing the impact of the initial 1981 scheme, the circumstances which led to its arrival for the BBC Computer Literacy Project and finally how a similar approach could be applied today, what potential impacts could be for increase skills for digital industries.

Context:

In Disconnected: Exploring the digital skills gap highlights a number of significant figures which provide a clearer picture to the present situation and the importance.

• 60 per cent of UK businesses believed their reliance on advanced digital skills was due to increase over the next five years
  

• 88 per cent of young people realised that such skills (digital) would be essential for their careers
  

• Participation in digital skills training had declined since 2015 across the board – at GCSE, A level, further education and apprenticeships
  

• Digital sector is growing more rapidly than the skills base can keep up with.
  

• A shortage of core technical skills, and more specifically a shortage of software developers and testers, support specialists and web developers. (labour market report)

BBC Micro

The BBC Micro, launched as part of the BBC Computer Literacy Project which ran between 1979 and 1983, was a microcomputer similar to the Raspberry Pi which has had a lasting impact upon the UK's relationship with technology. As we continue to advance in society with an ever increasing amount of technology interacting and influencing our lives, questions should be asked regarding how to shift from a culture of consumption to production, utilising these advances in technology.

With this context in mind, the changes in the market shifting towards machine learning, AI and data analysis is altering the market of work. The history of the BBC Micro and the Computer Literacy Project highlights the impact of innovative approaches to education regarding technology and the impact that can be had on equity, with the foundations of many computer programmers and successful companies being laid as a result of such experiences. A key example of this is ARM, based in Cambridge, which originally stood for "Acord RISC Machine", which was a computer processor which was first used in the Acorn Archimedes. ARM was developed as Advanced RISC Machines LTD, a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple and VLSI Technology in November 1990. ARM has gone on to has gone on to develop into a semiconductor and software developer which had a revenue of Japanese Yen (¥)152.42 billion in 2017 and total assets $3.21 billion in 2018. This company has its systems present in many smartphones and tablets.

Viewing the impact and success of ARM, with the of ubiquity of it's semiconductor and software within technology. The history of the company must be brought to light. Acorn Computers was established in 1978 in Cambridge as computer company, with the Acorn produced BBC Micro and Acorn RISC machine having significance upon the market. The BBC micro being significant for dominating the educational market for computers; being the most widely used computer in school in the 1980's, while Acorn first developed the world's first commercially viable RISC processor. A RISC processor enabled a computer system allowing for simpler commands to allow faster operation, an advance on the preceding computer systems, created using machine code which sought to include as many actions within each command as possible (Telegraph, 2011). This advance in technology was subsequently filtered to the mass market in 1987 as Acorn's Arm processor was the first RISC processor available in a low cost PC.

The impact upon the trajectory of technology uptake and development must be considered, therefore a similar approach applied to solving present problems with the technology which is available at present may have an impact upon a selected problem. The 1983-1985 video game crash had ramifications for Acorn, which resulted in the 1985 takeover by Olivetti. This economic crash was attributed to factors such as market saturation in the amount of games and consoles, quality of games and and falling interest in favour of personal computers. The market was shaken to its core, with video game revenue falling from a peak of $3.2 billion in 1983 to $100 million in 1985. The decline in market resulted in a number of computer companies going bankrupt or facing decline, with Acorn being one of those to experience such negative economic consequences. This shows the necessity for effective, quality control, management, planning and economic support for innovative technology within industry is required for a sustained period of growth and implementation.

As mass market computer usage was still in its infancy in the 1980's, the BBC created a television programme, 'The Compute Programme', in order to increase awareness, understanding and interest in computers, which were a relatively new form of technology. The show sought to show people what the technology was capable of. In order to display the machine capabilities of the computer, the BBC Micro was developed. The show featured two more series; 'Making the Most of the Micro' in 1983 and 'Micro Live' between 1984 and 1987. Though television still exists as an effective means of communication, the the existence of social media, internet and physical forms of media enable for a combined creative of approach to media communication.

Raspberry PI

In relation to the problems currently affecting the market, a skills shortage for digital skills; an industry worth £400 million a day and contributing £149 billion to the UK economy (Gov UK, 2020), a similar approach can be taken with existing technology. A key example of this being the Raspberry Pi, a device with similar qualities to both the BBC Micro and Acorn. The Raspberry PI is manufactured by the Raspberry PI Foundation in conjunction with Broadcom. Similar Acorn computers, the Raspberry PI Foundation is based in Cambridge and was initially focussed on the promotion of teaching of basic computer science within schools in less financially developed nations. However, demand exceeded initial estimates, resulting in greater publicity and demand outside of the initial Target market.

Due to the relatively low cost, the flexibility and malleability to develop code allow for consumers to develop an understanding of the realities of coding, enhancing the understanding of the programming within society. This potentially, over time could have the same impact as the BBC Micro, by addressing the skills shortage through the eventual increase in qualified candidates able to apply their skills where demanded, adding value to communities, society and the economy.

References:

The Telegraph, 2011, History of ARM: from Acorn to Apple

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 2018, DCMS Sector Economic Estimates

Gov UK, 2020, Warman, M,. Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Digital sector worth more than £400 million a day to UK economy