O2’s appeal to make use of the digital skills of web generation

The telecoms giant published new research yesterday into the generation who have grown up with the internet.

The research found that two thirds of young people can design a web page, one in five can develop an app and seven per cent are “confident” in coding.

It also revealed that businesses are in vital need of skills that young people have in abundance.

Chief executive Ronan Dunne said: “There are more than a million young people out of work.

“It’s a travesty that while businesses are crying out for digital skills, they are excluding from the workplace the very people who have them.

“Now is the time when thousands of young people will be deciding what to do next.

“We want to encourage them to make the most of the fact that they have grown up in a digital world and be confident in the value of their skills to prospective employers.

“Businesses need to recognise the value that young people can bring – they are the future fuel of the economy and have the skills we need to help pull us out of recession.”

A spokeswoman for O2, which has 2,700 staff in Leeds, said that 1994 is widely recognised as the birth of the internet.

She added: “This summer the generation who have grown up with the internet, the class of 2012, enter the jobs market and yet one million young people remain out of work.”

O2’s study found that businesses expect a fifth of their growth over the next three years to come through digital channels.

It found that 29 per cent of businesses want the services of a web designer; 10 per cent value mobile and location skills as a key driver of growth and 10 per cent want to be better at e-marketing.

O2 estimates that the value of the skills required would cost businesses £724m.

The mobile operator is encouraging young people to showcase their digital talents to potential employers.

The survey quizzed 400 businesses and 1,000 16-24-year-olds.