The Institute of Coding (IoC), led by the University of Bath and in collaboration with Nominet, brought partners, policymakers and learners together in Parliament in April to celebrate the impact of the innovative Click Start programme.
Hosted by Weston-super-Mare MP Dan Aldridge, the event highlighted how a national partnership model can help tackle the UK’s digital skills gap while improving life chances and opportunity for people across the country.
Click Start, funded by Nominet, is a national, flexible digital skills programme designed to help people build confidence and practical skills for tech careers and beyond. It supports learners to develop capabilities in areas such as digital marketing, coding, data, and online tools, while providing employment support to help them apply those skills to real-world opportunities, including job applications, interviews and career progression.
Co-ordinated by the IoC and delivered through universities, charities and employers across the country, it reached nearly 39,000 learners across the UK and almost 180,000 learners globally from 2022 to 2025.
Its success builds on the work of the IoC and its partners, which since 2018 has brought together education providers and industry to address digital skills needs at scale. Click Start exemplifies this, combining local delivery with national co-ordination to reach communities often underserved by traditional routes into tech.
At the event in Parliament last month, attendees heard directly from learners who shared their personal experiences of Click Start and the difference it had made to their confidence, skills and employment prospects.
Evidence from the programme shows a strong and sustained impact and tangible economic benefits:
More than nine in ten learners (91%) reported improved life satisfaction after taking part.
Employment outcomes improved, with the proportion of learners in work rising from 49% at the start of the programme to 56% within three months of completion.
Nearly half of learners (44%) reported an increase in income, while 75% said Click Start improved their work-readiness skills, including writing job applications and preparing for interviews.
Almost 80% reported increased confidence in non-digital skills, underlining the broader personal development supported by the programme.
A key strength of Click Start has been its focus on inclusion. The programme has successfully reached learners from a wide range of backgrounds, including young people on free school meals and individuals with long-term health conditions or disabilities.
Professor Rachid Hourizi MBE, Director of the Institute of Coding, said: “Click Start shows what can be achieved when we focus on practical skills that lead directly to better opportunities and it was great to come together in Parliament to celebrate the success of the programme.
"We’ve shown what is possible at scale through strong partnership working, and we hope this can help inform and inspire future national programmes supporting learners into digital careers. Education providers, including our universities and colleges, play a vital role in this, working with partners to widen access to digital learning, build confidence and capability, and support successful transitions into the digital economy.”
Professor Sue Black OBE, leader of TechUPWomen, one of the Click Start delivery partners, added: “Click Start, and the university–charity partnership model, has shown what’s possible when we work together with a shared purpose.
"It’s enabled us to support women from underserved communities not just to retrain into tech, but to build confidence, find community, and access coaching and mentoring that carries through into employment. Women face a wide range of barriers when entering the workforce, and Click Start has allowed us to respond flexibly and holistically, providing the tailored support needed to help them successfully transition into sustainable tech careers.”
Paul Fletcher, CEO of Nominet, said: “Through Click Start, we’ve seen what happens when employers, educators and charities pull together with a clear common goal. There are a million young people who want to work and thousands of businesses crying out for digital skills – this programme helps to solve this paradox. And as the funder of the programme, we’re especially proud of the partnerships Click Start has built and of the thousands of learners whose confidence, careers and futures have moved forward as a result.”
Dan Aldridge MP (Weston-super-Mare) who hosted the event added: "Programmes like Click Start are really important. If you can change the world for one individual person then you start changing the world en masse because they go on to cascade it. One of the learners was talking about how six of her friends have now signed up to the project. In communities like mine in Weston-super-Mare we see the impacts of projects like this.”