The government has set an ambition with employers to open around 20,000 entry-level digital and technology jobs a year, under its Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan published on 21 October 2026.

200,000 roles over a decade

The annual ambition equates to about 200,000 entry-level jobs, including apprenticeships, over ten years. The plan estimates around 800,000 digital and technology roles will need filling between 2025 and 2035 in Industrial Strategy sectors — roughly 550,000 additional jobs in priority occupations plus 250,000 replacement hires. Industry partners have also committed more than 10,000 work experience and placement opportunities, which are separate from jobs and must not be counted as positions already filled.

Why entry-level hiring is the focus

The plan addresses a barrier employers themselves influence: many vacancies ask for practical experience even when candidates hold relevant qualifications, limiting opportunities for people at the start of their careers. Employers are being invited into a single Skills Deal covering work experience, T Level industry placements, apprenticeships, undergraduate routes and entry-level jobs, delivered locally with mayoral strategic authorities and devolved governments, and coordinated nationally through TechFirst. Partners already offering placement and learning opportunities include Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Cognizant, Arm, Kainos, QinetiQ and AtkinsRéalis.

An ambition, not 20,000 vacancies today

Readers should not mistake the ambition for a list of open jobs: neither the 800,000 estimate nor the 200,000 ambition represents an existing contract to hire that number of workers. The plan also aims to reach one million young people with AI and technology learning through TechFirst by 2028, and to help up to 10 million workers build practical AI skills by 2030. Jobseekers should watch for individual employer announcements rather than treating this plan as an application route.

Sources: GOV.UK Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan, Computer Weekly.