TechFirst opens to every secondary school, with 10,000 tech placements backed by major employers
Microsoft, Cisco, IBM and five other employers are backing 10,000 work experience places over three years. The Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan, published the same day, sets a goal of 20,000 entry-level jobs a year.
Ten thousand work experience placements in the digital and technology sector will be offered to young people over the next three years, backed by some of the largest employers in the industry. Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Cognizant, AtkinsRéalis, Arm, Kainos and QinetiQ are the companies named by the Government as supporting the drive, and ministers are asking more employers to join them.
The placements sit inside a wider opening of the TechFirst skills programme. Every secondary school can now sign up, and the Government has brought forward its ambition for the programme, aiming to reach one million students by 2028, a year earlier than previously planned, including 400,000 pupils from the most disadvantaged schools. Pupils will be offered workshops, skills sessions, career talks, workplace visits, tech clubs and competitions between schools, alongside access to the Ada Computer Science digital learning platform.
The case for the programme rests on two numbers that appear in both the announcement and the plan published alongside it. Nearly one million young people are not in employment, education or training, and a Skills England assessment cited by the Government puts the number of digital and technology roles needing to be filled by 2035 at 800,000. The Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan, published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on Wednesday, describes its mission as getting young people into the digital and tech workplace, and organises the work under four headings: Inspire, Open, Deliver and Sustain.
Everyone tells you that you need experience to get a job, but nobody gives you the chance to get that experience in the first place.Andy Burnham, Prime Minister, 21 October 2026
The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, framed the placements as an answer to a familiar first-job problem. He said: “It’s one of the biggest frustrations when you’re starting out. Everyone tells you that you need experience to get a job, but nobody gives you the chance to get that experience in the first place.” He added: “Thousands of young people will get the chance to get their foot in the door in one of the UK’s biggest growth sectors, build their confidence and skills, and get something meaningful on their CV.” The plan sets a goal, shared with employers through a Skills Deal, of 20,000 entry-level jobs a year, and the Government is calling on employers across the sector to sign up as Skills Deal partners and offer work experiences of their own.
Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, put the argument in terms of where talent sits. She said: “Getting a good job in our thriving digital and tech industry shouldn’t be determined by where you live or what school you go to. Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.” Baroness Jacqui Smith, the Minister for Skills, said: “Every young person deserves the chance to build a career they’re proud of, whatever their background and wherever they live.”
The announcement also sits inside the Prime Minister’s wider call for employers to provide an additional 200,000 work experience placements so that young people have time in a workplace between the ages of 14 and 16. Employers can pledge placements through their local Careers Hubs. A separate part of the package, the TechFirst Women’s programme, will support 300 women at different career stages into paid roles in high-growth technology sectors, with mentoring, skills development and matching to vacancies, aiming for paid jobs lasting at least six months by March 2027.
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