The potential of Educational Technology to support distance learning has been demonstrated during lockdown but variations in access have served to dramatically increase inequality. 

The DfE and others have brought forward action to help address these, but a focus on “free” tools threatens to undermine the economic viability of the UK educational technology sector. Meanwhile initiatives to make introductory digital skills and cybersecurity courses “freely” available similarly undermine the future of training providers (both public and private sector) who moved their hands-on technical and professional courses on-line for remote access, only to find that their customers have furloughed their training staff, after cancelling the contracts and freezing the plans and budgets.  

There are many ideas about how to address the problems/opportunities: from “guaranteed” apprenticeships and/or changing apprentice funding rules (to enable employers to use their own funds to bring forward in-line training for furloughed staff), through targeted public procurement…