We asked how the Department intends to perform better than the market, which it needs to do if it is to overcome the lack of supply of digital specialists. The Department told us that it has focused heavily on its brand and giving people access to interesting and innovative areas of work to develop their skills.35 It found that emphasising this in its job adverts increased the number of applicants, in one case by up to 20 times.36 We were keen to understand how the number of applicants is cha...

We asked how the Department intends to perform better than the market, which it needs to do if it is to overcome the lack of supply of digital specialists. The Department told us that it has focused heavily on its brand and giving people access to interesting and innovative areas of work to develop their skills.35 It found that emphasising this in its job adverts increased the number of applicants, in one case by up to 20 times.36 We were keen to understand how the number of applicants is changing. The Department’s written response stated the average number of applicants for Defence Digital roles increased from 3.6 in August 2022 to 6.1 in No Type: conclusion | Number: 12 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 3. PAC conclusion: The department faces a considerable challenge to recruit the specialist digital skills that its strategy relies on. 3. PAC recommendation: In its update to us in six months, the department should also set out how it has changed its approach to