HMRC splashes £150 million on digital skills and launches academy training programme

HMRC splashes £150 million on digital skills and launches academy training programme

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has sharply increased its IT staffing budget, rising to a total of £150 million – almost double the pre-pandemic figure, according to official data.

The findings, obtained under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act by the Parliament Street think tank, revealed that a total of £152,871,499 was spent on 4,032 IT staff in the most recent financial year ending March 2023. This was a 91% increase on 2019’s figure of £79,916,209 where only 2,203 staff were in post.

The FOI also revealed that HMRC has launched several new initiatives within its IT department, the Chief Digital and Information Office (CDIO) recently. HMRC said that around 2,000 learning requests for courses and training are submitted annually by staff, with some staff attending multiple programmes.

HMRC also said that it has developed 15 academies for CDIO that deliver professional learning for specific technical roles such as data scientists or for functions and technologies like cloud computing. The FOI response stated: “The academies use a blended approach of externally and internally developed learning content. They are led by internal subject matter experts who ensure we are aligned to industry standards and using the best learning opportunities for our people.”

James Campanini, CEO, VeUP, said: “It’s encouraging to see HMRC investing in IT skills and cloud support, areas which will enable it to vastly improve public services and reduce costs in the long-term.”

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