Five ways to make sure the UK technology sector carries on growing

The UK technology sector is booming – and a big priority for the next government must be ensuring both that this continues and that the benefits are widely shared.

I want to touch briefly on five aspects of policy that are critical to both objectives: infrastructure, education, funding, immigration and a more open public sector.

1. We need world class mobile and internet infrastructure that is genuinely national in reach

The smartphone revolution is changing almost every basic human experience: the ways we eat, travel, socialise and everything else are being transformed by the fact that most of us now carry a connected, context-aware computer in our pockets. Generally, this is resulting in faster, better and cheaper services. But the fruits of these advances will only be widely shared if the infrastructure that underpins it is available nationwide. Too often, outside major urban centres (and even within some of them) mobile internet reception is limited or broadband penetration poor. This is a real inequality for government to address – and one that will increasingly exacerbate other forms of inequality if left ignored.

2. We need to equip every pupil with the skills to participate in the “maker economy”

The introduction of coding in the primary curriculum has been a big step forward that Labour should embrace. However, we need to go further: as “software eats the world”, individuals who can code are increasingly empowered to become “makers” in areas far outside traditional “IT” – from hardware to biology. Our curriculum needs to lead the world in this respect.

3. We need to ensure that access to funding for aspiring entrepreneurs is truly open

This government’s Startup Loans scheme was both a commendable statement of intent and a major missed opportunity. Micro-loans to entrepreneurs can have a big impact, but these could be both more accessible to the less well off and better aligned with entrepreneurs’ own goals if we modified them to have income-contingent repayment, like existing student loans. (It would also send an important signal about the legitimacy of entrepreneurship as a training and career option)

4. We need our doors to be open to the world’s best technology talent

Britain’s world-class universities are a major advantage, but our visa policy means it is far harder than it should be non-EU national technologists to come to the UK (or stay here after their studies) to build a business. This government’s efforts in this area were hampered because they painted themselves into a corner on immigration. Labour mustn’t make the same mistake.

5. We need to open up the public sector to entrepreneurs

It is often harder for entrepreneurs to innovate in the public sector, particularly in health and education – and this means we’re missing out on many potential benefits to deliver more and better services at lower cost. Actively helping entrepreneurs – whether from the private or voluntary sector – to navigate the public sector and creating safe ways to experiment with innovative services and delivery could have a major impact.

Technology has a key role to play both in the UK’s long-term growth and in delivering high quality, good value, universal public services. Labour needs to show that it understands this and is willing to be radical to secure and build on Britain’s emerging strength in this area.

Matthew Clifford is the co-founder of Entrepreneur First