Digital Literacy and Prison Training: Preparing Learners for a Technology-Driven Workplace

Digital technology now underpins almost every sector of the UK economy. Even entry-level roles often require employees to use email, complete digital timesheets, access workplace platforms and navigate basic software systems from day one.

These are no longer specialist skills but standard workplace expectations. As a result, digital skills training in prison is becoming an increasingly important part of preparing learners for employment and helping them transition into a technology-driven workplace.

For Novus, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Employers now expect a baseline level of digital competency, yet learners in custody may have limited opportunities to practise the technologies commonly used in the workplace. Effective education and skills training must therefore help bridge the gap between the realities of the secure estate and the expectations learners will encounter after release.

In this article, we explore how employer expectations for digital literacy have evolved. We look at the gap between workplace requirements and opportunities for learning in custody. We also examine the Council of Europe's 2026 recommendation on digital literacy in prison education. Finally, we consider how practical digital skills can be developed within secure settings.

We will also highlight how Novus supports learners in building workplace-relevant digital skills that improve employability and prepare them for success in a labour market where digital skills are increasingly expected.

How the modern workplace now demands digital competency

As digital technology becomes embedded across the workplace, employers are increasingly treating digital competency as a baseline expectation rather than a specialist skill. For learners preparing for employment after release, understanding what that standard looks like is an important part of being work-ready.

One way to understand these expectations is through the Essential Digital Skills for Work framework which sets out the practical digital capabilities’ adults need in today's workplace. Rather than focusing on specialist IT knowledge, the framework measures whether individuals can carry out the everyday digital tasks that employers increasingly expect as standard.

According to Ipsos and Lloyds Banking Group's Essential Digital Skills for Work 2024 research, 82% of the UK labour force meets the overall standard, but only 48% can perform the full range of workplace tasks covered by the framework. This highlights that the UK's digital skills gap extends beyond any single group. However, these are increasingly the capabilities employers expect from new starters, reinforcing the need for prison education to help learners build workplace-relevant digital skills before release.

The gap between custody and the workplace

For many learners, the challenge is not understanding that digital skills matter but gaining enough experience and confidence to apply them in a workplace setting.

Employers increasingly expect new starters to arrive with a baseline level of digital competency, yet the opportunities available in custody do not always mirror the systems, processes and technologies learners will encounter in employment. As a result, there can be a gap between the digital capabilities employers expect on day one and the skills learners have had the opportunity to develop and practise before release.

However, this challenge is not unique to prison education. According to Ipsos Karian and Box research, only 54% of UK employees believe their employer has given them sufficient opportunities to learn new digital skills at work.

This is important because it highlights how quickly workplace expectations are evolving. Even people already in employment can struggle to keep pace with changing technologies, making ongoing skills development increasingly important across the labour market.

At Novus, we help learners build practical digital skills that support progression into employment. Through our digital skills provision, learners can develop the confidence and familiarity needed to navigate workplaces where digital tools are part of everyday working life.

The Council of Europe's 2026 recommendation on digital literacy

The importance of digital literacy within prison education is increasingly recognised at a policy level. In April 2026, the Council of Europe updated its recommendation on education in prison, replacing guidance that had been in place since 1989. The update reflects major developments in education over recent decades, including the growing role of digital teaching and learning.

Importantly, the recommendation explicitly identifies digital literacy as a key component of modern prison education, alongside vocational education and training, creative arts and cultural activities, physical education and sport, and access to library services. It also reinforces the principle that people in custody should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum that supports both personal development and successful reintegration into society.

For Novus, the recommendation reinforces something that is becoming increasingly clear across education and employment: digital literacy is now a fundamental part of preparing learners for life and work after release. By positioning digital literacy alongside vocational education and training, creative arts and other core areas of learning, the recommendation recognises the important role digital skills can play in supporting positive learner outcomes. As workplace expectations continue to evolve, it provides a strong policy foundation for embedding digital skills within modern prison education.

Building practical digital skills within the constraints of a secure environment

Developing digital skills in custody requires a different approach to learning in the community. At Novus, the focus is on helping learners build practical digital confidence in ways that are secure, relevant and aligned with the realities of employment. Through digital partnerships with organisations including TeacherMatic, NCFE and City & Guilds, learners can engage with digital tools and resources in controlled environments that support education, employability and progression.

We also believe digital skills are most effective when embedded within vocational learning rather than taught as a standalone subject. As highlighted in our article on blending catering and digital skills, learners at HMYOI Wetherby developed digital capability alongside vocational skills, demonstrating how technology can be integrated into industry-relevant training. This helps make digital literacy more practical and meaningful while reinforcing the skills learners are likely to encounter in employment.

Novus's approach to employer-aligned digital training

At Novus, our approach to digital learning is shaped by a simple principle: digital skills should not be developed in isolation from the environments where learners will eventually work. As outlined in our Digital Strategy, we aim to embed digitally enabled learning across the curriculum, helping learners build confidence with technology as part of their wider education and skills development rather than through standalone digital lessons alone.

We also recognise that technology can only become part of everyday learning if educators feel confident using it. As highlighted in our work on integrating technology in prison teaching, supporting staff to develop their own digital confidence is an important part of creating learning environments where digital skills can be embedded naturally across different subjects and vocational pathways.

Just as importantly, our digital provision is informed by the needs of employers. Through our network of partner employers, we work with them to understand the skills and competencies employers value, to ensure our approach to prison learning, digital literacy and preparing prisoners for employment remains aligned with the realities of today's workplace.

Digital literacy is now an essential employability skill across a wide range of industries. As employer expectations continue to evolve, the Council of Europe's 2026 recommendation reinforces the importance of digital literacy within modern prison education. At Novus, we are committed to helping learners develop practical digital skills that support successful progression into employment upon release.

To learn more about our approach to digital skills provision in prison, visit the Novus Digital Skills hub. You can also explore our vocational and technical education programmes to find out how we support learners in developing the broader skills, knowledge and experience needed for employment, progression and rehabilitation through education. If you would like to learn more about Novus and our approach to prison education, please get in touch with our team.