How to leverage tech workers’ confidence and boost tech hiring in 2021 and beyond

CWJobs’ latest webinar explores how companies can benefit from tech workers’ confidence in the industry. An expert panel discusses the state of the tech market, hiring challenges, employee retention and closing the skills gap. Learn more about how you can futureproof your talent pipeline.

In a recent webinar, CWJobs Commercial Director, Dominic Harvey, was joined by an expert panel to discuss key research insights from UK IT professionals, and to shared actionable advice to attract, hire and retain top tech talent.

Joined by Dominic were Tom Lovell, Managing Director at TechSkills, a TechUK company; Steve Ward, UK & Ireland Director at Universum, and Kathryn Baddeley, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility & Co-Lead of Women of Cisco at Cisco UK. Also on the panel was Adrian Love, UK & Ireland European Recruitment Director at Accenture.

Here are some key highlights from the webinar:

The current state of the UK tech market

Dominic began by sharing that in the first quarter of 2021, UK tech companies raised £5.3 billion. Over the last 10 years, the tech sector has grown tenfold, and looks set to continue to do so.

Despite the rapid growth of the sector, Tom highlighted the need to address the industry’s skills shortage. Recent research from TechUK’s Fast Forward with Digital Jobs report reveals that the sector currently employs 3 million people, and by 2025, the sector will need up to 3 million more. Tom confirmed that the scale of opportunity is huge but companies need to welcome diversity and talent into the sector to secure its future.

The UK tech industry has seen impressive resilience during the pandemic, and Dominic shared that it has experienced the fastest rise in employment since the second quarter of 2019. He revealed that .Net Developer is the number 1 advertised job on CWJobs in 2021 so far and that ‘cyber security’ is the third most searched for keyword.

There has been a salary increase for 31% of IT professionals during the pandemic, yet 1 in 3 tech candidates are looking for companies that offer flexible working.

How tech workers feel about their roles, purpose and job satisfaction post COVID-19

One year on from the pandemic, and CWJobs Confidence Index 2021 finds that tech confidence remains strong. Dominic shared that 79% of tech professionals feel confident in the state of the industry despite COVID-19 and Brexit.

The top confidence drivers are technology’s role in maintaining business continuity during the pandemic, the technology being produced, and the skills within the industry. He also revealed that 67% of tech professionals say technology is a more valued career path than before, and that 66% would recommend it as a career to friends and family.

Discussing how tech confidence relates to a shortage of skills, Adrian said: ‘‘I’m not surprised by these findings, although I would’ve liked to have seen an even higher percentage of people seeing the value of tech as a career path given what we’ve seen over the last 12 months. However, I think that value will continue and the industry will be seen as a place to have a great career.

At Accenture, we’ve seen phenomenal growth because a lot of organisations have done well during the pandemic by using technology. Organisations that have found it harder, have done so because they haven’t had the technology in the first place. The pandemic has driven a need for tech and its associated services.’’

The impact of current market trends on job security, career plans and tech skills

With the tech industry stabilising, Dominic shared that only 29% of tech workers want to stay in their current job. He said that companies looking for niche talent should ramp up their efforts now. He continued:

‘‘What we’re seeing now is a stability in applications on CWJobs. However, if you look at Google trends, there’s a 5% increase in people searching for jobs in tech. If UK companies don’t act now, I think they’re going to face a tech exodus in the next 12 months.’’

Tom added: ‘‘At the beginning of COVID, the certainty of having a job was important. With the worst of the pandemic hopefully behind us, people will start looking at where the opportunities exist. Organisations need to be purpose-driven and invest in their employees through training and upskilling.’’

When discussing how companies can retain top talent, Steve said: ‘‘I think there’s a need for wellbeing analyses to see what tech talent wants. Companies need to reward, recognise and provide a future for tech workers.’’

Tech confidence, skills and hiring challenges

Dominic revealed that 51% of organisations say that competition for top tech talent from other companies is too strong, with 46% unable to find candidates with the right specialist tech skills.

He shared that 46% of organisations struggle to recruit because HR departments lack sufficient knowledge in the technology specialisms being hired for. Similarly, 43% of companies struggle to recruit the talent needed at the pace required.

Exploring what companies can do to overcome hiring challenges, Kathryn said: ‘‘Organisations need to look at this as a medium and long-term strategy. As well as hiring for today, you’ve got to think about what’s coming along. It’s the work that we do with schools, the work that we do with colleges and universities.

It’s making sure that the people we’re sending to schools are people of colour, or young women. Companies need to make sure that they’re showing the next generation that the tech sector is a place for everyone. They need to build up talent over time.’’

How businesses can increase employee retention, fill skills gap and tap into new talent pools

Looking to the future, Dominic revealed that 50% of businesses say they will increase their tech hires and 55% say will put more focus on hiring tech specialisms, such as AI, cyber security and cloud.

In talking about how businesses can plug the tech skills gap, Tom said:

‘‘Pathway apprenticeships are one of the most successful ways for companies to nurture future talent. They won’t solve all of our problems, but they’re a route that organisations need to continue to invest in. A greater diversity of approach to upskilling, reskilling, and attracting talent is necessary.’’

When speaking about the key attraction and retention drivers in tech, Dominic shared that 68% of businesses looking to hire tech workers think it’s important for the board to have a good grasp of tech.

Mental health, racial diversity and social mobility are key priorities over the next 12 months for both IT decision-makers and tech workers, and flexible working has taken over from working from home as a top priority.

Kathryn said: ‘It’s important to recruit for potential. Employers need to throw the widest net they can. They should look at different sorts of people and not rule people out just because of their background. Companies need to open their mind and look for new areas to find talent.’’

Key takeaways for employers:

• Focus on employee recognition – on all candidate facing communications, from job ads to employer branding videos.
• Support employee wellbeing – from more flexible/remote working options, to Employee Assistance programmes.
• Reward tech employees fairly – go beyond the standard perks and let employees choose their benefits.
• Hire talent with a DE&I mindset – a focus on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion can help attract candidates from a variety of backgrounds.
• Build up tech knowledge within HR teams – recruiters need to understand the requirements of the positions they are recruiting for.
• Bridge the tech skills gap at board level – ensure that tech knowledge is present across the business.

Download

Download the CWJobs Confidence Index 2021, and watch the webinar in full here.