The importance of widening tech talent pools

A recent report from Nash Squared found that 68% of businesses were being held back by a lack of tech skills. What’s more, according to Remote’s most recent Tech Talent Report, 1 in 4 businesses are looking for tech talent in other countries.

To learn more about how employers can widen their talent pools to close skills gaps, we spoke with Alastair McFarlane, CTO at a London based start-up, and Kimberley Cook, Software Developer and Director at codebar.

The challenge of hiring for specialist roles

Both Alastair and Kimberley agree that one of the biggest challenges employers face is recruiting top talent for roles that require specialist skills.

Alastair recalls recently searching for a developer with experience in working with a framework called Flutter. He said there was a smaller volume of candidates to choose from due to the specialist nature of the role.

Indeed, at CWJobs, our internal data from the second half of 2022 shows that the most-in demand tech roles are those that require technical skills. Among the hardest to fill roles were Java Developer, DevOps Engineer, Data Engineer, and .Net Developer.

Showcasing the routes into tech

Many young tech workers aren’t aware of the various routes into tech. Alastair said he wanted to make video games and so focused on computing at school. After gaining a degree in Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering, he realised that he didn’t need to make games, and simply enjoyed engineering.

After graduating, he started working at a small local tech firm making software for public service organisations, where he developed more skills in the areas he enjoyed.

Kimberley entered the tech industry in a traditional way. She graduated from Bournemouth University with a degree in Interactive Media Production.

‘‘On the course, you did web development, app development, and game development, as well as design. The really fortunate thing was that at the end of the course, we had an end-of-year exhibition, where our final major project was put on show. The university would invite companies who were hiring juniors, whether it was designers, developers, etc. I got really lucky in that I got an interview from that.’’

Despite studying a tech-based subject, Kimberley makes the point that technical skills can be learned, so enthusiasm and being excited about technology are key when hiring for roles. Given the increase in the number of coding bootcamps and online tech courses that are available in the UK, gaining tech skills is more accessible than ever. According to Technavio, the coding bootcamp market in the UK is due to grow at a rate of 15.89% by 2025.

By showcasing the different routes into tech, employers can encourage more applications from candidates with non-traditional tech backgrounds. This sentiment was echoed by Abenaa Ansahan, an Associate User Experience Designer we interviewed in 2022.

She said that she doesn’t remember technology being suggested as a career option when she was at school. She ventured into the industry later in life and believes that talking about the different pathways into the industry as early as primary school would be beneficial. She was taught IT and ICT at school, but notes the huge difference between these subjects and the coding and the design world.

Changing the perception of the tech industry

Alastair believes that people often think the tech industry is for geeks. However, it’s an industry that covers so many different areas of society, and different types of company.

He says that companies benefit greatly from a diversity of personality and thought, and the worst thing companies can do when building tech teams is to hire the same type of person. Companies often end up with a monoculture where everyone thinks the same way, which doesn’t lead to good products.

If Kimberley could change one thing about the tech industry, it would be the stereotype of what a developer looks like. There is an industry perception that coding is a career path for men. However, it should be noted that there are many talented women working as developers in tech. By shining a spotlight on their achievements, employers can encourage more women to pursue coding as a career.

The hallmarks of a great tech employer

In a candidate-driven market, the onus is on the employer to meet candidate expectations. Alastair observes that candidates are looking for companies that care about their employees and support them in their professional development. When asked what his top demand from an employer would be, he says:

‘‘It’s a bit of a cliché, but it’s being able to bring your whole self to work. Salary is really important and needs to be fair and representative of what your role and skillset deserves to earn. But supportive management is more important, as well as a fair and predictable career framework.’’

Kimberly believes that flexibility is key, particularly considering how tech has evolved in the last couple of years due to the pandemic. People are now used to having the choice of whether to work from home or at the office and are benefiting from spending less time commuting.

She also says that diversity is hugely important and that many developers won’t work for a tech company if it’s not diverse. She remembers being part of a team where one of the developers was colour blind and was able to identify an issue with a design that provided information through colour.

Kimberley also recalled a time when her friend tweeted about diversity in relation to character spaces on forms. Her friend’s surname is Yu, and on one form, the character limit in the field was capped at four, implying that every single person’s surname is going to be longer, equal to, or more than four characters. Having someone in the team who could identify this coding issue before launch would have been beneficial. This is another example of why having diverse talent in tech teams is absolutely essential.

How to attract passive tech candidates

Our Confidence Index 2022 found that just 24% of workers planned to stay in their current role – down from 29% in 2021. This provides recruiters with an opportunity to stand out to passive candidates who are considering changing companies. 

Alastair has the following advice for companies looking to attract passive candidates:

‘‘In my experience, the best thing you can do is get your company out there. It could be as simple as maintaining a good social media presence and having people shouting about the cool work you’re doing. It could also be publishing technical blogs. Likewise, open sourcing some of your internal tools and going to conferences and talks can get the brand, or the product, into people’s consciousness.’’

Kimberley agrees that companies need to showcase their brand and the work that they do. She says:

‘‘Connecting with communities without the sole purpose of hiring is the best thing. You’re going to look good because you’re doing things for the community. You’re attracting this audience and you’re becoming more appealing as a company to work for, so when you tweet that you’ve got a job role, you’ve already got that audience.’’