What tech skills does the media industry value?
Most media leaders would hire someone with a tech speciality over someone without one. Discover what tech skills are most in-demand in the media industry.
For tech jobseekers looking to land a role in the media industry, the timing couldn’t be better. Our latest survey reveals that 78% of media and marketing business leaders would hire someone with a tech speciality over someone who didn’t have one, whatever the role.
The increasing value being placed on tech skills in this £80.5 billion industry is largely due to the shift towards streaming platforms. Creating engaging content is one thing, but broadcasters also need people with the technical skills to deliver it to their audiences. Data analytics, business intelligence, cyber security and coding all make the list of the most in-demand tech skills in media.
Let’s take a look at each of these skills in more detail:
Data analytics
Our survey reveals that 80% of media and marketing organisations say that data analytics is the most important skill for employees to have. However, despite this importance, just under a quarter (24%) of business leaders in the field say that less than 20% of their workforce has a specialism in data analytics.
As data continues to drive decision-making in the media industry, companies will increasingly rely on data analysts to identify trends and patterns in viewer behaviour. Candidates with data analysis skills will help media companies better understand their audience, improve user experience and identify product strategies to attract and retain customers.
Business intelligence
Business intelligence is the second most in-demand skill in the media and marketing industry. Our survey reveals that 78% of media companies see business intelligence as an important tech specialism.
In the competitive world of media, business intelligence uses data to enable better decision-making and to improve performance. It could mean identifying opportunities to increase revenue and market share, or involve working closely with marketing teams to identify which social channels to target with what content.
Cyber security
According to Ofcom, almost half of UK homes subscribe to online streaming services. It’s no surprise then, that 76% of media and marketing organisations say that cyber security is an important skill for employees to have.
A previous CWJobs survey found that only 50% of UK businesses have the right skills to combat a cyber attack, placing the skill in high demand in the largely digitised world of media. Recent high-profile attacks like HBO’s Game of Thrones hack and Netflix’ leaked episodes of Orange Is the New Black has put cyber security at the top of the agenda of media companies.
The media industry is often targeted in cyber security attacks because of its reach with audiences. As media companies increasingly rely on IT and web-connected networks, the production, storage and delivery of content is becoming more complex. Candidates with cyber security skills will help media companies ensure continuity of service and safeguard content from being misused.
Coding skills
As the industry continues its transition from linear TV to on-demand platforms, two-thirds (66%) of media and marketing business leaders now see coding is an important skill for their employees.
With coding now on the National Curriculum, there has never been a better time for tech job candidates to enter into the media industry. Coding will start to be seen as part of the creative process in media as production and development roles become less fixed. Candidates with coding skills will help media organisations design, write and test code for end-user software programmes and mobile applications.
Tech skills development in the media industry
Our survey reveals that 3 in 5 (60%) of business leaders in the media and marketing industry believe that children are not taught enough about tech specialisms such as coding and AI at school.
When asked when the next generation of talent should be first taught tech skills, 40% said in secondary school and 30% said in primary school. At CWJobs, we believe that tech skills should be taught from an early age and that the media industry would benefit from encouraging these skills to be taught in primary school.
Our survey also revealed that 70% of business leaders in the media industry would hire someone with a tech speciality over someone who didn’t have one, whatever the role, so they could train others.
As part of CWJobs’ research into tech skills in the industry, we spoke to Tina Devis, Senior Director of HR (Europe Middle East and Africa) at cloud delivery platform Akamai. She outlined the importance of tech skills in the ever-evolving media industry:
‘The way people around the world consume media is changing forever. As office chat about prime-time TV gives way to spoiler alerts about the latest box sets, on-demand and live-streaming means the way we watch TV will never be the same again. At the heart of this is technology. At Akamai, we work with some of the world’s biggest broadcasters, helping to deliver the latest sporting events or major TV shows to millions through our Edge delivery platform.
Not only do we deliver the content, but we protect it too. Whether its stopping hackers from bringing down streaming sites, or protecting the payment details of millions of subscribers, those with knowledge and experience in this area can play a huge role in delivering the most exciting broadcast moments to millions who want to see them. So, people with skills in areas such as coding, data analytics and cyber security have plenty of opportunities for a long and exciting career in the media industry.’