As effects from the pandemic continue to make their mark on the UK, the tech sector has seen a positive impact, with a boom in technology adoption across the country.
The hiring of technology talent is set to increase over the next year as technology adoption during the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted customer behaviour and business needs, according to Robert Half. Research by the recruitment firm has found that 34% of technology leaders are planning to hire people with IT skills in 2022. However, the main issue in this sector is the skills gap, and the UK’s tech is being hit particularly hard by the disparity between demand for skilled workers and available talent in the UK. This issue can be solved by recruiting from overseas.A report from the Digital Economy Council and Tech Nation, the government-backed industry lobby group, shows that the number of tech vacancies is now 42% higher than it was before the pandemic, with one in eight jobs in the UK now defined as being in the tech sector.
Brexit and the pandemic have created the perfect storm, that has culminated in many UK companies acknowledging that they now, more than ever, need to source their talent from outside of the UK.
The skilled worker list on the government website lists many excellent IT vacancies. The opportunities to build a successful career in the UK for overseas workers are growing fast, with reports of 46% of tech workers in the UK coming from overseas, mostly settling in the South-East and London.
Although many industries saw periods of uncertainty during the pandemic, and the added impacts from Brexit, the tech sector actually grew. The pandemic forced firms to adopt technology to meet customer demand and operate remotely – in 2020, there was a new technology business created every 30 minutes in the UK. Robert Half claimed that increased use of data and importance of technology has put roles such as data scientists and front-end developers in high demand.
The technology skills gap in the UK is nothing new, however, as the impacts of Brexit and pandemic are now coming into full effect, the gap has accelerated more than ever. Brexit and the pandemic have been referred to as the perfect storm, that has culminated in many UK companies acknowledging that they now, more than ever, need to source their talent from outside of the UK.
Sources:
Relocate Magazine
UK Tech
Business News Wales
Computer Weekly