Is the UK facing another IT brain drain?

Finding experienced staff with the right IT skills is rarely easy at the best of times, and according to recent research it could be about to become a whole lot harder.
All organisations, but especially those that fail to show a commitment to staff developement, face a two-pronged threat in that UK IT workers are showing an increasing willingness to work abroad while at the same time demand for their services from overseas is also growing.

More than two-thirds (67 per cent) of IT workers are considering or have applied for IT-related jobs outside of the UK, according to a new survey by The IT Job Board. Less than a third of respondents said that this was something they were not considering. When asked their reasons for a possible move, 71 per cent said that it was because of the quality of the jobs on offer, 68 per cent stated that it was due to a higher earning potential, and 69 per cent stated that it was to experience new cultures.

“If IT staff begin to take on opportunities abroad it will become a serious issue that would create huge turmoil in the industry, particularly given the existing skills shortage,” said Kwasi Adjei, UK brand manager at The IT Job Board. “There is a need for UK companies to recognise and nurture talent. If we fail to look after our employees then we will also fail to attract in workers from overseas.”

Alex Farrell, managing director of The IT Job Board, added that this boils down to quality of the jobs on offer in the UK and low salaries, and companies need to work hard to improve the prospects on offer, in order to attract and retain staff. 

“At a time when we are suffering an IT skills shortage, we cannot afford to lose key talent. The onus lies with business managers to develop and nurture their employees and to make the UK’s IT job market an attractive one to work in,” said Farrell.

While it is a fact that many organisations in the UK have frozen pay and bonuses recently, are the opportunities on offer overseas really better than in this country? According to The IT Jobs Board, there are few countries that are in a position to offer better prospects than the UK.

“Within the markets we currently operate in, there seems to be an increase in IT jobs in Germany as that is one of the few countries to have emerged out of a recession,” said Adjei.

However, IT professionals don’t necessarily need to leave these shores to take advantage of overseas opportunities, as new research also shows that this quarter just gone has been the busiest on record for overseas companies posting jobs specifically for UK-based digital freelancers. The most sought-after digital skills include web and software development, search engine optimisation and experts in social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.

In the first three months of 2011, job postings for UK-based digital freelancers from the US were up 714 per cent, compared with the same period last year, according to PeoplePerHour.com. There were also dramatic increases from emerging economies too, with India (771 per cent) and Brazil (250 per cent) showing particularly large appetites for UK tech talent.

“There are a number of reasons UK staff are sought after; there is a huge drive from emerging economies which are really speeding up and growing,” said PeoplePerHour. com founder and CEO Xenios Thrasyvoulou.

“It’s partly due to the economic strength and growing confidence of emerging markets, but it’s also influenced by the positive reputation of British digital skills internationally. This is evidenced by the rise in demand for UK talent from mature markets also – most notably the US.”

He added that this “reverse offshoring” is being primarily driven by small and medium businesses (SMBs).

“In the SMB market what they need is flexible working on demand, quick turnaround, and cost effective staff, but also, in many cases small companies starting up are driven by innovation, and innovation has traditionally been strongest in the West.”