Tech employers count the cost of snobbery

Talent and drive can be found in many places

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Talent and drive can be found in many places

Businesses are struggling to fill entry level tech vacancies due to a continuing prioritisation of candidates’ academic prestige over their potential.

As tech employers continue to bemoan the lack of skills at their disposal, research published by the training company Wiley Edge shows, once again, how having a recruitment bias in favour of graduates is an approach which is failing to find enough of the necessary skills.

The research found that 21% exclusively hire graduates from top universities, while a further 39% said that they are more likely to hire graduates from those elite institutions. A paltry 8% stated that they consider all types of higher education qualifications - presumably including BTECs, and their successor T-levels.

Yet at the same time, around a third (35%) of businesses that consider all candidates equally said they struggle to recruit entry level software engineers, compared with 62% of businesses who focus their recruitment on more prestigious universities. Similarly, businesses fishing in elite talent pools were 23% more likely to struggle to recruit entry level data scientists, and 28% more likely to find it difficult to source entry level cyber security specialists.

Counting the cost of elitism

The reluctance of those seeking entry level tech employees to look past the cloisters of elite universities when hiring is costing them on multiple levels. Firstly, unfilled posts cost the employer money. It's difficult to calculate exactly how much money because there are so many inputs - money spent on recruiters, loss of production, impact on revenue, the cost of overtime to cover the work, underutilised assets etc. There are also less tangible costs such as the impact on morale of existing team members, the risk of burnout, impact on customer confidence etc. If the vacancy is in cybersecurity the costs could be catastrophic.

Whilst costs will vary from one employer to another, the long-term impact on overall economic growth was estimated in 2018 at £63 billion annually - and that was before anybody had heard of either COVID-19 or The Great Resignation.

Employers who only recruit graduates bear another cost in the long term - that created by a workforce which is predominantly populated by a single demographic. Non diverse workforces tend to be unhappier and more flight prone than their more diverse competitors. That carries a cost. But diverse teams also make better decisions. A group of people from similar backgrounds and with similar perspectives are all far more likely to agree with each other than a more diverse bunch. Ideas aren't tested, arguments aren't sharpened, and innovation is stymied.

The evidence that diverse businesses make better decisions, innovate more, and make more money than their homogenous competitors has piled up in recent years. Evidence that groupthink can lead to terrible outcomes is abundant across the whole of human history.

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Diverse teams make better decisions

Despite the protestations of those who loudly rail against what they define as the "diversity agenda," (see also, anti-woke) most tech employers can see which way the wind is blowing. Their customers are more diverse, and Gen Z is the most value driven cohort yet, whose spending and employment decisions are as likely to be influenced by ethics as financial considerations. Neither Gen Z nor the millennial cohort which preceded them are showing any sign of becoming more socially, economically, or politically conservative as they grow older.

This is one of the drivers of the increasing profile of ESG reporting and the DEI messaging collectively emanating from the sector which can be summarised as, "much done, much to do." They're certainly right on the second part.

These aren't just graduates

It feels like a statement of the screamingly obvious to suggest that, if a company wants to fill vacancies quickly and increase the diversity of its workforce, it should probably put some effort into recruiting from diverse geographies and institutions. And yet, this research suggests it is doing the exact opposite.

The closer one looks at the reliance on graduates to fill entry level tech roles the more misplaced it seems. The most obvious reason that tech focuses on top universities is that they see it as a badge of quality. These aren't just graduates, these are Russell Group graduates. But quality isn't guaranteed.

Graduates from elite universities are more likely than the general population to have benefited from some favourable tailwinds - private education, the cultural capital embodied by parents and institutions that value it, confidence, and a certain polish. Of course, many haven't enjoyed any of these advantages, and even if they have that doesn't necessarily make them unsuitable for entry level tech roles. The point is that fishing for talent in these pools at the exclusion of all others is not necessarily a guaranteed route to the highest calibre candidates. Initiative, work ethic and raw potential can be found in lots of places, if only employers are willing to look.

Speaking to Computing recently, Tony Lysak from The Software Institute explained why he advises tech companies to recruit in their locale. This enables them to source skills at more competitive rates but also reduces long term attrition. When individuals see that they have been given an opportunity they're more likely to stick around.

Super highfliers might get poached or go elsewhere but in most cases, you're going to get loyalty and longevity."

Universities are trying to improve the diversity of their intakes but it is very much a work in progress. Relying on them for recruitment simply perpetuates the lack of diversity in the tech workforce that almost every employer publicly laments.

Becs Roycroft, Senior director at Wiley Edge commented:

"With it shown that many of the UK's most traditionally prestigious universities have their own struggle to improve diversity, it will be almost impossible for businesses to improve the diversity of their junior tech employees while only accepting graduates from these institutions.

"In order to achieve greater diversity at a junior level, businesses must actively work to widen their talent pool, publicising their roles to a wider variety of people and encouraging them to apply. As an additional benefit, they should find that doing so will also help them in overcoming the recruitment challenges posed by the ongoing digital skills shortage."

Tech employers count the cost of snobbery

Businesses are struggling to fill entry level tech vacancies due to a continuing prioritisation of candidates’ academic prestige over their potential.

Counting the cost of elitism

These aren't just graduates

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