Skills in the tech sector: Fighting the shortage and closing the gap

Organisations need to change their hiring and retainment strategies to suit the workforce

It's certainly no secret that we are undergoing a tech talent shortage. In fact, research shows seven in ten businesses in the sector have found it more difficult to hire staff in past year, resulting in a shortfall of over 173,400 workers and an average of 10 unfilled roles per business, according to STEM Skills Indicator in April 2018.

With digital transformation continuing to drive business change across a range of industries, the demand for tech talent will continue to increase exponentially. According to recent research, technology jobs are predicted to grow at double the rate of other occupations - around 142,000 new roles in the UK are predicted by 2023.

Combine the above factors with the overall global skills shortage across many industries, compounded by candidates currently having far more power during a job search than previously, and it's clear the tech sector needs to seriously consider doing the utmost to close the skills gap.

Being agile, flexible, and addressing diversity is fundamental to recruiting talent and can reap dividends for a tech business. Whilst ‘agile' is currently a buzzword, not all businesses claiming the term are fully implementing what it truly entails. At present, many candidates feel that their needs don't correspond with what organisations are offering. So how can a business address this?

Hiring managers and business leaders need to be innovative in their thinking and in their development of talent pools. A good first step is conducting a review of the assessment process to ensure it is not filtering out potentially great candidates - for example, those who don't have the precise qualifications listed or hiring managers believing that a qualification is necessary when it is not always essential.

It's important to note that this is not solely an HR issue or one that can be solved through ad-hoc initiatives - it should be viewed as part of an organisation's talent acquisition strategy. The message does seem to finally be getting through to many business leaders. According to recent research by Cielo, 40 per cent of C-suite executives now see strategic workforce planning as being a talent acquisition priority.

Appealing to different generations

There are numerous groups that organisations should be considering when looking at hiring tech talent. Millennials now make up a large portion of the workforce and, along with flexible working, they tend to value development and personal fulfilment at work. Offering them learning and development programmes with an option to move seamlessly from project to project, rather than following a conventional career path, is an attractive proposition. Work-life balance and the ability to pursue personal passions is also important to this generation; they value options such as sabbaticals that enable them to produce the best output at work whilst still engaging in their other interests.

Employers with an international footprint should also consider tapping into talent both at home and abroad by offering employment options across borders. This could be facilitated by remote working to support a project or on-site roles for those interested in working in the country if only for a fixed time, rather than permanently relocating.

Employers should consider other generations and suitable arrangements. For example, older millennials and Generation-Xers will find family-friendly working hours, job shares, 'returnships' and paid-paternity leave options attractive.

Ensuring flexible arrangements are in place for those who take career breaks not only enables a company to attract and retain experienced talent but also results in a positive effect on the organisation's image as a company of choice. Candidates today are more discerning, they're not only looking for employment, they want authenticity, transparency, and a sense of purpose from their roles. They want to feel proud to be part of an organisation.

Additionally, employers wishing to tap into talent across the age and ability spectrum should also consider the needs of older workers, those with cognitive differences such as autism, and those with disabilities to reap the benefits of those workers' potential skills and contributions.

Meanwhile, organisations can emulate some models of agile, project-based work communities that pull together the right talent to create bespoke teams for each particular client or project. Members of such communities work on a specific brief within a certain time frame and are drawn upon for possessing the relevant skillset for each project. By engaging talent that enjoys working as a contractor, rather than as a permanent employee, organisations have another tool in which to embrace agility. This model gives a company access to high-calibre talent that can also offer new insights from experience of working for a range of businesses.

The tech sector has generally embraced this model better than some other sectors, but it has been more difficult for those non-tech organisations endeavouring to attract tech talent. These organisations must find ways to build this into their business if they wish to attract and retain the best talent.

Invest in attraction and retention

So we see that employers should ensure they are working flexibility into their talent acquisition strategy as much as possible to ensure the business remains competitive and an attractive option for the best talent across a diverse and global workforce. Unfortunately, some hiring managers and business leaders still seem to want a quick fix. While they realise they need to provide learning and development and educational programmes to upskill new and existing talent, they don't have the appetite or patience to invest. Attraction and retention should always be a combined strategy. Eliminating the gap between them can ensure an organisation can grow and be prepared for the future.

To both attract and retain talent, employers need to ensure they offer an impressive learning and development programme that will keep candidates and employees engaged and that will create loyalty. It is essential to continue to train individuals in new skills. This enables the opportunity for the business to also be learning about new skills and technologies.

Mentoring and skills sharing should be also be considered. Investing time, focus and support enables employees to feel empowered and valued. Consider "lunch and learn" sessions and reverse, or reciprocal, mentoring - pairing a young person with tech knowledge with a senior leader so that they both learn from each other. Programmes such as these enable sharing both the experience and skillset to progress, or to learn to do things differently in a business and reflect well on an organisation's perceived ethos.

Diversity deficiency

Addressing diversity is fundamental to recruiting skilled workers. At present, in terms of the diversity in the workforce, tech is lagging way behind the wider market on several measures, including gender, race and class representation.

According to recent research, women are hugely underrepresented in the sector compared with the UK as a whole. Almost two-thirds of boards and over a third of senior leadership teams have no female representation at all. Meanwhile, the socio-economic background of the tech sector needs to be addressed as there is also a great disparity with wider UK society. Research by Inclusive Boards in November 2018 revealed that 33 per cent of board members and 31 per cent of senior executives in the sector attended private schools, compared to just eight per cent in the UK as a whole.

The research also revealed that just a fraction over eight per cent of senior leaders in the tech sector are from a minority background, while women make up only around 12 per cent of board members, which when compared to other industries, provides a stark contrast - for example, 30 per cent female representation has been achieved by FTSE 100 businesses.

Ensuring recruitment teams themselves are diverse is a first step to counter any unconscious bias. If this measure is combined with utilising recruitment technology, which is both time-saving and has the ability to screen candidates and select the best interviewees without prejudice it can provide a great advantage in meeting the challenges in the tech talent acquisition struggle.

Tech organisations and others aiming to attract top tech talent should think creatively and incorporate into their talent acquisition strategy as many of these steps as feasible for their business model. By doing so, businesses can make much headway into broadening their pipeline to attract and retain the best tech talent.

Mike Clements is client services director at Cielo