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Stuart Gentle Publisher at Onrec

Industry comment on 1600 new tech jobs

Following the news of £2.3bn in tech investments and the creation of 1,600 new tech jobs in the UK, Graham Smith, head of marketing at Microsoft recruitment partner Curo Talent believes we do not have access to enough talent to fill these vacancies:

"There isn't a shortage of tech jobs, but a shortage of tech talent. To maintain the pace of growth in the UK technology sector, we need to put a structure in place to ensure the next generation of IT workers can fill these vacancies. Importing talent from overseas is a short-term fix, the long-term objective must be home-grown technical experts.

"At Curo Talent, we are witnessing the difficulties organisations face in recruiting talent to build their technical infrastructure. As specialist recruiters, we have our own pool of subject matter experts, such as Microsoft Azure contractors. However, this talent is limited. The government’s own stats show that one new technology start-up is established in the UK every hour, so demand for niche skills is only going to grow. 

“Initiatives such as T-level qualifications may go some way in bridging the skills gap, but it will take time for 16-year olds to gain real world experience and filter into the workplace. Re-training UK adults in IT subjects may expand the pool of talent more quickly. It’s well known that IT contractors, with their broader experience of technologies and sectors, add greater value to IT teams, so removing barriers to self-employment would also benefit the UK.”