Top 10 IT careers and skills stories of 2021
As the pandemic continued into 2021, know-how grew to become an much more essential half of companies and life, making tech staff invaluable.
Where 2020 noticed a pause on hiring and spending, 2021 was closely centered on skills and tech expertise because it grew to become more and more clear that the brand new, distant and digital method of working was prone to keep it up as soon as the pandemic passes.
But skills gaps nonetheless loom, each at a extra technical stage and in the case of the fundamentals – the 12 months was centered on giving folks the skills essential to fill jobs and navigate a extra digitally-focused day-to-day life.
(*10*)
1. Almost half of corporations trying to recruit tech staff
The 12 months began with tech corporations scrambling to rent know-how workers, with analysis by TechUK and CWJobs discovering 45% of tech corporations had tech roles to fill.
While the start of the pandemic noticed a drop in hiring, this want for tech expertise is a continuation from the tail finish of 2020 the place corporations began to grasp how useful know-how adoption had been throughout early Covid-19 lockdowns.
This continued in direction of the top of the 12 months, in keeping with agency Robert Half, which discovered hiring for tech roles is about to extend over the following 12 months because the pandemic shone a lightweight on the significance of tech expertise.
2. Nearly 80,000 extra tech roles crammed at finish of 2020 in contrast with finish of 2019
Analysis of Office of National Statistics (ONS) information discovered a big improve within the quantity of folks employed in know-how within the final quarter of 2020 in contrast with the identical time the earlier 12 months.
With 80,000 extra tech roles crammed in 2020 than in 2019, and quite a few roles added to the sector in the course of the pandemic, Bev White, chief government of the Harvey Nash Group, defined that whereas some sectors have been hit exhausting by the pandemic, tech nonetheless proved itself to be a “sustainable job creator”.
This might be, partly, because of the heavy reliance on know-how in the course of the pandemic to make sure all staff might keep it up working from house, in addition to the elevated use of on-line and digital providers to maintain the world ticking over in the course of the Covid-19 outbreak.
3. Young folks don’t really feel they’ve superior digital skills for work
Despite elevated job creation and hiring inside the know-how trade over the previous 12 months, the UK’s IT skills hole stays.
An enormous effort has been made lately to make sure younger folks have the digital skills wanted for the longer term of work, however many younger individuals are nonetheless not assured they’ve the extra technical skills wanted for roles within the tech trade.
Research by the Learning and Work Institute, in partnership with Enginuity and WorldSkills UK, discovered most younger folks know digital skills shall be essential for his or her future careers, however solely 18% really feel they’ve the extra superior tech skills employers would possibly want from them.
4. Number of college students taking A-level computing rose in 2021
This 12 months noticed one other 12 months of progress for uptake of computing A-levels within the UK, with an increase of 1,401 entrants compared with 2020.
Once again, exams in England were cancelled in favour of different assessment criteria, though results did not cause as much of a stir as in 2020.
The number of girls taking the subject remained low when compared with the number of boys, and when it came to computing GCSE entrants, the number of girls taking the subject actually dropped in 2021.
5. Is the tech sector facing an IT skills exodus?
The pandemic had many people, both in and outside of the technology sector, thinking about what they actually want from their lives and their careers, especially when it was proven people don’t necessarily need to collect in an office to deliver good quality work.
A large number of technology workers are currently thinking of changing role or switching companies, while according to figures from CWJobs around 8% of those in the industry are looking to move out of the tech sector altogether.
The pandemic may have also factored into the reasons behind these choices, with research by recruitment consultancy Hays Technology citing long working hours and working through holidays as reasons for looking to new pastures.
6. Tech job adverts increasing outside London bubble
The past year not only saw an increase in the need for tech talent, but also more tech roles being advertised outside the London bubble.
As the pandemic forced many businesses to allow their employees to work from home en masse, people began to realise there is less need to gather in and around the capital. Research by Tech Nation and he Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Digital Economy Council found other cities around the UK have a high demand for tech talent.
In Edinburgh, 30% of job vacancies are for technology roles, closely followed by Reading, where 29% of advertised roles are in tech, and Glasgow, where 28% of job vacancies are for digital roles.
7. IBM pledges to reskill 30 million people by 2030
Collaboration has long been cited as one of the best ways to develop people’s digital skills, and tech giant IBM announced in 2021 it would be partnering with education providers, government departments and other organisations across 30 countries to give 30 million people worldwide new technology-based skills by 2030.
When explaining the reasoning behind the plans to deliver large-scale digital skills initiatives, IBM chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna said: “Talent is everywhere – training opportunities are not. This is why we must take big and bold steps to expand access to digital skills and employment opportunities so that more people – regardless of their background – can take advantage of the digital economy.”
8. Tech’s reaction to the Budget’s skills promises
As the year entered its final quarter, the government laid out its spending plans for the years to come, with chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak promising almost £5bn dedicated to reversing the pandemic’s effect on education, and a further £3.8bn to develop skills across the UK, not just for those of school age, but also to ensure lifelong learning for adults.
The announcements were well received by the tech community, but the consensus among those in the sector was that while these are good first steps to take, more needs to be done.
Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates, said: “It is important to note that this is not a silver bullet and the government will need to work more closely with education providers and the private sector to address the other issues causing the skills shortage.”
9. Three-quarters of global IT decision-makers facing skills gaps
Despite all the work done across the year to close skills gaps, IT leaders still can’t find the skilled workers they need to fill their empty digital roles.
As the year came to a close, research by Skillsoft found three-quarters of IT leaders worldwide are facing critical skills gaps within their departments.
To make matters worse, research by Boston Consulting Group also found a large number of IT workers have plans to move jobs within the next three years, with many looking to move as soon as possible.
10. What steps can we take to finally close the tech skills gap?
Even with initiatives from education providers, employers and the government, the UK’s technology skills gap still remains.
In 2021, Cath Everett looked into some of the initiatives currently in place to increase tech skills, the direction the tech skills landscape is headed, and whether there is currently enough being done to provide the talent the industry needs in the near future and beyond.
