Whether you’re a dedicated software house or a bricks-and-mortar retailer, IT is an essential underpinning of your business. That doesn’t just apply to developers, but to managers, support staff and numerous other roles. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) recently reported that more than 80% of all jobs advertised require digital skills; the World Economic Forum’s latest Future of Jobs Report notes that “over 85% of organisations surveyed identify increased adoption of new and frontier technologies and broadening digital access as the trends most likely to drive transformation in their organisation”.
The problem is, skilled IT staff don’t grow on trees. And finding them today is harder than ever, for a variety of reasons including rapidly evolving technologies and the administrative overhead of hiring from overseas.
So it’s no surprise that DCMS reports that “employers say the lack of available talent is the single biggest factor holding back growth. Estimates suggest the digital skills gap costs the UK economy as much as £63 billion a year in potential GDP.”
“Compare how many STEM graduates graduate in the UK compared to Vietnam, for example. We’re lagging behind”
In short, if your business wants to grow, it needs
