The technology skills gap is still a pressing issue, with people not only lacking the technical skills needed for digital roles, but also some of the essential digital skills needed for everyday life.
Workers were in search of digital skills, amidst an uncertain tech hiring landscape in 2023.
Struggles with the economy and cost of living have made having the right skills and people to do the job more important than ever before.
1. Tech skills shortage still a problem for employers
Employers have long struggled to find skilled workers, and 2023 was no different, with Hays finding 95% of employers experiencing a tech skills shortage in the past year.
This was actually an increase from the previous year, leading to employers planning to hire people that can be trained on the job rather than attempt to recruit people with ready-made skills.
2. Almost 70% of UK digital workers interested in expanding tech skills
With the significant IT skills gap in the UK, it’s no surprise that many workers have had no digital skills training, and more than 60% of people think they’re unqualified for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers.
But that doesn’t mean workers aren’t willing to learn – AND Digital found around a third of people aged 55 or over want to develop their digital skills.
AWS also found 67% of tech workers in the UK would be interested in digital skills training, but many believe there are too many barriers standing in the way.
3. Tech workers seek alternative employment to avoid redundancy
The beginning of the year brought with it uncertainty for those in the tech sector – where previously it was said IT workers were the ones who held the power, 2023 saw a shift towards many tech firms making employees redundant as cost-cutting reduced IT spending.
In a bid to avoid losing their jobs, workers began looking for roles in other companies in case their current jobs were eliminated, with CWJobs finding more than half of IT workers already preparing themselves by looking for new positions.
4. Government urged to address ‘broken’ apprenticeship levy system
One commonly overlooked route into the technology center is through apprenticeships, but offering apprenticeships is not a simple feat.
In 2017, the government developed the apprenticeship levy to help employers fund training through a contribution and buyback scheme.
But this year, several industry bodies wrote an open letter to the government stating the scheme is not fit for purpose because of restrictions surrounding how the levy contributions can be used, adding yet another barrier for IT skills development in the UK.
5. 01 Founders: the coding course where students teach each other
Another less traditional route into the technology sector is through courses or coding boot camps,
