London Technology Week – Ambitious Plans but Challenges Remain

By David Geary, Policy Advisor REC

Research released to coincide with London Technology Week suggested that the tech sector in London is on track to create an additional £12bn of economic activity and create 46,000 new jobs in the next decade. However candidate availability and skills shortages are likely to hold back a sector which promises economic salvation. The KPMG/REC Report on Jobs confirms that candidate availability is at its lowest level for 17 years. In order to fill the projected 46,000 jobs we need to carefully consider who will fill these roles.

What roles are we looking at?

In London our members are finding it increasingly difficult to find the candidates they need for a myriad of roles from technical project managers with the required people and business skills right through to .Net and Java developers with a 17% year on year increase for .Net roles and a 42% increase for Java roles. These are high quality skilled roles with terrific salaries and yet our members struggle to fill these vacancies. In an economy with an unemployment rate of 6.8% and almost 1 million unemployed young people this is deeply worrying.

Mid-level, permanent software developers with salaries ranging from £30-£50K are yet another role where candidate shortages prevail. Many developers currently in jobs are hesitant to consider a move due to a lack of market confidence. As the key economic indicators continue to show strong economic growth, we expect to see more of these people considering a change in employment, creating opportunities for senior and junior candidates as they transition. 

Skills for tomorrow

The REC and our members work with STEMNET and Inspiring the Future amongst others to raise awareness of roles within the technology sector with younger people. Many such individuals are often unaware of the huge variety of roles within the sector. Our own Clive Hutchings recently wrote a blog about his experiences with STEMNET. We also have a Youth Employment Charter that encourages our members to do their part to enable a pathway to work for the nation’s unemployed youth.

Immigration reform

Many of the roles mentioned above could be acquired from overseas but the UK’s complicated visa system acts as a deterrent. The REC has championed a pro-business immigration system and actively engages with key government stakeholders to push for the removal of quota’s for highly skilled workers, the re-introduction of the post study work visa and the exemption of STEM roles from the Resident Labour Market Test.

We have also called for the expansion of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) to reflect the needs of sectors such as technology to enable an easier route for highly skilled overseas workers to contribute to the continued growth of UK plc. For more information on our work in the technology sector email me at david.geary@rec.uk.com