Talent Summit to be held to tackle growing tech shortages

Around 53 percent of tech companies across the South West say it is impossible or incredibly hard to recruit.

The findings, in a survey carried out by Tech South West, reveal the challenges of talent shortages facing the sector across the region.

Now, a Tech Talent Summit is to be held bringing together tech companies, talent experts and recruitment agencies, universities and college groups, to discuss ways of tackling the problem.

Despite the shortages, tech remains the fastest growing sector in the South West, generating £9bn in turnover and attracting over £500m in venture capital in just a year.

According to the research, the most in-demand skills in the region right now are in data science, web development and machine learning. IT support and robotics were also highly cited.

Dan Pritchard, co-founder of Tech South West, said: “The sector is flourishing but could be performing even better if we can solve the talent conundrum.

“The faster the sector grows, the more great people we need to continue to build momentum across world-leading specialisms like environmental tech, marine tech, fintech and healthtech. Working in tech in the South West is an incredibly attractive proposition, with salaries well above the average, a huge variety of opportunities centred around key tech hubs, thousands of companies and rapid growth in many areas.”

Tech South West works to promote and support the South West tech sector across three main pillars of talent, funding and business support. The Tech Talent Summit, on February 17 2022, will help to coordinate knowledge sharing across the sector, and give tech companies a greater insight into how to successfully onboard and upskill local talent.

Anthony Peake, CEO of award-winning insurtech firm Intelligent AI, said: “It is great to see these initiatives from Tech South West. The biggest challenge now for the South West will be in attracting, training and retaining the brightest talent we need to ensure companies like ours can remain rooted in the region and have access to a growing pool of the brightest minds here. I am confident that we can all work together to address this challenge and continue the fantastic growth we are seeing in the South West tech sector”.

The talent survey, carried out across the region, revealed that lack of candidates is the top recruitment challenge, with the lack of the right skills and lacking the right experience the next most common obstacles to recruitment.

Rob Bosworth, Exeter College’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are working hard with employers to connect the government's new higher technical qualifications with a clear line-of-sight to industry and ensure they are fully embracing the technical education revolution. In addition to a significant rise in higher level digital and data apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships in information science, there is so much happening in the tech space and we hope to do more work on digital bootcamps for retraining and upskilling adults.”

Three quarters of companies that took the survey are currently recruiting for two or more roles, with one in ten having at least 20% of their workforce currently unfilled.

Harry Singer, CEO of biotechnology company Singer Instruments, said: "We're towards the end of a very successful round of recruitment thanks to a number of things that have worked in our favour. Company culture has never been better, the vibe here is fantastic, and we've recently moved into a swanky new building called The Lab. Tech South West have been a big help, and COVID seems to have sparked a trend among tech talent for a desire to live near the sea. Surf's up! We continue to compete for the top talent and have a number of vacancies available, and are always looking for ways to attract and develop the best talent available in the region."

Magdalena King, technical consultant at King Recruit, said: “Skilled professionals, especially those in the tech sector, are some of the most sought after competencies right now. Employers need to focus on skill building, optimising benefits, remote and flexible working options, facilitating collaboration and prioritising employee engagement.

“Seizing talent before a role in a business comes up is paramount to growing a successful company. If you come across a candidate who shines above everyone else and is in tune with your business’s ethos but doesn’t fit the role you are recruiting for, create a role.”

The survey’s findings come as the UK Government struggles to address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills in the country, with £6.4 million being pledged to support new STEM education initiatives to be delivered via Institutes of Technology from September 2022. Of the 12 institutes in the UK, three cover areas partially or fully in the South West.

The Tech Talent Summit will provide a platform for tech employers to connect and share learnings with education leaders, take part in workshops, engage in panel discussions and network. The purpose will be to share and provide concrete steps that tech firms can take right now to make the most of the tech talent on their doorstep in the South West.

Joanne Caine, managing director at Cathedral Appointments, said: “It has always been tough to recruit tech talent, particularly across the South West and we are most certainly in a perfect storm with candidates not moving and employers crying out for fresh talent.

“Although it is hard to recruit, companies that are focusing on their employer brand and their benefit packages are securing the top talent. As we head into 2022, we would advise employers to act swiftly with their recruitment campaigns and process to ensure that any potential employees receive a very positive experience.”

The Tech Talent Summit takes place via the online Hopin platform on February 17, 9.30-11am. Register for free at https://hopin.com/events/tech-talent-summit-2022