As every year passes, the technology skills gap is widening in the UK. Finding a way to bridge it is the responsibility of the government and business owners alike. It’s particularly important for small businesses and start-ups to find ways to recruit the talent they need, without compromising their senior employees.
Data from Hays Global Skills Index showed that 2016 was the fifth year that the UK’s digital skills base decreased. Many university degrees simply don’t offer the vocational or technical knowledge that businesses must have to make it in 2018.
Slow progress
An example are computer science degrees. Universities review these courses every four years, and then take two years to implement a new syllabus. In a world where technology and innovation are proceeding at an ever-increasing rate, this just isn’t fast enough.
We’re left with graduates coming from university with a degree and lots of enthusiasm, but without the skills they need to work in a tech-based business. This inevitably presents a headache for businesses, and in particular for start-ups and small businesses. The problems aren’t restricted to the tech industry either, as many other sectors need high levels of technical understanding too.
Tech skills gap widening
The gap in technical skills has been widening across the business world since 2011. By 2016 it was up by 8%. A survey of 9,000 companies in the UK showed that one in four vacancies are proving difficult to fill due to this skills gap.
Small businesses and start-ups are reluctant to hire recent graduates fresh out of university as it’s often not viable. Any business hiring tech graduates will have to be prepared to put in a lot of time and money into training. It’s not efficient for many companies to have their senior staff use their time in this way. But there are ways for small business owners to approach recruitment in a different way:
- Don’t use a recruitment agency
Start-up owners should dump recruitment agencies and look at the competition for themselves. By analysing other companies in their sector and looking at who they’re hiring, and where they’re hiring from, and whether their people would be a good fit.
Recruitment agencies are too impersonal and won’t have the depth of insight into your sector. As the start-up owner, you know what you need better than a middle-man.
- Look beyond the CV
This means looking much deeper than the surface level of a CV. It’s also a good idea to do away with formal interviews and replace them with informal chats face-to-face, combined with tours of the business. If owners think in terms of ‘selling’ the company to the candidate, then they’re on the right track.
This is a smarter way to recruit, as it’s vital to get the right people in to the start-up and keep them happy. Find the best talent first and then decide how you can entice them to your company.
If you find the perfect candidate and they’re already in the field, that doesn’t mean they won’t move for the right offer. An offer is much more than just a salary, and includes many facets, including how much the candidate will be able to contribute, how they can use their skills and how they can be shown that they are valued.
Don’t rely on traditional forms of recruitment if you want to avoid dealing with a skills gap when you’re starting out. When your company is well-established and large enough, then is the time to welcome graduates and offer training. For further advice on starting your business, including funding, banking and much more contact the team at Turner Little.
About Turner Little
Founded in 1998 in Yorkshire, UK, Turner Little is a specialist UK and offshore company formation, banking and corporate services provider. Our services include company formation, UK and offshore banking, asset protection, credit correction/repair, trademarking and trusts. Other services include Internet services, mail forwarding, wills and probate. Turner Little’s vision is to offer the best possible service, together with market leading products.