Boom for tech sector

Tech sector opportunities are booming as demand for multi-skilled workers grows fuelled by seismic shifts in online consumer behaviour and increases in home working accelerated by the pandemic, according to a new report from specialist recruiter Robert Half (www.roberthalf.co.uk).

The pandemic has dramatically impacted consumer behaviour, accelerating the move towards online-first models. This shift is putting front-end developers in high demand, as companies look to improve their capabilities and customer experience. These changes are also generating large volumes of data that companies can analyze to inform their strategies, resulting in a surge of requests for data scientists, analysts and engineers.

According to Robert Half’s 2022 Salary Guide, over 40% of tech leaders say that changing behaviours are inspiring business confidence, resulting in a third (34%) planning to hire new positions in 2022.  

Whilst one of the top strategic priorities for CIOs and CTOs in 2022 is cost reduction and balancing budgets (26%), innovation and investing in new technologies (24%), building 5G capabilities into IT strategy (24%) and cloud projects and initiatives (24%) all ranked highly. This suggests UK businesses will continue to enhance their online presence over the next 12 months.

“Technology initiatives have been at the heart of many businesses’ pandemic recovery efforts and underpin their plans for future growth, but they are also keen to protect themselves financially by balancing their budgets,” says Phil Boden, Senior Manager, Robert Half.

“As technology is always advancing, candidates who can adapt and evolve their skills over time are also highly desirable to businesses.  Across the board, the level of demand is intense and candidates that meet businesses’ heightened requirements for soft and technical skills are in short supply, so companies should be prepared to compete.”

Despite demand, adaptability is the skill which is the most difficult to find amongst job candidates for permanent roles, with problem solving skills following closely behind.  Both are viewed as essential for tech roles as the pace of new development means skills and knowledge can quickly become outdated, so those able to learn and adapt quickly are extremely valuable to employers.

Employers are also looking for all-rounder tech talent with the blend skills required to help businesses scale successfully.  However, one in three (34%) CIOs say that most candidates are lacking soft skills, and companies should expect to face high competition to attract suitable talent.