More than a quarter (27%) of employers admit they face competition for high-calibre technology candidates, according to new sector specific research produced by Robert Walters, Jobsite and totaljobs, Solving the UK Skills Shortage – Technology.
Over 550 technology professionals were surveyed on their top recruitment challenges. The results highlighted that a limited pool of skilled candidates and strong industry competition were the main barriers to hiring. With over 80% of employers expecting their workloads to increase throughout the year, these challenges are set to be exacerbated as more organisations seek technical skillsets to support business growth.
Chris Eldridge, CEO at Robert Walters UK, highlights, “Strong growth is expected to continue as FinTech start-ups and consultancies emerge across the sector and established businesses look to invest further in their IT functions. Professionals should anticipate an increase in demand for select technology skills over the next 12 months, including BI, DevOps and Software Development.”
Find out more and download a copy of the research.
Competing for candidates
More than a quarter of hiring managers (27%) admit that the high-calibre candidates they do manage to source often receive multiple job offers. In a market is saturated with employers, this is driving salary increases as businesses find they have to compete to secure the top tier professionals. More than a third (34%) are dealing with high salary expectations from candidates, which can be particularly crippling for start-up tech firms and SMEs whose recruitment budgets cannot stretch to the market rate.
Professionals should anticipate an increase in demand for select technology skills over the next 12 months, including BI, DevOps and Software Development.
Nearly 2 in 10 businesses confirm they lose out to candidates who receive competitive counter offers and buy back propositions from their current employer.
Lack of suitable candidates
Over half (55%) of hiring managers agree that the majority of candidate lack the sufficient experience for the role and 51% receive applications from candidates who do not possess the right technical skills. 35% of employers find that many underqualified candidates are applying for roles, and 4 in 10 tech hiring managers find that candidates lack the right ‘soft skills’ such as communication, teamwork and time management.
Length of the recruitment process
Those that are managing to source high quality tech professionals (35%) find the process takes too long to generate a hire. With such intense competition between employers in the current market, a lengthy process increases the window for rival businesses to reach sought after candidates.
For candidates, the top they experience when seeking a new technology position is the length of the recruitment process following their application. As almost half (49%) think the process is too lengthy, it could deter top tier professionals from applying for these positions in future. Hiring managers will need to ensure that hiring processes are quick and efficient to avoid losing top talent.
