Issues faced by IT leaders in the U.K. were analyzed in a recent Hyve Managed Hosting report. The report found that four out of five U.K. businesses are currently struggling to source the talent they need to address today’s IT challenges.
According to research, the majority of decision makers surveyed cited the skills gap as one of the biggest challenges to the success of their business, together with ongoing economic uncertainty and keeping pace with competition and technological advances. The latter is what 42% of U.K. business and IT leaders attribute the skills shortage to. Right now, technological evolution is outpacing the current speed of training and development of new talent, which leaves businesses vulnerable and exposed:
- 31% of respondents feel academic institutions are not keeping up with industry progress, resulting in a shortage of qualified candidates coming out of school or university and into the workforce.
- 30% claimed a lack of training in schools is not adequately preparing individuals for entry-level roles, calling into question current curriculum.
- Over a third of the respondents (35%) believe the competition created by larger companies exacerbates the skills shortage, as tech giants draw many skilled professionals from the market.
- 27% believe the high cost of hiring talent is widening the chasm.
- When it comes to the most sought-after skills, cybersecurity (43%) and cloud computing (34%) top the list, followed by:
- Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI): 33%.
- Developers: 26%.
- Data (e.g. analysis/visualisation): 25%.
- 52% said they often settle for less qualified professionals due to a lack of suitable candidates.