The UK technology sector is, by many measures, world-leading. At the end of 2022, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport estimated that the level of investment in UK tech companies outstrips tech investment in France and Germany combined, while the UK is only the third country to hit a trillion-dollar tech industry value, after the US and China.
The UK tech sector is also in the throes of a serious talent shortage. Almost 95 per cent of employers looking for tech talent say they have have encountered a skills shortage during the past year. In 2022, according to labour market analytics platform Lightcast there were 569,000 job postings for software developers, while the Office for National Statistics’ Nomis service reported that there were only 553,800 software development professionals in the UK. Demand clearly outstrips supply.
Many tech businesses seem to be trying to 'buy' talent – hiring skilled individuals – rather than 'building...