Shortage in Tech Skills Threatens To Stiffle Business Growth in the UK

In 2022, the BBC reported that the UK was facing a bit of a pickle. Despite there being over 2 million tech jobs available, a whopping 12 million employees lacked even basic digital skills!

Yikes. And as of January 2023, things still aren't looking much better.

Even those bootcamps, apprenticeships, and university placements can't seem to bridge the gap. Half of all apprentices across digital fields in the UK drop out before completing their training.

Talk about a rough road.

This leaves an employment shortage that could threaten the development of many businesses - and could even slow down Moore's Law. Yeah, we're getting deep here, but hear us out. If we don't have a workforce to keep building the components and infrastructures that support the trajectory of Mr. Moore's observations, we could be in trouble.

So, in order to keep the growth going, businesses are going to have to get creative with their hiring processes. And your CV can be just as creative as their hiring process.

Now, we're not saying to go crazy and tell them you've built Skynet in your bedroom. But if you have a unique skill that sets you apart from the rest, then flaunt it! Unikrn knows that some skills just can't be taught and that who you are is just as important as what you can do.

For example, if you love being creative but also want to be a software developer, why not start building a program or an app as a personal project? Not only will you learn a new skill, but you can also showcase your creative design skills. This is what we call upskilling, baby!

Or maybe you want to be a digital product manager, but you're currently stuck in customer service. No worries! Look at the required core skills for the job you want and start learning from scratch. This is called reskilling.

Both of these examples can help you land that dream job that might have previously felt out of reach. Businesses are now starting to appreciate even more the importance of hiring staff with varied skill sets, creating a dynamic and diverse workforce that is agile in nature.

And with the current employment shortage in technically sound applicants, companies are even investing in upskilling their existing employees to fill tech roles. But that's costly for businesses because they have to distribute the employee's workload among their co-workers who might not be trained for these new responsibilities while they retrain for their new role.

So when an applicant comes along who not only is trained in x-skill but has taught it to themselves and has a working knowledge of it, businesses practically trip over themselves to hire you. And it's not just because you have the skill they're looking for; it's because learning a skill by yourself shows an ability, drive, and desire to work independently, which is a fantastic skill in itself.

Plus, with the number of startups almost doubling between 2020 and 2021, now is the perfect time to learn that tech skill you've always wanted to learn and apply it!

And if you're looking for a job right now, wink-wink, Unikrn is hiring!