How Businesses Can Bridge the Tech Skills Gap

by Startacus Admin
Image courtesy of Anattic

The skills gap is widening with each passing year in the UK, and we need to be clever if we’re going to find a way to bridge it. Paul Haydock, CEO and co-founder of DueCourse shares his perspective on how this can be achieved.
According to the Hays Global Skills Index, 2016 is the fifth year in a row that our digital skills base has taken a beating, with many university degrees offering neither the technical or vocational knowledge that businesses today want and need.
A good example is computer science. Universities tend to review their computer science course syllabuses every four years, and a new syllabus takes two years to implement. Considering how rapidly computer science is advancing and evolving, it’s not surprising that graduates are emerging from university fresh-faced and keen but ultimately lacking in the skills a tech-based business needs from new recruits.
This situation presents a problem for businesses, particularly small businesses and start-ups, and not just in the tech sector. The skills gap across the board has worsened by 8 per cent since 2011, and a survey of 9,000 UK companies has reported that one in four vacancies are proving difficult to fill as a result.
A fresh batch of eager grads may seem like a goldmine for businesses looking for new blood but, for most SMEs, hiring them fresh out of university generally isn’t a viable option. Any business who hires them will have to invest a great deal of time and money into retraining them. We, for example, couldn’t possibly take our senior devs off important projects to up-skill such a junior member staff, much as we’d like to be able to.
However, businesses can still get around this problem if they adopt a slightly more shrewd approach to recruitment.
What they need to do is forget about recruitment agencies and check out the competition themselves. They need to take a closer look at other companies in their sector and find out who they are hiring, what their skills are and if they'd be a good fit for the business in terms of personality and outlook.
To do this, they need to look beyond the CV and scrap formal interviews, swapping them instead for informal, face-to-face chats and tours of the business. It's more about them selling the company to the candidate rather than the other way around.
In our opinion, this is the way forward for smart recruiting. They say that the very best people are already in a job and probably happy there, so businesses need to put a little planning, time and strategy into sniffing out the right talent and then working out how you’re going to tempt them over.
You may have seen in the local media that we recently managed to attract a former Apple engineer, Dylan Smith, all the way from London. He was already working his magic in his previous role when we approached him, and now we’re reaping the incredible benefits of the skills he’s brought up north with him. Had we relied on standard recruitment practices, this may have been another story entirely.
This is a perfect example of how SMEs can get around the current skills gap issue and, in our opinion, the best way forward for smart recruitment in the future.
Thanks for the insights Paul, and best of luck with acquiring some top tech talent!

Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Got a business in the manufacturing sector? These tips on how you can reduce energy costs while being more sustainable are well worth a read...

Innovative InsurTech startup SureIn announces a €4M Seed round to further its mission of making insurance easy, transparent and hassle-free for SMBs.

Nassia Skoulikariti, Director of IoT Programmes, Mobile Ecosystem Forum shares some insights on how IoT is having a significant impact on all our lives.

Roger James Hamilton, Founder and CEO of Genius Group, a world-leading entrepreneur Edtech and education group, discusses how introducing a globalized curriculum will help better prepare students.

SuperFi, the debt prevention platform, has announced a $1m pre-seed funding round to support people during the cost of living crisis.

41 startups from 13 countries, including the UK, have been selected for the 8th Kickstart Innovation program, one of Europe’s leading innovation platforms.

Personal training platform Another Round has secured £300k in its latest fundraise, including investment from angels and its community.

Thingtrax Secures £4.3M to Empower Manufacturers to Build the Factories of the Future

A measure of inflation relief for small firms sees transport costs fall but service price increases remain elevated

Bedfordshire-based HR tech startup HR DataHub has built a range of tools for HR departments
Published on: 16th November 2016
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.







- SureIn Secures €4M to Close the SMB Insurance Gap 15th Aug 2023 Innovative InsurTech startup SureIn announces a €4M Seed round to further its mission of making insurance easy, transparent and hassle-free for SMBs.
- SuperFi raises $1M pre-seed funding round 28th Jul 2023 SuperFi, the debt prevention platform, has announced a $1m pre-seed funding round to support people during the cost of living crisis.
- Startups rely on AI & sustainability for new partnerships 27th Jul 2023 41 startups from 13 countries, including the UK, have been selected for the 8th Kickstart Innovation program, one of Europe’s leading innovation platforms.
- Another Round closes £300k Seed round to revolutionise personal training 21st Jul 2023 Personal training platform Another Round has secured £300k in its latest fundraise, including investment from angels and its community.