There is a digital skills shortage and the problem is only worsening. That is the general consensus within the industry, and as a digital recruiter, this is a problem I am encountering more and more as times goes on.
But, not all hope is lost. There are some measures companies can, and should, be taking to ensure they’re in the best position to tackle the talent drought that has caught the industry in a stranglehold.
However, if we are serious about addressing the issue, and plugging the digital skills gap, we must first identify as to where the problems are stemming from.
A multi-faceted shortage
The digital skills shortage cannot be pinned down to one particular reason – in fact, it is a combination of reasons that has lead us to the situation we’re currently in.
A disconnect is occurring
Despite the vast numbers of young people graduating from our universities with degrees that have digital specialisms, we are still facing a skills crisis.
The issue comes in two halves – first off, there seems to be a disconnect between what our young people are being taught in university, and what digital companies actually need from graduate employees. The second half of the problem centres on the fact that not many companies have the time or resource to invest in training young people up effectively themselves. Many agencies that I talk to want to only hire people that can hit the floor running, but this isn’t always possible with the current graduate talent.
An increasingly candidate-driven market
Due to the skills shortage, which has only been worsening over the past few years, businesses are now more desperate than ever to retain staff. This has resulted in agencies increasingly bowing to the pressure of candidate demands above, and sometimes at the expense of, what is best for the company business-wise. Wages are climbing high, which is particularly detrimental to start-up businesses in this sector.
Over-promotion and a dilution of skills
On top of this, often candidate demands come in the form of promotions. This is now causing a dilution of skills as over-promotion, based on a candidate’s demands rather than ability and merit, means that a more senior role is being filled by someone who may lack the necessary skillset.
Senior level shortages
To add final insult to injury, the positions agencies most want to recruit for are at senior level – and this is where the skills shortage is at its worst. We may churn out thousands of digital graduates a year but without adequate degree specifications that match what these companies need, or a company with the resource to train staff themselves, candidates aren’t getting to the more senior positions.
So what can be done to resolve this?
Recruitment is a time-consuming, and often costly, exercise. These are the two biggest barriers faced by businesses of all sizes when it comes to hiring the right digital people – time restraints, a lack of cash or both.
Regardless, there are measures that I would advise businesses to consider, and set aside resource for:
- Research
Look at what competitors do in their recruitment exercises – how they advertise their roles, and how they assess candidates, for example. Also research what candidates actually want from a role – there is a wealth of studies already out there where job seekers have talked about what they are looking for. This will enable you to realign your offering so you are giving candidates what they want.
- Talent pipelining
A key technique I use in my business, talent pipelining is essentially headhunting but in a much less aggressive manner. It’s about opening a dialogue, and facilitating an open conversation with individuals you would like to have working at your company, but who may not be looking for a new role right now.
By having an open discussion with these individuals, you are able to get a more holistic view of the person – not only their skillset and strengths professionally, but also their likes and dislikes. This makes it much easier when a role arises and you’re assessing whether or not a candidate will be a good. It also means that when a job does become available, you already have a candidate, or a bank of candidates, in mind and so you can avoid the often awkward cold-calling exercises that many candidates refuse to engage with.
It’s important to mention that this isn’t a recruitment technique with a quick turnaround nor does it give instant results. It takes time and care in order to develop relationships with senior level candidates. On top of this, it requires a good degree of interpersonal skills – you have to show an invested interest in the person, beyond their profession.
While we have apprenticeships and internships to help entry level talent get more experience, when it comes to senior level recruitment, those looking to recruit digital professionals need to rethink and create a more considered strategy. I’d imagine you can relate to a number of the points we have mentioned, and if that is the case, you would do well to take a more research-led, talent-pipeline approach to recruiting digital talent. And, with competition to recruit the best candidates only getting more difficult, now is the time to act.
