6 ways to nurture new talent in coding and information industries

Though the world has become increasingly digitized, it does not necessarily follow that the number of job candidates skilled in coding and IT is keeping pace with this trend.

The industry body TechUK recently estimated that the monthly tally of unfilled tech vacancies across the UK had reached 100,000 — resulting in the country’s economy missing out on £6.3 billion in added GDP, Prolific North reports. So, how could firms assist in reversing this trend?

Address young people’s shortage of digital confidence 

There are, admittedly, regional differences in how young people feel about their digital skills. Research by Accenture found that, while 52% of Generation Z respondents in the South of England reported confidence on this score, the percentage was just 38% among those in the North.

Businesses have a strong incentive to work with local ecosystems in order to close the confidence gap.

Don’t just turn to tech graduates 

Alas, despite the high standard of many such graduates, they alone are unlikely to suffice for filling skills gaps in the tech field. One reason why is that, such is the fast-evolving nature of this field, much of what is learned on the degree courses can quickly go out of date.

Hence, you shouldn’t overlook recruiting and training candidates with backgrounds in less obviously tech-oriented subjects, such as humanities and the arts.Look at earlier stages of the education funnel 

In other words, consider applications from school leavers. You could find that many of them already have an established interest in coding — especially as they could have grown up getting to grips with the Raspberry Pi, a microcomputer introduced back in 2012, as The Verge indicates.

If you do recruit school leavers of this description, you could encourage them to visit an online shop like The Pi Hut’s Maker Store, where various Raspberry Pi components are stocked.

Consider members of your existing workforce, too

There might be certain members of your team who aren’t currently in predominantly tech-driven roles but do have the potential to excel in them.

You might have unjustly denied these workers such posts before. This could have simply been due to these employees lacking suitable technical certifications or work experience — either of which they could still gain with your help.

Don’t be afraid to offer apprenticeships 

In the UK, employers have been charged the apprenticeship levy, resulting in improved financial support for high-quality apprenticeship schemes.

If your own business offers these opportunities, it can assist candidates in developing hands-on experience of tech endeavors including coding.

It’s also worth remembering that, contrary to popular belief, there isn’t actually an age limit concerning which people are eligible to take up spaces on UK apprenticeship programs.

Give promising workers good reasons to stay 

The Enterprisers Project insists: “Organizations that offer flexible benefits matching individual needs — childcare, eldercare, affordable housing, and wellness benefits, for example — are more likely to retain their talent.”

If workers opt to hone their talent with your company in particular, you could obviously reap the benefits further down the line.