An industry report on open source technology skills in the UK

MIND THE GAP

Contents

1. Overview 32. Technology and the Global Economy 43. Getting to Grips with the Gap 54. CertifiablySkilled 85. Conclusions 10

3

“TheevidenceisclearthattheUKfacesadigitalskillscrisis… onlyurgentaction…canpreventthisskillscrisisfromdamaging our productivity and economic competitiveness.”4

–HouseofCommons,ScienceandTechnologyCommittee|DigitalSkillsCrisis|SecondReportofSession2016-17

1. Overview

In 2014 the tech sector contributed £91.1 billion1 to the UK economy. Jobs in this sector totaled 1.6million,andwerecreatedat aspeed2.8xfasterthantherestof the economy put together (2011-2014)2. Technology is, unarguably, an integral part of ourlives,andasignificantcontributortoourglobal economy.

Currently, the biggest growth in the technologymarketplaceisinopensourcetechnologies.Theexplosionincloudcomputing infrastructures means even proprietaryITvendorsaresupportingLinuxenvironments;thefuturelookssettoheadinan open source direction.

TheimportanceofopensourceITskillsintheUKworkforce–andthebenefitstheybringtobusinesses, employees and the UK economy – are therefore clear.

Not always as well articulated, however, is the ITskillsshortagethattheUKisexperiencing;or what businesses and employees can do to fillthiswideningskillsgap.Infact,theEuropeanCommissionforecaststhattheUKworkforcewillhavethelargestdigitalskillsdeficitintheEU by 20203.

HowcanITandHRdirectorsensuretheirorganisations have the right people with therightskillstoharnesstechnologymosteffectively?

The answer is clear: place a strong focus on skillscertification.Thisconclusionissupportedbythemarketsurveythatprovidesthedatafor this whitepaper.

4

2. Technology and the Global Economy

Need drives growth drives need

Asmid-twentieth-century writer Joseph Krutch once said “Technology made large populations possible; large populations now maketechnologyindispensable.”Fast forward over half a century (and about 5 billion people),andtechnologyisaninescapablepartofoureveryday world; part of the beating heart of our global economy.

Today, technology industries turnover an estimated £161billion,andaccountforapproximately1.56millionjobsacross the UK alone5.

Jobs in the tech sector grew by 11.2% between 2011 and 20146;2.8xfasterthantherestoftheworkforceputtogether. In those years, the technology sector outpaced the growth of rest of the economy by 32%. There are over 58,000technologybusinessesintheUKalone–andthisnumber is still rising fast.

Theexplosionoftechnologybusinessesistransformingthe employment landscape, both in terms of productivity andanever-increasingdemandfortechnologyexpertise.According to The Tech Partnership report, ‘Employer Insights:SkillsSurvey’,99%ofemployerssurveyedin2015wereaimingtoincrease(oratleastmaintain)thenumberof tech specialists they employed in the coming year7.

In the UK, there is a rapid upsurge in demand for these tech specialist positions as more developers, systems administratorsandDevOpspersonnelareneededacrosseverysector.Thenumberoftechspecialistsgrewby6%in2014 alone8.

Advancements in software development have been largely responsiblefortheexpansionofthissector;therearenow 29,000 UK companies primarily focused on software development,upmorethan150%inthepastfiveyears9.

Morespecifically,theever-increasingadoptionofsoftwarebasedonopensourcetechnologies,likeLinux,hasplayeda vital role in the rapid growth of the tech industry and its global impact.

1 Knowledge inaparticulararea(53%) 4

Performance intheirrole(33%)

2Confidence level(50%) 5

Prospects for moving intoawiderrangeofjobopportunities(27%)

3Professional reputation(50%)

Top 5 benefits for Linux certification – IT professionals say that certification improves:

UK IT Skills survey, LPI UK & CompTIA, 2016

5

Opening up Opensourcetechnologyistransformingallkindsofindustries, and the organisations within them.

Linux,forexample,isclearlynolongerjustatechnologyfor webservers and open source evangelists; it is present throughoutcorporategiantslikeGoogle,FacebookandtheUSGovernment.Long-establishedproprietarybehemothslikeOracleandSAPhavealsoembracedLinuxandotheropen source technologies.

Gartner’s2015surveydocumentsashiftbytheenterprisefromUnixtoLinuxoperatingsystems,10 highlighting a large scale, global movement to commercialization and the increasing popularity of open source technology.

Thisisashiftthathasgatheredmomentumasthebenefitsof open source software are recognized. Open source software surpasses its proprietary counterparts in its cost efficiency,flexibility,security–and,ofcourse,itscommunitydevelopment ethos.

This global trend towards open source – by businesses bigandsmall–meansanincreaseddemandforskillsinopensourcetechnologies.DemandforLinuxskills inparticular,byUKemployers,hasshownasignificantincrease in recent years11.

Meeting demands? ArecentresearchstudyilluminatesthespecificdemandforopensourceskillsintheUK,andthechallengesemployersfaceinrecruitingpeoplewiththeseskills.

TheLinuxProfessionalInstitute(LPIUK)commissionedasurvey of 200 UK employers, interviewing both heads of IT and their employees, across a wide range of industry sectors, incompaniesrangingfromSMEstolargeenterprises.

WithsomuchglobaltechnologyoperatingonLinux(60%ofemployerssurveyedsaidtheirbusinessesrelyonLinux-basedsystems),thesurveysoughttoinvestigatetheextentofLinuxskillshortagesfacingtheUKtechsectortoday.

IT skills insight:

“LinuxistheoperatingsystemthatunderpinsavastrangeofindustrysectorsacrosstheUK,Europeandwiderworld–yetthereisamajorglobalshortageofLinux-skilledITprofessionalswhichthreatensgrowth and innovation.”

–AndrewSmith,OpenUniversitySeniorLecturerinNetworking

6

IT skills insight:

“EmployerswantITstaffwithhigh-levelknowledgeandskills.ACVthatshowsacandidatehasundertakenLPIcertificationisrecognisableproofofthoseskills,andevidenceofthemmakingamajorinvestmentin their employability.”

–AndrewSmith,OpenUniversitySeniorLecturerinNetworking

3. Getting to Grips with the Gap

DemandandsupplyOurresearchconfirmsthattheUKITskillsshortageisaveryrealandsignificantproblem.Nearlynineinten(89%)UKemployersreporteddifficultiesinrecruitingtherightcandidatesforITpositions.Specifically,theysaidcandidatesoftenlacktheexperience(47%),knowledge(43%)andskills(38%)required.

TheUKPrimeMinisterTheresaMay’sdecisiontotransfertheremitforITskillsawayfromthenow-dissolvedDepartmentforBusiness,InnovationandSkills(BIS)andintotheDepartmentforEducation(DfE)isarelatedareaforconcernregardingITtrainingandskillsshortages.

ThisislargelyduetoitbeingunclearhowquicklyandeffectivelytheDfEwillbeabletobuildthecontactsanddevelop the understanding of the commercial world to guidethefutureofITskills.WhatiscertainisthattheUK’snextstepswillbecrucial.

HighstakesWith the tech sector alone contributing £91.1 billion totheUKeconomyeachyear,asexplainedinTheTechPartnership’s2015report,thispotentiallackofcapableresource is a serious challenge to industry.

Morethanfourinfive(82%)UKemployerssurveyedsaid the shortage of suitable IT professionals is having a negativeimpactontheirorganisation;oneinfivestatedtheimpactwasmajor.

Thisshortageisakeybottleneckfortheindustryandislinkedto20%ofallvacanciesforITroles.Currently,72%oflargecompaniesand49%ofSMEsaresufferingagapinITskills.Whenaskedtocomparethelevelofskillsheldbytheirtechspecialistswiththoserequiredbythebusiness,50%oforganisationsacrosstheUKidentifiedasignificantdisparity.

Yet there is a strong appetite among UK IT professionals toimprovetheirdemonstrableskills.Morethantwoinfive(43%)ofITprofessionalssurveyedsaythey’dliketodomoreITtrainingandnearlyathird(31%)feeltheir employer could be doing more to improve their knowledgeandskills.

DespitethecorporatepullforITskillstodrivecompetitiveadvantage,thedemandforITskillsisnotalwaysreflectedintrainingbudgets.While94%ofUKemployers surveyed recognised the importance of IT staff being fully trained in the latest systems and technology, lessthanaquarter(24%)saidtheyhavealargebudgetforIT training – and 22% have actually reduced their budget allowance for IT training.

7

Thegapisopen(source)The nature of open source technology (where the technologyisnot“owned”byacompany)seemstohaveresultedinlessmarketfocusontheformalisationofskills–i.e.trainingandcertification–inthesetechnologies.

Our recent survey of UK employers revealed that almost seveninten(69%)thinkitimportantthatITstaffintheirorganisationhaveLinuxknowledgeandskills.Butrecruitment of these candidates is challenging: 43% of employersreporteddifficultiesrecruitingcandidateswithadequateLinuxknowledgeandskills.

Alargemajority(85%)ofITprofessionalssurveyedhadworkedwithLinuxsystemsovertheprevioustwelvemonths,andyetover40%ofemployerssaidtheyfinditdifficulttorecruitcandidateswithLinuxskillscertification.

Over60%ofITprofessionalsbelievethatopensourcetechnology is now essential to the tech industry – to allowfreedomofchoice,removevendorlock-inandallowthem to deliver the best solutions for businesses and organisations.

Butstill,manyemployerswhoarestrugglingtorecruittheseskillsaresimplynotcommittingtofinancingtraining,ordrivingthechangetowardscentralisedqualifications.Our second “gap” emerges here – between an acknowledgedproblemanditslikelysolution.

Who’saccountable?Overall, it appears clear that UK employers face multiple challengesrecruitingsuitablytrained,qualifiedandcertifiedITstaffwiththerequiredhigh-levelknowledgeandskillsinLinuxandotheropensourcetechnologies.

FailuretoaddresstheITskillsshortagehasveryrealimplications for the UK economy. If employers are unable to recruit IT professionals with the abilities they need, thereisadistinctriskthatmorerequirementsandjobswillbeoff-shored,oreventhatbusinesseswillmovetheirentire operations overseas.

The rise of the internet and cloud services means the geographical location of an IT professional or provider is less important than ever.

Almost all UK employers say they want their employees toupskill.However,manyemployersseemreluctantto support that need with the provision of training and certification.

Most organisations are in a period of digital transformation in some form or another. No matter where they are onthatjourney,employersmustrecognisethecrucialrole that people and processes play, and invest in the technologyskillsrequiredtoensurethebusinesscancompete on a global stage.

10%

32%

22%

8%

6%

6%

13%

How difficult do you find it to recruit candidates with adequate Linux knowledge and skills?

Verydifficult

0 40302010

Somewhatdifficult

Neitherdifficultnoreasy

Somewhateasy

Veryeasy

Don’tknow

Not applicable

UK IT Skills survey, LPI UK & CompTIA, 2016

8

4. Certifiably Skilled

Education. Education. Education Thelong-termapproachtoaddressingtheUK’sITskillsgap should be rooted in schools and colleges. The UK at last has a computing curriculum in schools that teaches childrennotonlytousecomputersforword-processing,spreadsheets and presentations, but also to code and create.

ThroughinitiativeslikeRaspberryPi,childrennowhaveexposuretoopensourcetechnologies,whichwillhelpthemdeveloptheskillsthatareinhighdemandbyemployers.

Butwhiletechnologyeducationhasfounditswayintothe curriculum, it must ultimately go beyond creative inspiration (empowering students to solve problems throughIT)andmoveintoitspracticalapplication.

WithresponsibilityfortheITSkillsnowinthehandsoftheDepartmentofEducation;everyschool,collegeand university in the country will need to foster close linkswithlocalandnationalemployers.Educationalinstitutionswillneedtoensurethatthetechnicalskillsandknowledgethatarebeingtaught,arenotonlyvaluableandrelevanttotoday’semploymentmarket,butalsoreflectthetechnologiespoweringtoday’sandtomorrow’seconomies.

The role of the industry Employers have an important part to play in this process too. This year the UK Government made a clear recommendation12 that employers should accept more ownershipofthedigitalskillsissueandtakeresponsibilityfortraining.Theyshouldsupporttheircurrentworkforce’sdevelopment, while at the same time recruiting interns orapprenticeswhoshouldthenbeupskilledintheworkplace.

While some organisations are already heeding this call (our survey revealed that around 24% of UK tech specialists have received at least some form of employer relatededucationortraining),giventheskillsshortagesorganisationsworldwideareexperiencing,thereisalotofroom for improvement.

Forward-lookingemployerswhodohavearobusteducationalprogramarequiteawarethatasnewtechnologyisadopted,upskillingemployeesenhancesthevalueoftheirentirecompany.Likewise,havinganITworkforcewithout-of-dateskillscanonlyhaveanegativeimpact on growth.

1Personal development(70%) 4

To advance their career(42%)

2To build new skills/knowledge (69%) 5

To provetheirskills toothers(37%)

3Toimprovejobprospects(51%)

Top 5 reasons why IT professionals seek certification in open source:

UK IT Skills survey, LPI UK & CompTIA, 2016

9

Certification.Certification.CertificationToday’semployersseekcandidateswithadvanced,professional-levelITskillsinLinuxandotheropen source technologies.

Certificationsaredemonstrableevidenceoftheseskills–providingacommonstandardtomatchupemployers(whorequiretangibleproofofexpertiseanddemonstrableapplicationofskill)withcertificationholders(whoseekjobsthatutiliseandprogresstheirskills).

Forsome,becomingcertifiedwillinvolvelearningnewskills.Forothers,certificationwillencourageandenhanceexistingabilities.ManyLinuxprofessionals,forexample,havebeenworkingwiththeoperatingsystemforyears,withoutthecredentialstovalidatetheirexpertiseortheroutetoimprovewhatareoftenself-taughtskills.

Over60%oftheITprofessionalssurveyedattachhighimportancetoachievingcertificationinopensourcetechnologyskillandknowledge(69%)andforimprovedjobprospects(51%).

Becausecertificationbringswithitbothpersonalandprofessionalbenefits,itclearlydeliversadvantagesforbothIT professionals and their employers.

Overhalf(53%)theITprofessionalswespoketotoldusthattheprocessofcertificationitselfimprovedtheirknowledge.50%saiditdevelopedtheirconfidenceandenhanced their professional reputation.

Certificationnotonlyhelpsinattractingnewtalent;itsupportslong-termemployeeretention.TheITlandscapeis always evolving and IT professionals understand that theytoomustevolvetheirownskillsetsiftheyaretokeeppaceandaddvalue.

ByexplicitlysearchingforcertifiedITstaff,andofferingongoingtrainingandcertification,anemployerbecomesmore attractive to candidates who value continuous educationandpersonalgrowththroughwork.Inturn,employerscanholduptheITskillscertificationsheldbytheirstaffasproofofqualitytocustomers.

IncreasedlevelsofITskillsandcertificationmustbeseenas an asset to an organisation – not as a threat. Without thisattitudinalshiftandadditionalinvestmentinupskilling,itisdifficulttoseehowemployerscanavoidperpetuatingtheITskillsshortagethatispotentiallyrestrictingtheirown success.

25%

43%

38%

47%

36%

19%

10%

Which of the following difficulties, if any, do you have recruiting candidates for IT positions in your business?

Candidatesoftenlackthesuitablequalifications

0 5040302010

Candidatesoftenlackthe knowledgerequired

Candidatesoftenlackthe skillsrequired

Candidatesoftenlackthe experiencerequired

Candidatesoftenlackthe softskillsrequired

Candidatesoftenlackthe educationrequired

Idon’thaveanydifficultiesrecruiting for IT positions

Other

UK IT Skills survey, LPI UK & CompTIA, 2016

10

5. Conclusions

TheUKITskillsgapisveryreal–andthespecificshortageofskillsinopensourcetechnologies,likeLinux,isofparticularconcernfor individual employers and the nation’seconomyasawhole.ThekeytoaddressingtheITskillsgapandaccelerating growth, is to ensure employers have access to a rich talent pool of highly skilledandqualifiedITprofessionals–includingthosecertifiedwiththeITskillsinLinuxandotheropensourcetechnologies,that are so urgently needed.

Concerted action between employers, IT professionals, government authorities, skillsorganisations,trainingprovidersandcertificationbodiescanhelpdeveloptheseskillsandclosethegap.Inturn,deliveringrealbenefitsforallthesestakeholdersaswellasthe global economy.

Ifweheedourowncallandtacklethischallengehead-on,theopportunitiesareenormous. It is not news that the world is beingtransformedbytechnology.Butthedigitalrevolutionisjustasmuchaboutpeopleand process as it is about technology.

Closingtheopensourceskillsgapwillnothappenovernight.Butthejourneybeginswithknowingwhereweareandwherewehavetogo.Itinvolvesworkingtogethertocreateenvironments that inspire real growth and support our digital and global economy – now and in the future.

Sources:1. TheTechPartnership(TPP)report,“TechInsights:TheDigitalEconomy”,2015.2. TechCityinpartnershipwithNesta,“TechNation2016:TransformingUKIndustries”,20163. UKHousesofParliament,POSTnote510,October2015.4. HouseofCommons,ScienceandTechnologyCommittee,‘DigitalSkillsCrisis,

SecondReportofSession’,2016-20175. TheTechPartnership(TPP)report,“TechInsights:TheDigitalEconomy”,2015.6. TheTechPartnership(TPP)report,“TechInsights:TheDigitalEconomy”,2015.7. TheTechPartnership(TPP)report,‘EmployerInsights:SkillsSurvey’,20158. TheTechPartnership(TPP)report,“TechInsights:TheDigitalEconomy”,2015.9. TheTechPartnership(TPP)report,“TechInsights:TheDigitalEconomy”,2015.10. Gartner,‘MarketShareAnalysis:ServerOperatingSystems,Worldwide’,201511. UKITSkillssurvey,LPIUK&CompTIA,201612. DepartmentforBusinessInnovation&Skills,“DigitalSkillsfortheUKEconomy,

AreportbyECORYSUK”,2016.

11

For more information on the issues in this report, visit: www.lpi.org/value-of-certification/employers

LPI13TheCoachHouse,2UpperYorkSt,Bristol,BS28QN,UKoperations@uk.lpi.org

©Copyright2017TheLinuxProfessionalInstituteInc.Allrightsreserved.LicensedCCBY-ND4.0(sharealike,noderivatives).

About LPILPIisanon-profitorganisationwithamissiontoenable economic and creative opportunities for everybodybymakingopensourceknowledgeandskillscertificationuniversallyaccessible.WearetheglobalcertificationstandardforLinuxandacareersupport organisation for open source professionals all over the world.

Withmorethan500,000examsdelivered,LPIistheworld’sfirstandlargestvendor-neutralLinuxandopensourceskillscertificationbody.WehavecertifiedITprofessionalsin181countries,deliverexamsin9languages, and have over 400 training partners.