Plugging the IT Skills GapTomorrow’s Talent:
AN EXPERIS RESEARCH REPORT
2 3
Contents
Experis recognises that the employer-talent power axis is tilting towards the talent.
Tomorrow’s Talent are today’s undergraduates.
04 Introduction from Geoff Smith
06 Is an IT degree necessary?
10 Skills supply on-demand
14 A satisfied workforce
18 The role of the placement year
22 Do universities equip graduates with the technical skills required in today’s workplace?
26 Who is taking responsibility for technical skills shortfalls?
30 Final conclusion
31 Recommendations
34 Appendix One - About the research - About the contributors - About Experis
36 Appendix Two -The skills required by the top five IT jobs
4 5
Technology has proven its value in every corner of our lives, working its way into our workplaces, homes and pockets and continually evolving at breakneck speed. IT talent has never been in greater demand than it is now.
A skills shortage has made IT positions
the fifth most difficult role to fill
worldwide in 2012, up from eighth
in 2011. New technology trends will
continue to a challenge employers
as they seek to attract and retain the
latest IT skills.†
Experis recognises that the employer-
talent power axis is tilting towards the
talent. Tomorrow’s Talent are today’s
undergraduates.Thus the process of
turning students into able professionals
needs scrutiny for the UK to compete
successfully in the global economy.
This research was designed to establish
the status quo, with a survey based on
the perspectives of graduates working
in IT, supplemented by the views of
stakeholders from the wider ecosystem.
Certainly in respect of IT, there are large
question marks arising as to what the
IT department is for. Is it appropriate
for the emphasis to be on technology
management? A recent article in
Harvard Business Review highlighted
that the IT function needs to focus more
on information management than IT
management because that is where the
value lies. It went on to state that whilst
IT departments do IT projects reasonably
well, applying the same approach to
information services does not work.
The arrival of the ‘Cloud’ will accelerate
this shift by handling the burden of many
aspects of technology supply, thus freeing
the IT function to provide more of a
demand-focused information service.
This shift implies a reduced emphasis on
technology skills and an increased focus
on service skills. Whilst this is indeed a
trend, the need for technical skills will
not disappear. More likely the demand
will shift from the consumer-side to
technology service providers.
Service skills cannot be ignored, however,
this research focuses on the technical
skills as they are still essential.
Broadly the findings suggest that
tertiary education and the link between
universities and employers is in need of
optimisation. The pace of technology
growth coupled with economic
volatility fuelled in part by globalisation,
necessitates a rethink of our IT talent
creation approach if the UK is to evolve
from an industrial to an innovative digital
economy.
Addressing this challenge is not
straightforward because of the large
number of stakeholders involved.
However, having a baseline understanding
of where we are today will enable all
parties to address the challenge in a
coordinated manner.
I hope you find this report as informative
as I have.
Kind regards,
Geoff Smith, Managing Director,
Experis UK & Ireland
Introduction † ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey 2012
6 7
Our experience has shown that the
routes into an IT career are as varied
as the number of job roles available.
A high number of Experis clients still
expect applicants to hold a degree.
Many consider an IT degree to be
a key qualification in launching a
professional IT career.
However, the Tomorrow’s Talent
research suggests that IT degrees are
not necessarily required for a career
in this field. More than a third of the
graduates surveyed had taken a non-
IT related course and of those, 15%
had become Project Managers, 13%
are now Developers and a further 13%
heavily on organisational, leadership and
management expertise. These qualities
are equally likely to be developed in other
degree subjects and the same might be
said for analysis skills.
What is perhaps more surprising is that
Developers were within the top three IT
are working as Systems or Business
Analysts.
It may not be surprising that Project
Managers top the list of IT roles filled
by graduates in non-IT related subjects
as, although a technical understanding
may be preferable, the role relies more
Current job among those graduated with a non-IT degree
4% 4%
3%
3%
32%
Project Manager
Developer
Systems/Business Analyst
Architect
Team Leader
Infrastructure Support
Tester
Marketing
Sales
Other
15%
13%
13%
7% 6%
Is an IT degree necessary?
The subject of Project Managers: Whilst this is a noble career aspiration, graduate
expectations need to be managed. Fresh graduates arriving in the workplace expecting
to lead a team of professionals may be surprised by a reluctance to follow someone
who lacks hands-on experience.
Those wanting to pursue a people management, rather than technical role, need to be
aware that they will build credibility and gain the greatest insights if they spend the early
part of their career working for other project managers.
Project Manager
Developer
Systems/Business Analyst
Architect
Team Leader
Infrastructure Support
Tester
Marketing
Sales
Other
continues on next page
8 9
roles filled by graduates who had not
studied IT.
One quarter of all the Developers
surveyed had not graduated in a
relevant subject, a role that primarily
requires the knowledge of at least one
programming language.
While a number of these Developers
will be self-taught or have taken
additional training, it was suggested at
our roundtable discussion that some
employers are becoming less concerned
with finding graduates with the technical
skills required for the role and instead
seeking those with softer skills, such as
interpersonal skills, who they can train up.
One survey respondent appears to be in
agreement, “IT Skills Shortage is a blown
up term. What really is short is people
with the right aptitude and acumen to
work consultatively on projects. Yes,
technical skills are important, but people
skills make projects work.”
Clearly, this is an approach best suited
for permanent roles where businesses
could make a long term investment
in an individual; though it is not out
of the question that companies will
invest tactically in the technical skills of
contractors if market supply requires it.
Despite these findings and opinions, a
large number of graduates commented
that they wished their degree had
been more practical. Several felt that a
course that equipped them with better
knowledge of specific systems and
applications would have been beneficial
to their IT career.
Business Information Technology
Computer Science
Computing
Information Technology
Other Non-IT Related Course
Other IT Related Course
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
What degree?
Conclusion“It is worth noting that whilst
anyone can teach themselves
programming, if they do not
understand the underlying
principles, they are likely to write
inelegant software that in turn
will be of poor quality.
IT degrees need to embrace
these principles of software
engineering as they are
both timeless and language-
independent. ”
- Ade McCormack, Market
Commentator
When hiring IT professionals for permanent positions, businesses may be able to overlook a lack of technical know-how in favour of applicants with other desirable attributes that show a willingness to be trained in the requisite skills.
The practicalities of such a move will depend largely on how much an employer is able to invest in training (both time and money), the sensitivity of the work and the support system in place for the learning individual.
continued from previous page
“IT Skills Shortage is a blown up term. What really is short is people with the right aptitude and acumen to work consultatively on projects. Yes, technical skills are important, but people skills make projects work.”
Systems/Business Analyst
Is an IT degree necessary?
10 11
Today’s IT professionals are flexible in
the way they supply their skills. 73%
of Tomorrow’s Talent respondents
had taken on both contract and
permanent IT roles and one fifth of all
respondents said they had taken on
a roughly equal split of the two. This
indicates a highly flexible and adaptive
workforce that understands the merits
of both ways of working.
A job for life is a long forgotten concept
and not just in IT. With the scale of
redundancies over the past five years,
the relative job security of permanent
jobs compared to contract positions has
lessened. Contracting is not considered
as risky as it once was and when
combined with a growing confidence
among those with highly relevant skills,
albeit limited experience, Experis is
seeing a drop in the average age of a
the development of an entrepreneurial
spirit and a passion for learning might
turn out to be the most valuable assets
they acquire during their university
education.
Today’s graduates, having seen the
older generation struggle to climb the
corporate ladder, perhaps realise that
spending less time doing the work they
love and more time on corporate politics
as their ‘career’ progresses is not for
them. Freelancing enables graduates to
design their own work and fit it around
their life.
first time contractor. At the roundtable†,
it was noted that where Experis used
to expect a first time contractor to
be in their early forties, we are now
seeing a proliferation of people in their
mid-twenties with just a few years’
experience.
The growing independence among
young IT professionals may also be
the result of universities encouraging
their students to make work in an
economy that isn’t necessarily able to
provide the graduate jobs that were
once expected. For some graduates,
Skills supply on-demand
continues on next page
73% of Tomorrow’s Talent respondents had taken on both contract and permanent IT roles.
Over recent decades, the average age of contractors has dropped, as has the average
seniority of contractor roles. However, it is also worth noting that where contractor
responsibility for mission-critical projects or even the IT function was previously
considered risky, it has become less of a concern, especially for businesses struggling
to find senior talent.
† As part of the research, a panel of university representatives, businesses and industry bodies was gathered to discuss the survey findings. See appendix one for details.
12 13
All contract
Mostly contract
An even split between permanent and contract
Mostly permanent
All permanent
In addition to the way they supply their
skills, graduates are increasingly aware
of who they supply their skills to.
Experis has seen a marked change in
the attractiveness of big investment
banks/financial institutions. Young
graduates don’t necessarily want to
work for these types of organisations.
Big corporations are becoming less
attractive.
It appears high-profile IT outsourcing
projects have resulted in a number of
IT professionals feeling disillusioned
with large companies. The distrust was
evident in several comments from the
Tomorrow’s Talent survey:
“It’s now a waste of time for UK-based
personnel to enter the IT industry. Most
roles are either being outsourced or else
economic migrants from other countries
are displacing UK-based staff”
“I would advise people not to go into IT
working for large companies. IT is being
outsourced to India rapidly. My company
sees IT staff in the UK as an expense.”
We also asked what sectors graduates
were supplying their skills to. Almost
50% work in the IT & Internet sector,
followed by just over 10% in Banking
& Finance. This tallies with monthly
Experis Accelerate† findings, which
consistently show that the IT & Internet
sector offers, by far, the most IT
vacancies each month (around 78%),
with Banking & Finance usually being
the second biggest provider of IT job
vacancies.
The big technology players are no
doubt in a position to provide graduates
with the opportunity to be exposed to
cutting-edge technologies in a forward-
thinking environment. However, many of
the leading players are not as appealing
as they might believe, with graduates
often associating them with ‘the place
where my father/mother works’ or with
a previous generation in respect of the
evolution of the IT market.
For the Banking and Finance industry,
the challenge in attracting young IT
talent is in overcoming the negative PR
of the past few years. The sector still
has much to offer IT professionals, not
least competitive salaries. Certainly
in areas such as security, companies
within Banking and Finance can boast
being at the fore front of evolving
technologies.
In keeping with the shift in power,
graduates are unimpressed with milk-
round employers who use their time in
front of prospective employees to simply
deliver a sales pitch.
The rise of the Tech City and silicon
roundabout in London is feeding a
perception among IT professionals that
the best jobs are to be found in boutique
companies within the Media, New Media
and Creative sector. Many are attracted
by the casual, flexible and creative
working environment these companies
portray.
Regardless of size and industry, employers have to be realistic about how they are perceived by young people and consequently work harder to be more attractive.
In previous research by Experis ‘Attitudes to work among IT and Finance professionals in the UK’ (March 2012), flexibility and a work-life balance was found to be one of the most important aspects of a role, ranking higher than ‘a competitive package’.
In a socially enabled world, employers need to lead with their brand and prove to prospective employees what they can offer beyond salary and benefits.
Conclusion
continued from previous page
Skills supply on-demand
Of the jobs you have held, what is the split between permanent and contract?
Regardless of size and industry, employers have to be realistic about how they are perceived by young people and consequently work harder to be more attractive.
† Accelerate provides the latest trends and findings across the IT recruitment market
8%
26.8%
20.8%
25.6%
18.8%
14 15
4.4%9.8% 11.7%
39% 29.4%
3.1%5.1% 6%
9.2% 12%
10.8% 10.1%
1.9% 1.9% 2.5%
A satisfied workforceThe results paint a generally positive
picture of the graduate IT workforce,
even on the subject of pay and benefits.
This suggests that the respondents are
finding the right work-life balance; the
flexible way in which IT professionals
are supplying their skills is likely a
contributing factor.
Over 90% feel their job allows them to
apply their knowledge and skills.
64% somewhat or strongly agree that they
are fairly compensated financially.
continues on next page
Overall, I have job satisfaction
I am able to apply my knowledge and skills My role is challenging My workload is
manageable
I am fairly compensated financially
I am happy with my benefits package
I am happy with the career opportunities
available to me
We asked Tomorrow’s Talent respondents to rate the extent to which they agreed with a number of statements relating to job satisfaction.
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Neither agree or disagree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
21.6%
42.5%
16.2%
12.7%
12.7%
58.5%
32.1%
38% 28.9%
14.3% 14.2%
45.3% 50.8%
17.7%
11.7%
2.5%
22.2%
42.1%
26.7%
34.2%
64%AGREE
91%AGREE
83%AGREE
80%AGREE
64%AGREE
41%AGREE
48%AGREE
16 17
One of the most interesting results came
when asking whether respondents were
happy with the career opportunities
available to them. Almost 30% were not
sure, indicating some uncertainty around
career paths and progression.
This might be attributed to weak or
insufficient careers advice at university
and beyond. Respondents also point
towards poor awareness of the types of
IT roles they might go into.
“When I graduated, IT = The Developer.
That was the only role I associated
with IT. It wasn’t until I started work
that I began to learn about other roles:
Test Analyst, Systems Analyst, Project
Manager, Delivery Manager, QA, etc.”
“It might have been useful to learn more
about the range of jobs... I’d never heard
of the role that I now perform.”
For now, the graduate IT workforce appears to be largely happy; however, the
uncertainty around career opportunities may indicate trouble ahead once these
professionals outgrow their current roles. Both employers and universities might
seek to offer more thorough career guidance to help graduates understand their
options.
For universities this could focus on narrowing down areas of specialism or
matching the individual’s skill set to various roles, whereas employers should
support their employees in planning their career path and reflecting on their
personal development.
Where knowledge about progression opportunities is poor, individuals and
employers should consider external sources of advice.
It could be said that by failing to market the diversity of available roles, the IT
industry has a branding issue; one that universities are inadvertently propagating.
In a talent-short world, this needs to be addressed. Countries that fail do so risk
becoming economic backwaters.
Conclusioncontinued from previous page
Almost 30% of respondents were not sure whether they were happy with the career opportunities available to them.
A satisfied workforce
18 19
Recent high levels of graduate
unemployment have dashed the notion
that a good quality degree will suffice
in respect of securing employment. In
today’s labour markets, experience is
vital and begs the question whether
degrees with a placement year
provide the best preparation for the
workplace.
Out of the Tomorrow’s Talent survey
respondents, more than a fifth had taken
a placement year. When asked how
well the placement year had prepared
them for their IT career, 81% felt it
had somewhat or very well prepared
them. In comparing this to the 44% of
respondents that somewhat or strongly
agreed that their degree prepared them
for their role, our findings suggest that
a placement year can significantly
enhance a student’s preparation for the
workplace.
In fact, the perception of whether their
degree had prepared them for work was
affected by whether the respondent
had taken a placement year, rising to
experience”
Many graduates feel that a better
partnership between universities and the
workplace, such as through placements,
would also enhance learning and
understanding of IT courses.
“Once there is an appreciation of
how people work in the real world,
it is much easier to relate parts of a
course’s materials to useful ends in the
workplace.”
There is a perception that the onus is
on universities to promote placements
more; however, at the roundtable
discussion it was pointed out that
universities can only do so much
and that “students don’t prioritise
placements as much as they should.
Most don’t see engaging with the
workplace as something important to do.
52% agreement among those who had,
compared to 41% among those who
had not.
When asked how universities might
improve the market relevance of their
courses, one respondent suggested
that, “Universities should try in some
way to make the taught part of the
course more like the placement year”.
It was very clear that among the
surveyed graduates, there was a high
opinion of the usefulness of placements.
“All university first degrees would benefit
from having placements, whether a year
or shorter.”
“Experience always wins the jobs in this
game, I have seen it time and again. Get
grads part time placements, if possible.
The degree only works if backed up by
The role of the placement year
continues on next page
“Experience always wins the jobs in this game, I have seen it time and again... The degree only works if backed up by experience”
Architect
Very underprepared
Somewhat underprepared
Not sure
Somewhat prepared
Very well prepared
My placement year prepared me for my role
Employers are increasingly interested to know what else graduates are involved in and
those who have done placements become more attractive.
36.2%
4.3%4.3%
10.1%
44.9%
20 21
A lot are not too sure what they’ll end up
doing and find the application process
long and arduous.”
It was agreed that, with the rising cost
of university, individuals are going to be
more career focussed when undertaking
a course and aware of how a placement
year can affect their future employability.
An attendee at our roundtable from
Aston University told about the way the
university has embraced placements,
aiming to raise their current take-up of
placement years from 70% to 100%.
They credit the balance of theory-based
learning and practical experience with
their high level of graduate employability.
There is also a significant benefit for
employers that offer placements to
university students; it provides an early
opportunity to engage with prospective
employees, establish themselves as
an employer of choice and begin a
longer-term relationship with tomorrow’s
IT workforce. Promising placement
students can be offered an incentive
to return after their studies to take up
a permanent position and would have
the option of tailoring their final year
studies to match the company or role
objectives. Even if the employer does
not wish or is not in a position to offer a
permanent role, the experience can still
be used to sell the employer brand and
affect the future career decisions of the
placement student, their friends, peers
and colleagues.
Interestingly, despite helping to prepare
graduates for the workplace, once in a
role, there is no discernible difference
in the way those that took a placement
and those that did not, rate their job
satisfaction, workload management,
career opportunities or happiness with
their pay and benefits.
Placements are a practical way of exposing students to the real world, even though there is a risk that their view of a career in IT will be strongly coloured for better or worse by their first exposure to the market.
Universities could improve the market relevance of their courses by offering more sandwich-courses; this might also improve their graduate employability. Placement years and their benefits could be better promoted by universities to drive uptake among undergraduates as would a simplified or centralised application process.
For employers who are serious about building a quality talent pool of IT graduates, they should consider early engagement by offering placements to IT students.
It is important that placements are thought through as they will have a formative impact on the career of the undergraduate. A year of menial work designed to keep the student busy and out of mischief with the minimum interruption of real work is likely to create disillusionment. Employers that participate in such programmes need to be vetted and briefed so that the placement has the net effect of delivering a valuable and inspiring experience.
Some will argue that placements should reflect the reality of work and that “we all had to serve our apprenticeship”. We have to accept that today the talent holds the economic power and as such employers and the IT industry need to raise their game to ensure the best talent is secured.
Conclusion
continued from previous page
Strongly disagree 19
1015
17
25
2126
33
1519
Somewhat disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Somewhat agree
Strongly agree
Placements offer employers an early opportunity to engage with prospective employees.
Graduates without placement Graduates with placement
My degree prepared me for my role %
22 23
Do universities equip graduates with the technical skills required in today’s workplace?
Many people view a university
education as a means of training for
their future career, with some subjects
leaning more towards vocational
learning than others.
With a foundation in the technical, IT
courses are no doubt more directly
associated with a specific career
path than subjects such as English.
Therefore, it makes sense that IT
graduates should expect that their
course has somewhat prepared them
for a career in IT.
We asked respondents what five IT skills
were most relevant to their current role
and how well they felt their degree had
equipped them with these skills.
Disregarding neutral answers (not sure
or unrated), a net satisfaction score was
calculated for each skill, with a maximum
of +100 and a minimum of -100.
Of the top 20 skills, universities are most
consistent in equipping students with
Java skills, representing a +59 point
satisfaction score. This is followed by
Windows user device skills (+55) and
Business and Systems Analysis skills
(+48).
The most poorly equipped skills in the
top 20, are Scrum (-45) and Testing Tools
(-29).
That none of the top 20 skills are
breaking +60 and very few passing +50
satisfaction points could be indicative
that university courses are not covering
the pertinent skills required in the
workplace.
However, it may be more symptomatic
of the course and module decisions
of the individual. Are these decisions
undertaken with a specific role in mind?
And if they are, do students know
enough about workplace demands to
make the best study decisions?
As we have already seen, respondents
have suggested there is a lack of careers
advice, poor awareness of the variety
of available IT roles before entering
the workplace and general confusion
about their career path, “IT is such a
big industry, it’s hard to know what you
will end up specialising in”. If course
selections are poorly informed with
regards to their applications in the real
world, or indeed not motivated by this at
all, it is perhaps of little surprise that IT
professionals are not picking up the skills
they need at university.
There are also questions over how
practical it is for universities to keep
up with the emerging skills of such a
fast-moving industry. One respondent
comments, “The industry is getting to
the stage where new technologies are
being released every two years, whilst
a university degree takes three years to
complete. This lag can massively impact
prospective graduates in terms of their
skills based CV.”
At the roundtable it was noted that
although university course content is
reviewed summarily on an annual basis,
more significant course and module
updates take place much less frequently
(every 5-10 years).
Another challenge faced by universities
that do seek to keep on top of the latest
Most frequently applied skills among IT graduates
Equ
ippe
d sc
ore
1 Business / systems analysis 48
2 Project management 14
3 Documentation 18
4 Team leadership -6
5 Applications - Enterprise - Microsoft 34
6 IT Service management 26
7 Testing tools -29
8 Information management - Database - MS SQL Server 33
9 ITIL 18
10 Architecture 13
11 Information management - Database - Oracle 24
12 Applications - Web tools - Java 59
13 Infrastructure - Datacentre - Unix 12
14 Applications - Web tools - Javascript -9
15 Infrastructure - Datacentre - Servers 9
16 Infrastructure - Datacentre - Virtualisation -14
17 Infrastructure - Datacentre - Windows 9
18 Applications - Other - Scrum -45
19 Infrastructure - User device - Windows 55
20 Applications - Enterprise - Oracle 37
Top 20 skills
continues on next page
“The industry is getting to the stage where new technologies are being released every two years, whilst a university degree takes three years to complete. This lag can massively impact prospective graduates in terms of their skills based CV.”
Architect
24 25
technological breakthroughs is the
difficulty in attracting knowledgeable
lecturers to teach the courses. People
with new, sought after skills (for example,
HTML5) can earn a premium through
contracting, making it tricky for the
education sector to compete for their
talent. There is the added consideration
that it may not be in that individual’s
best interest to pass on their skills
through teaching as it would diminish the
premium they’re able to command.
It’s not just new and emerging skills
that can be difficult to find, what about
legacy skills? There is still a very real
demand for legacy systems maintenance
and a diminishing number of available
people qualified to take the reins. If the
role of universities was simply to train
individuals for the workplace, there
would be an argument for the continued
teaching of these older skills, though this
appears short-sighted.
It may be suggested that the best
approach for universities is to
concentrate their curriculum on
providing a broad understanding of the
IT fundamentals. Graduates then leave,
not just with the skills relevant to today’s
workplace, but the skills of analysis that
will enable them to teach themselves
new skills as they emerge, effectively
future-proofing their career.
At the roundtable, this was largely
the way universities see their role in
an individual’s education and some
graduates demonstrate that they see the
relationship in a similar way:
“I think a degree is a starting point, being
proof of ‘an apititude for learning’ which
has to continue through life. In my own
experience, the actual degree subject
taken is only relevant to the first (and
maybe second) professional post.”
Regardless of the reasoning behind
this stance on education, our research
showed quite markedly that graduates
want universities to provide practical
learning with real world applications,
“Universities must work closely with
professionals in the industry to find out
what skills are needed and reflect that in
the courses.”
Now that students incur substantial
costs to acquire a degree, they expect
a certain guaranteed quality of service.
However, they need to understand
that it is not simply a case of pay the
money, turn up to lectures, acquire
the degree and fall into a good career.
Ultimately universities need to instil
a curiosity and a passion for learning
that causes students to go beyond
the syllabus and design their own skill
profile optimised for their ideal career.
A degree should provide the basis for a
lifelong commitment to adapt to the ever
changing demands of the IT industry.
That stated, universities need to be
more data-driven regarding the return
students should expect from investing in
their courses.
Universities at the roundtable suggested that even with higher fees, not all undergraduates are giving serious thought to their employability post-study and might be wasting opportunities available to them. To get the most from an IT degree, individuals must evaluate their course and module decisions in light of the career they wish to pursue.
In addition, employers must be more open about what skills they are looking for to allow individuals to make informed study decisions and universities to tailor their course content, if they see fit.
Universities could be more explicit about the real-world applications for each module or the skills that graduates can expect to come away with. They could also reduce the time between course content reviews to better meet the pace of the industry.
Universities need to reflect on who the customer is and what service they are providing. In this fast moving, attention-deficient, economically-challenging era, if universities are not careful, their economic model may become outdated as young people turn to self-learning, apprenticeship schemes and other training to pick up skills for the workplace.
In terms of who the customer is, this could be the academic world, which needs to continuously restock their researchers and professors. Equally, it could be the students who are paying good money and expect a certain level of service. Or perhaps it is employers, many of whom will find another country to locate to if they cannot find the workforce needed to achieve their strategic objectives.
A balance between the needs of the academic world and the needs of employers is required. Students need to evaluate potential IT courses in the context of whether they intend to have an academic or industrial career.
continued from previous page
Do universities equip graduates with the technical skills required in today’s workplace?
Students must understand that it is not simply a case of pay the money, turn up to lectures, acquire the degree and fall into a good career.
To get the most from an IT degree, individuals must evaluate their course and module decisions in light of the career they wish to pursue.
The digital economy is disrupting business models, society and career paths. Graduates
need to be equipped to track and navigate this uncertainty so that they do not skill
themselves into a career cul-de-sac.
Conclusion
26 27
Of those, two thirds invested their own
money to do this, paying for things like
subscriptions, learning materials or
training courses.
Given the rising cost of higher
education, if individuals are finding
that on top of that, they are having
to invest further to supplement their
skills, is there a risk of them bypassing
tertiary education altogether? While
a technically specific training course
might allow them to cut costs, might the
individual also risk their ability to adapt
to emerging technologies if they haven’t
gained analysis skills from a university
education?
Just 1.6% of the graduates surveyed
had been through an employer graduate
training programme; at the roundtable,
one university asked, “are employers
If we accept that universities are
unable to fully equip individuals for
the workplace, we must ask where the
responsibility lies for bringing people
up to speed with the technical skills
their career will demand from them.
When asked what their employer had
done to make up for any shortfall in their
skill set, more than a third of Tomorrow’s
Talent respondents commented that
their employer had done nothing. On the
job experience was the most popular
way of employers making up shortfalls,
followed by internal training. Just a
quarter of employers are reported to
have invested in external training.
Three quarters of the respondents
have supplemented their skills beyond
their university course or employer
investment to meet a skills shortfall.
Who is taking responsibility for technical skills shortfalls?
continues on next page
Internal training
External training
Coaching
Private study time
On the job experience
Graduate training programme
Nothing
What has your employer done to make up any shortfall in the skills needed to perform your role?
40
49
24
15 15
2
%
35
28 29
worried about attrition rates with
graduates? If employers are seen as a
training provider post-university, how
many companies can sustain this?”
The cause of attrition was debated,
with some believing it to be more a
problem of poor employee engagement
– employers must make themselves
an attractive proposition to attract and
retain talent. But even attrition doesn’t
tell the whole story; how realistic is
it that one employer will be able to
fulfil all of an individual’s development
requirements throughout their career?
We discussed this at the roundtable and
found out about one company’s outlook
on managing talent:
“My company is happy to train up
graduates who may leave afterwards
to develop their skills further with other
businesses. However, we hope that
individual will return one day and enrich
the corporation at a later time with
the wider knowledge they’ve gained
elsewhere”
This longer term talent strategy is
only possible for employers that have
nurtured their employee and alumni
relationships, earning a trustworthy
reputation that encourages ongoing
loyalty. It’s a strategy that implies a
shared investment between an employer
and an individual into developing the
skills and experience required for the
workplace.
There may also be ways to narrow the
skills shortfall from the university side.
Some graduates entertained the notion
that professional certifications could
be offered within traditional degree
programmes to increase their market
relevance.
What was even more strongly
recommended from graduates was
a closer link between industry and
institutions so that universities deliver
courses that are better matched to the
IT working landscape, thereby reducing
the need to supplement skills shortfalls.
The individual must take ultimate responsibility for their technical skills as they are, of course, best placed to decide what they study and what career they pursue. However, universities have a duty and employers, a vested interest, in working together to narrow the gap between the skills taught and the skills required in the workplace.
Universities need to move onto a faster clock-speed. Reviewing a Classics degree once a decade may make sense, but for an IT degree such a period may see many technologies come and go. Now that universities have entered the free-market by virtue of their pricing, they need to be very sensitive to the value they are delivering to both students and employers.
Employers too need to play their part in reducing the friction and time associated with the transition from university to value-creating employment. Universities and employers need to work together on this, otherwise the UK will slide down the economic tables being overtaken by emerging economies who have got their act together in skills planning.
Conclusion
continued from previous page
Longer term talent strategies are only possible for employers that have nurtured their employee and alumni relationships.
30 31
Final conclusion
The Tomorrow’s Talent survey and
roundtable has highlighted many issues
that will affect the availability of skilled
professionals for the future workplace:
f Ambiguity over what skills and qualities
employers are looking for and what
they are willing to invest in up-skilling
f Practicalities of universities keeping up
with technology changes
f Limited advice and information to
inform IT careers decisions
In addition, a shift in the power balance
between companies and IT professionals
is causing employers to rethink the way
they attract and retain talent.
f IT degrees are not necessarily required for a career in this field
f 73% of respondents have taken both contract and permanent roles
f Respondents mostly positive about their job satisfaction, role, pay and
career opportunities
f Respondents demonstrate uncertainty about career opportunities (29.4%)
f 81% of those that took a placement year felt it prepared them for the
workplace
f 44% respondents felt their degree prepared them for the workplace
Joining up education and business
A closer, transparent relationship
between businesses and institutions is
strongly recommended. Placements are
recognised as excellent preparation for
the workplace and further promotion
and availability is crucial.
The opportunity for formal learning
alongside work experience may perfectly
balance graduate demands for ‘more
practical’ learning at the same time as
equipping individuals with the theoretical
understanding that will help them adapt
as new technologies emerge. continues on next page
Recommendations
Report Headlines
32 33
In a break from the traditional sandwich
course structure of work placements,
alternative ways of offering opportunities
to learn in both environments are:
f Professional apprenticeships
f A system whereby students are
encouraged to seek out their
employer of choice prior to applying
to university and to mutually agree
where best to study and how they
will acquire the skills the employer
requires
f Modular work experience for the
length of university courses to
provide ongoing development of
academic and situational learning
environments
Consumers of talent must also be more
explicit about what they are looking for
so that universities can plan accordingly.
This includes the technical skills, the
broader skills and anticipated hiring
volumes.
Bridging the skills shortfall
There is some debate over whether
a university’s role is to prepare their
students for the workplace or provide
an education. There may be potential to
introduce a middle-man function where
graduates are trained for the work place.
This is a growing sector in India.
There may also be some benefit in
replacing the traditional graduate
scheme with a multi-company, multi-
role rotational system. It would allow
an individual to trial various positions,
gain a broad business understanding
and ensure they pursue a career that’s
right for them. Participating companies
could see how the graduates perform in
real working conditions and fit in to the
company culture before offering them a
permanent position.
Effective careers advice
Not enough is being done to inform IT
career decisions and there is confusion
over the opportunities and roles
available in this sector.
A better careers advice service
activated at an earlier age, bringing
together secondary schools, colleges,
universities and employers should
provide a clearer picture of the options
available. Careers advice should not be
limited to students, but rather individuals
should be encouraged to plan their
career path throughout their education
and employment.
Parents who are, in many cases,
shouldering or part-shouldering the
rising cost of higher education are
going to have a greater say in the
education and career decisions of their
children. Perhaps more can be done to
educate parents and involve them in an
enhanced careers advice service.
A greater investment in internships
would also inform IT career decisions.
If the scheme could be expanded to
14-16 year olds it would provide an early
opportunity to influence these decisions
by exposing them to the varied and
exciting roles available.
In our role as an intermediary between business and professional IT talent, Experis has a duty to provide careers guidance. We have a better idea than most about the variety of roles and career paths open to IT graduates and an understanding of the skills and qualities that the industry is looking for.
A new Tomorrow’s Talent careers programme is being launched that will see Experis offer our services to universities and students to provide advice and support around entering the workplace. We are also open to collaboration with employers and institutions around developing skills in the workplace.
continued from previous page
Final conclusion
The opportunity for formal learning alongside work experience may perfectly balance graduate demands for ‘more practical’ learning at the same time as equipping individuals with the theoretical understanding that will help them adapt as new technologies emerge.
Not enough is being done to inform IT career decisions and there is confusion over the opportunities and roles available in this sector.
Experis commitments
34 35
The aim of the research was to
identify the challenges facing the IT
industry in securing IT talent, with
particular focus on technical skills.
We were interested in building a
picture of graduate experiences of
university and the workplace and then
inviting comment and debate from
universities, employers and other
stakeholders.
With input from CWJobs, Ade
McCormack and the National Skills
Academy for IT, Experis designed an
online survey that was sent to more than
45,000 graduates that had previously
registered with CWJobs or Experis.
The questionnaire featured a variety
of closed and open questions to
enable us to gather both statistics and
opinions. We collected 319 responses in
November 2012.
Once the survey closed, a small panel
of industry experts and stakeholders
was invited to Experis House in London
to discuss the early findings. Ade
McCormack led the roundtable; the
panel comprised:
CWJobs.co.uk is the leading specialist IT recruitment website serving
contract and permanent IT jobseekers throughout the UK and Ireland.
The site draws over 437,000 unique users each month, attracted
by the opportunity to search an average of more than 11,500 IT job
opportunities at any one time.
Ade McCormack is an author, market commentator and advisor on digital leadership.
He is an opinion columnist at the Financial Times, advising business leaders on IT
issues and also lectures on digital leadership at MIT Sloan School of Management on
their MBA programme. Ade acted as a consultant to Experis on this report.
Appendix One About the contributors
About the research
Carrie Hartnell Intellect
Nicola Turner Aston University
Bob Clift E-Skills UK
Alex Middlemiss BBC
Adam Thilthorpe BCS Academy
Virginia Williams City University
Mike Black CWJobs
Jeremy Hay Campbell Manpower
Gemma Northover Experis
Geoff Smith Experis
Experis is the global leader in professional resourcing and project-based workforce solutions. Our suite of services range from interim and permanent recruitment to managed services and consulting, enabling businesses to achieve their goals.
We accelerate organisational growth by attracting, assessing and placing specialised professional talent. Experis operates in more than 50 countries and works with over 80 percent of the Fortune Global 500, deploying 38,000 skilled professionals every day.
About Experis
The aim of the research was to identify the challenges facing the IT industry in securing IT talent, with particular focus on technical skills. We were interested in building a picture of graduate experiences of university and the workplace and then inviting comment and debate from universities, employers and other stakeholders.
36 37
As well as being the most common job
among survey respondents, developers
consistently top both contract and
permanent vacancies in monthly Experis
Accelerate reports, indicating large
demand for these professionals.
December’s Accelerate report† showed
that the average salary for MS SQL server
specialists was £38,264 or an average daily
rate of £305. This compares to £47,779
(£380) for Java and £39,324 (£314) for .Net
or C# specialists.
The average salary for project managers
in the December Accelerate report was
£51,905 per annum with an average
daily rate for contractors of £402.
Month-on-month, project managers are
within the top five roles by vacancies
posted (both permanent and contract
positions), indicating strong demand from
employers.
Architects are frequently the second
most popular role by number of
permanent vacancies posted each month
according to Experis Accelerate reports.
For contracting, architects are usually the
fifth most popular position.
Developer was the top job among
survey respondents (17.8%). The degree
subject producing the most developers
is Computer Science: 36% of developers
studied this subject; a further 25% of
developers studied a non-IT related subject
MS SQL Server is the most widely used
skill among developers, but web tool
applications dominate the top 10 skills
required by the role.
Systems and Business Analyst
represented 14% of the graduate
respondents. A large number of systems
and business analysts did not take an IT-
related degree (34%), outnumbering those
that studied Computer Science (19.5%),
Business Information Technology (12.2%)
or Information Technology (12.2%).
At almost 12%, Project Manager was
the third most prevalent job title among
respondents. A large number of project
managers (43%) had a degree in a non-IT
related subject; 19% studied Computer
Science and 14% took Business
Information Technology.
Although 30% of architects in our survey
had studied Computer Science, almost
as many (27%) had taken a non-IT related
degree.
Out of each of the top five roles identified
by the survey, infrastructure support roles
have the fewest graduates who studied a
non-IT related course: just over 15% did
not have an IT degree. The most common
degree subjects taken were Computer
Science, Business Information Technology
or Information Technology.
Appendix Two:
The skills required by the top five IT jobs
Top skills for developers
% o
ccur
ence
w
ithin
top
five
Skills
Information management - Database - MS SQL Server 7.6
Applications - Web tools - Javascript 5.9
Applications - Web tools - Java 5.5
Applications - Web tools - C Sharp 4.2
Applications - Web tools - CSS 4.2
Applications - Web tools - HTML 5 4.2
Applications - Other - OO Design 3.8
Applications - Web tools - .NET 3.8
Applications - Web tools - XML 3.8
Applications - Web tools - J2EE 3.4
Top skills for systems/business analysts
% o
ccur
ence
w
ithin
top
five
Skills
Business / systems analysis 15.5
Documentation 9.2
IT Service management 4.6
ITIL 4.6
Testing tools 4
Applications - Enterprise - Microsoft 3.4
Applications - Enterprise - Sap 3.4
Information management - Database - MS SQL Server 3.4
Project management 3.4
Information management - Database - Excel 2.9
Top skills for project managers
% o
ccur
ence
w
ithin
top
five
Skills
Project management 18.2
Business / systems analysis 9.7
Team leadership 9.1
Prince 7.8
Documentation 5.8
Architecture 3.9
ITIL 3.9
IT Service management 3.2
Testing tools 3.2
Information management - Database - Oracle 2.6
Top skills for architects
% o
ccur
ence
w
ithin
top
five
Skills
Project management 18.2
Business / systems analysis 9.7
Team leadership 9.1
Prince 7.8
Documentation 5.8
Architecture 3.9
ITIL 3.9
IT Service management 3.2
Testing tools 3.2
Information management - Database - Oracle 2.6
Top skills for infrastructure support specialists
% o
ccur
ence
w
ithin
top
five
Skills
Infrastructure - Datacentre - Unix 6.72
Infrastructure - User device - Windows 6.72
Infrastructure - Datacentre - Lan 5.88
Infrastructure - Datacentre - Linux 5.88
Infrastructure - Datacentre - Servers 5.88
Applications - Enterprise - Microsoft 5.04
Infrastructure - Datacentre - TCP/IP 5.04
Infrastructure - Datacentre - Storage 4.2
Infrastructure - Datacentre - Virtualisation 4.2
Infrastructure - Datacentre - Windows 4.2
Developer Systems/Business Analyst Project Manager Architect Infrastructure Support Specialist
† Accelerate provides the latest trends and findings across the IT recruitment market
38 39
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