Yahoo Finance 'Half of UK workers' wanting a career change consider switching to tech
The UK's tech skills gap could be set to narrow, with over half of those reconsidering their career contemplating pursuing tech, research suggests.
About 55% of non-tech workers contemplating a career change have considered – or have begun the process of – moving into a tech-based role, with nearly one in 10 (8%) having already made the move, according to a surveying of 2,000 by CWJobs.
The tech industry has long experienced a skills gap, as the demand for top talent has exceeded supply over the years.
COVID-19 has amplified this, as businesses “recognise the increased value of IT and tech support.” Consequently, 45% of IT workers said their company is currently actively recruiting for tech-based roles – offering increased opportunities for those looking to retrain into the thriving tech sector.
The study also found that for one in eight (12%) people, the pandemic has sped up their ambition to change careers completely.
Additionally, a quarter of all workers said they would prioritise stability and security over salary going forward.
A fifth of IT workers said one of the main advantages of working in a tech role – over others at present – is greater career stability, as well as the fact that companies are prioritising tech due to learnings from COVID-19 (19%).
Tech roles are an increasingly attractive option for non-tech workers, as nearly three in 10 (29%) agreed their careers become more “future-proofed” as they develop further tech and IT skills.
Im fact, 22% have undertaken online tech training courses since the pandemic hit in order to develop their IT skills.
Just under a quarter (23%) of IT workers said one of the advantages of a tech role, at present, is that the ability to learn is endless due to the constant development of software and hardware.
READ MORE: For workers, 'digital upskilling' puts tech trends on fast-forward
Almost 28% IT workers believe their company needs to recruit new tech talent to the business due to the increase in remote working. Therefore, the top types of tech skills IT workers feel their company needs to recruit are IT support (33%) and cyber security (23%).
Interestingly, IT support came out as the top online tech course taken within the past year, with over 34% taking it.
Tech workers also recognise the need to keep their IT skills current, with a third looking to further their specialisms.
Transferable soft-skills such as problem solving (31%) and teamwork (22%) from those with non-tech backgrounds have also been recognised as beneficial to the sector.
Positively, the industry is open to embracing this new wave of talent from various sectors. Nearly three in 10 IT workers (28%) said they would welcome new talent from outside of tech, as they believe it would help address the wider skills gap.
Watch: Innovation and What's Next for the Cloud