UK firms must fight for best tech talent

A lack of skilled younger workers entering the IT profession will leave UK businesses in a quandary, as well as having to fight one other for the cream of the crop.

So claims Andy Wood, head of communication and collaboration at Kcom previously Kingston Communications speaking at this week's Unified Communications Expo.

"Things are improving from an economic perspective [but] we are an aging population with an absolute absence of younger people coming into the workplace," he said.

Wood illustrated his point with figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed the average age of the workforce would rise to 42 by 2034.

At present, one fifth of the UK's workforce is employed in the IT and telecoms markets, according to Wood who claimed the workplace hierarchy model was set to change.

"There will no longer be a ladder' to climb," he said. "We are going to move to a much flatter model where we won't move up the ladder but move across whilst still getting the same fulfilment and job satisfaction."

The current model often results in workers leaving once they reach the glass ceiling, Wood claimed, but he

added that a new "career grid" model could aid employee retention.

"If we recognise there are fewer younger people entering the workforce, there is going to be a scramble for talent, not just acquiring new talent but retention and developing talent," he said.

"We have lost good people because of this glass ceiling and we need to change this."

Wood also warned businesses to exercise caution and be mindful of the fact that younger generations are used to exchanging information more freely - both about themselves and their employers.

"We are becoming more transparent thanks to social media and people under 28 are less worried about what they share [so] less worried about security," said Wood.

"[These] people are quite open about themselves so how open are they about your corporate information?"