UK tech workers change jobs en masse as job security withers

More than half of UK tech workers changed jobs over the last 12 months as lingering economic uncertainty continues to drive employees to consider alternative roles. 

A survey of 2,000 tech workers by CWJobs found that 57% switched jobs over the last year, with 42% stating that they had moved voluntarily. 

Around 15% revealed their decision to change roles was prompted by redundancy.

A key factor in why tech workers have opted to change jobs was that many are “seeking out stability”, according to the study. 

Nearly half (45%) of those who changed jobs accepted a role within a larger organization due to the perceived safety this might offer compared to roles within smaller firms. 

This growing movement of workers across the tech industry comes amid a period of heightened demand for critical IT roles across the UK, CWJobs noted.

Analysis by the firm found that there were more than 454,000 IT job vacancies in the UK market during the first quarter of 2023. 

Some of the most in-demand roles included DevOps engineers, Java developers, and data engineers. 

Similarly, competition for talent in the UK tech sector is also increasing, the study found. Tech workers reported that they are now approached by potential employers an average of 3.6 times per month. 

However, half said they “never reply” or typically reply to just one approach per month. 

“We’ve seen a huge shakeup of the tech industry over the past year - whether workers have been forced to change jobs or have taken proactive steps to find a new role,” said Dominic Harvey, director at CWJobs. 

“This level of movement puts a lot of pressure on employers in terms of training and continuity of IT support, but it also represents a massive opportunity for the industry to accelerate innovation. Fresh talent can bring new ideas and new ways of doing things, which could help to push teams forward.”

CWJobs’ latest study follows a previous report published in January that found 53% of workers were actively applying for alternative roles due to the looming specter of redundancies. 

A flurry of layoffs at major tech companies at the beginning of the year prompted many to reconsider their positions, the study found. 

Amazon, Salesforce, Google, and Microsoft all announced plans to cut thousands of staff due to uncertain economic conditions.  

This disruptive period resulted in a significant negative impact on tech workers across the country, with nearly two-thirds (63%) revealing that they were preemptively applying for a new role in the event of layoffs at their respective employers.