There are fears the widening digital skills gap is being made worse by policymakers blind to the needs of businesses.

According to Udacity, most businesses (56%) struggle to hire the tech talent they need. Meanwhile, as burgeoning technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, begin to take shape, having a highly skilled workforce in place will be critical.

Many are turning to internal training and development to fill the gap, which produces a more engaged workforce, but has its limits. Relying on the broader job market for specific technical expertise is still proving challenging, however, no matter the industry or sector the business is operating within.

Chaotic education planning might be partly to blame. Five years ago, the Royal Society’s Computing Education in Schools found 54% of schools in England didn’t offer a computer science GCSE. Today, following the abandonment of the ICT GCSE, more schools are offering computer science at GCSE and A-level, as well as ICT at A-level, according to BCS. However, in 2020, computer science was ranked the 16th most popular GCSE with 13.4% of the cohort taking the examination, and the 18th most popular A-level, with 6% sitting the exam, suggesting the tide isn't turning as fast as it should.

Prashanth Chandrasekar, CEO of Stack Overflow, tells IT Pro that tech skills are a moving target. "Over 70% of developers are learning new technology at least once a year. That means, by the time someone graduates from college or university, the latest language or technology could change at least four times. Unfortunately, traditional educational institutions cannot keep up with innovation. This is reflected in 70% of developers learning to code from online resources.”

Digital skills education is an uphill battle

According to Worldskillsuk, 92% of businesses state basic digital skills are essential, with 82% of job vacancies asking for some level of proficiency. However, many young people are still in digital poverty with little or no access to devices, which hampers their development.

Central government has identified ramping up digital skills as a priority in its UK Digital Strategy, placing emphasis on access to tech to aid further education. The Levelling Up white paper, too, aims to make access to high-quality skills available no matter your locatio. Action in previous years has had a mixed impact, though, with the number of hours of computing and ICT taught in secondary schools across the UK dropping by over a third (36%) between 2012 and 2017. At Key Stage 4, the decline was sharper, with teaching hours dropping 47%.

The Department for Education (DfE) also released a policy paper that covers post-16 technical education. Again, officials admit more needs to be done, but it's clear there persists a disconnect between early years education, further education, and the jobs market, which moves at a far faster pace than educational syllabus reform.

What kind of technical skills should be taught is a debate that’s yet to occur in any meaningful way. Indeed, speaking to IT Pro, Siobhan Wilson, senior vice president, EMEA applications customer officer and UK country leader at Oracle, makes the point that ‘technical skills’ doesn’t just mean coding.

“As business leaders, we need to also think more critically about the skills we need to run our businesses,” she says. “As the UK leader for an IT organisation, there’s sometimes a misconception we only need people with a computer science degree. While we absolutely do want people with STEM qualifications, we also need talent from different backgrounds. For example, we often hire people with an arts background to help us tackle problems from a different angle.”

Cultivating next-generation teaching

Just as elite sports have grassroots programmes to inspire the next generation of Olympians, children must be inspired to learn digital skills. By the time students reach university, their career path has been set – but often not into the subjects businesses need.

Recruiter Develop, which operates in London, Berlin and Miami, is introducing coding and other STEM-related subjects to children and young people in local areas. Speaking on the partnership, head teacher at Canon Barnett, Sarah Bellerby, tells IT Pro she’s thrilled to be part of the project. “We feel extremely grateful that the development team reached out to our school. This unique opportunity means we can carefully plan our curriculum to motivate the pupils to learn about software engineering using high quality STEM toys.”

The trick also lies in overcoming the mismatch between qualifications, many of which haven’t been updated in years, and the demands of businesses. Schemes such as this are one part of the equation, but getting the basics right are also vital.

Paul Clough, head of data science and AI at Peak Indicators, lecturer at the University of Sheffield, adds the government’s leading a drive for data literacy, comprising the ability to read, understand and communicate data. “[These] are vital to start critically thinking about the ways in which we use data,” he says, although admits it’s only one part of the story. “At the University of Sheffield, we’re striving to build more soft skills into our courses. To get students thinking beyond the technology, to the broader social or organisational context it’s used in.”

How we equip teachers is also changing, as Scott Hayden, head of digital learning and teacher at Basingstoke College of Technology, explains. "To ensure our students leave college with the right skills to help our local business, we co-design our curriculum with local employers and SMBs,” he tells IT Pro. "This is crucial to our planning. Learners need to see the stakes attached to the lessons they are a part of and how the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in these classes foreshadow the expectations of the industry.”

Businesses need to innovate at speed, but the standard and structure of education is letting them down. Enabling them to fulfil their potential requires a renewed drive to instil workers with the necessary skills. Employers, however, remain at a disadvantage with the talent pool continuing to shrink. In-house upskilling can offer a temporary fix, but only a closer connection with education providers can begin to address the problem.

The enormous ambitions of most football players are rarely realised – an unfortunate reality of the ultra-competitive world of elite sport. This tale has been told time and again, but what isn't as well understood is the devastating effect it can have on the wellbeing of so many young people.

Talented youngsters, some as young as six, are plucked from parks, pitches, and streets, and dropped into football academies. Until they reach adulthood, these kids are drilled into thinking they have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of their biggest idols.

They’ll train several times a week, shut down their social life, and compromise their education in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of securing a professional contract. When these dreams never materialise, however, players can be left broken, lost, and utterly dejected – with clubs often cutting the cord in a quick and brutal fashion. It’s also common for them to walk out with little to show potential employers beyond a smattering of goals and assists.

Liverpool Football Club (LFC) is seeking to change the narrative. The club has partnered with Phoenix Sports and Media Group, together with BIT Group, Hack The Box, and IT certifications company CompTIA, to deliver a scheme that transitions academy dropouts into professional cyber security training. It forms part of LFC’s longstanding efforts to safeguard the futures of those who dedicated their early lives to the club they love.

Having deemed an initial 14-week trial programme successful, these organisations hope schemes like this can be rolled out across the UK, so they can begin to channel former youth players’ passion and drive into an industry that’s crying out for fresh talent.

Cyber hopes for football folks

Phoenix, BIT Group and CompTIA, pitched LFC the idea at the start of 2022, with the club jumping at the chance to offer it as part of its heralded alumni email, which lists opportunities for career development outside of football.

Sent to all former academy starlets, for life, the regular email forms the backbone of LFC’s efforts to ensure those who’ve devoted their early lives to the dream of going pro are repaid with other opportunities. It’s described by all who benefit from it as a way the club goes above and beyond for its people – without want or need for extra PR brownie points.

The course, itself, gives students a basic understanding of IT and cyber security skills. Many early graduates have already secured the CompTIA IT Fundamentals certification, while the rest will soon sit the exam. The certification is a platform from which all of those who once dreamt of a career of playing in front of the Anfield crowd can now pursue whichever specialism they choose, be it penetration testing, ethical hacking, or malware research.

IT Pro was invited to the first graduation ceremony of LFC’s cyber security training initiative, held at the sprawling, box-fresh AXA Training Complex in Kirkby – the development centre to stars such as Mohamed Salah, Jordan Henderson, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The ceremony itself is held in the same room in which all of LFC’s newest transfers sign on the dotted line, like recent record signing Darwin Núñez. The room itself is lit as it would be for any other press day: plenty of spotlights focused towards the front, with everyone perched on the stadium-style, fold-out seats facing the centre stage.

Darwin Núñez signing for Liverpool at the AXA Training Complex in June

Initially pitched as an eight-week pilot programme, the cyber security sessions led by instructor Ben Franklin, CEO at BIT Training and CompTIA instructor, ultimately ran for almost twice as long. As the trial progressed, it quickly became clear how much everyone was enjoying it; they were eager to soak up as much of Franklin’s knowledge as possible. Each former academy prospect was more determined than the last, we're told, to excel in the thrice-weekly night classes – getting stuck in just as they would a tackle against Merseyside rivals Everton FC during their academy days.

As for why the organisations would seek to partner with a football club, soft skills such as courage, motivation, passion, and commitment are what elite-level footballers, forged in a high-pressure environment from childhood, have in abundance. It’s these qualities that make them ideal – albeit unlikely – candidates for successful careers in cyber security.

“I can’t teach that,” says Franklin, CEO at BIT Training and CompTIA instructor. “That's stuff that's embedded with you from a very, very early age.

“Do they do it in schools? Not really, because nobody really teaches that at the schools, but it's embedded as part of the curriculum here,” he adds. “Things like being on time, cleaning your boots, not drinking before a game – all of that stuff is embedded in there. So how do we take those soft skills and embed them within cyber security?”

Enriched with all the soft skills cyber security is crying out for, coupled with the grit only professional footballers who fought out of their academies possess, CompTIA graduate Jack Dunn speaks about his experience falling out of football.

Dunn, a former LFC and Tranmere Rovers professional, was logging on to classes held between 19:00 and 21:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, never missing any – not even while on holiday with his wife and children. This is the kind of mentality to which Franklin refers when he speaks of the skills that can’t be taught.

From Anfield to Apple

Dunn joined LFC aged just seven, and was one of the few to make it out the other side, signing a professional contract at 17. He spent five years at the club before moving on to nearby side Tranmere Rovers for a season, and ultimately falling down the ladder into part-time football. Now playing for Marine FC, Dunn is an example of how LFC players are supported beyond their playing days.

Jack Dunn (left) in action during a Premier League 2 game vs Manchester United in 2017

Dunn tells IT Pro he “jumped at the chance” of pursuing a cyber security career when he received the club’s alumni email. He’d previously turned down pursuing UEFA C football coaching licence courses. He also has cyber security in his blood, with his aunt, a ten-year cyber security veteran, an encouraging force on his journey.

Being released from professional football was a “shock reality”, he says, especially considering he had had no backup plan. Now a graduate of the CompTIA IT Fundamentals, Dunn plans to pursue a career in the industry and has dreams of securing a role at Apple, where he currently works in the company’s retail Genius Bar. Positive conversations with his manager, along with his continued education, have empowered him to pursue this new ambition with his second-to-none determination he developed at LFC.

Hack The Box, a gamified cyber security learning provider, has partnered with LFC and CompTIA to donate a catalogue of learning resources, so graduates can continue to pursue their chosen careers. Dunn says his dream role would be in penetration testing, and he’ll be using Hack The Box’s resources to continue his progression.

Driving forward to plug the skills gap

The cyber security industry has been working to attract talent for years, with global vacancies still in the millions, according to (ISC)2. It’s also an industry that's always attracted neurodiverse candidates; GCHQ is among the most prominent employers in this respect. Broader diversity efforts are underway in the industry’s recruitment sector, albeit with slow progress, but elite sportspeople represent a different kind of diversity that perhaps the industry should pursue with a greater focus.

It’s worth noting that while LFC’s initiative is positive, the course on offer is only a first small step towards a career in cyber security. Simply having the CompTIA IT Fundamentals certification isn’t enough to land an entry-level job in the industry. In fact, it takes many further hours of study and achieving additional certifications to land that first job. CompTIA’s Security+ qualification is considered its most basic certification to acquire before candidates can start thinking about looking for jobs, with an approximate 60 hours of study time ahead of an exam. There are myriad other certifications to pursue in order to rise through the ranks, though, with all pathways requiring a significant time investment.

What LFC’s scheme has done, however, was open the eyes of a small cohort of men, who all at some point felt lost, to a whole new world, and has hopefully ignited a passion for cyber security in them all. Dunn, and his continued pursuit to work in cyber security at Apple, is among many who have the potential to enrich the industry with an influx of the soft skills that are desperately hard to come by.

More than two in three (69%) IT employers are struggling to recruit new staff members with adequate digital skills, according to recent research from Open University.

The survey found that three quarters (77%) of the 425 senior UK IT decision-makers claimed that they are currently facing a digital skills gap in their organisation.

Digital skills are in high demand due to the range of benefits that they can offer to an organisation. Almost one in two (48%) of surveyed IT employers believe that digital skills will increase their business’ profitability, while 46% see them as a way of improving productivity within the business and making the company more competitive in the marketplace (45%).

Despite this, 57% of employers claim that their organisation doesn’t invest enough in digital skills.

While struggling to recruit adequately-skilled staff, half (48%) of the UK-based IT decision-makers believe that upskilling their current employees would help them avoid expensive new hires.

However, 62% of the respondents admitted that they are also finding it difficult to upskill their current employees with the digital skills required for their organisation. This includes cyber security, which is the most in-demand skill lacked by 42% of organisations, as well as software development (36%) and network engineering (24%).

Commenting on the findings, the Open University’s director of Apprenticeships and Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) Jacky Hinton said that the survey “shows that it can be challenging to recruit staff into digital roles and keep existing employees up to date with relevant digital skills” as organisations’ reliance on digital capabilities increases.

Hinton described HTQs as “a new route to provide the skills needed to close some of these critical gaps in organisations”.

“Approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, they have been developed in collaboration with employers against particular occupational standards. The Open University is proud to be one of the first institutions to offer HTQs in network engineering and software development, which as the results show, are some of the roles that employers lack and are finding it challenging to recruit for,” she added.

The findings come five months after the UK reached an “all-time high” in the digital skills shortage, including a major shortage of talent in cyber security, big data analytics, and technical architects.

The UK government has announced plans to help underrepresented women return to the STEM workforce after taking time out to care for loved ones.

Women face significant challenges when returning to the industry and are often overlooked by recruiters due to the gap in their CV. Female applicants are also 76% more likely to never receive interview feedback, according to research from STEM Returners, which aids professionals in returning to the industry’s workforce.

The organisation's 2021 index survey found that 61% of professionals described the process of returning to the STEM industry as “difficult” or “very difficult”.

In order to aid former caretakers in finding employment, the government is launching a new returners programme that aims to provide “training, development and employment support to those who have taken time out for caring”.

The programme is scheduled to last until at least 2024, the Government Equalities Office announced on International Women’s Day, and will build on learnings from 25 previous similar initiatives to tailor the programme to the STEM industry.

Minister for Women, Baroness Stedman-Scott said that the programme will “keep talented minds in STEM and improve the representation of women and marginalised communities in those incredibly important roles”.

Commenting on the announcement, STEM Returners director Natalie Desty said that the organisation is “delighted to see the launch of a government returners programme across STEM industries”.

“Working in this space for the last five years, we know just how difficult it is for women to overcome the career gap penalty and the impacts that this has on their career in STEM," she told IT Pro. "We also know how vital their return is to an industry with an advanced skills gap and in some areas, a shocking lack of diversity."

Pay is also considered to be a significant issue for former caretakers, with research cited by the government showing that STEM returners with degrees are, on average, paid 70% of the hourly wage of an equivalent colleague who wasn’t forced to take time away from work. Given that 58% of caretakers are women, this directly contributes to the gender pay disparity.

Hence, the government has also announced a pilot that will require participating employers to publish salaries on all job adverts in an effort to close the gender salary gap.

“We believe that increased pay transparency will build on positive evidence of the role information can play when it comes to empowering women in the workplace. It is essential that we keep women at the forefront of the levelling up agenda as we recover from the pandemic and rebuild together,” said Stedman-Scott.

This article originally appeared in issue 25 of IT Pro 20/20, available here. To sign up to receive each new issue in your inbox, click here

Side hustles, freelancing, and portfolio careers have, for many workers, become a key aspect in their professional lives. The pandemic changed the definition of work from somewhere you visit into something you do. It also illustrated how a more flexible approach support wellbeing, mental health, and, for a growing number, a chance to realise a longstanding ambition to start a business.

Creating a bespoke working life is no longer a pipe dream, which is why so many people are pursuing a side hustle. Before this phrase was coined, workers ran small businesses and other projects in the evenings and weekends alongside their day jobs. Now, many more who’ve experienced the benefits of a more fluid working life are devising their own exciting ventures.

Chasing your passion

“This shift is now being driven largely by the talent pool themselves and is something employers need to get on board with to mitigate the effects of the ‘Great Resignation’,” head of talent and organisation, EMA at Infosys, Mick Burn, tells IT Pro. “In addition, we're witnessing a whole generation of side-hustlers. Gen Z doesn’t have the same loyalty and undivided commitment to the nine-to-five as their predecessors. Freelancing, therefore, provides autonomy and flexibility that's extremely attractive to younger workers.”

Entrepreneurship has always been in rude health across the UK. Giving up a full-time job to pursue that dream is, however, not a practical proposition. Then COVID-19 came along and presented many with the opportunity to take tangible steps towards becoming their own boss – albeit on a part-time basis. Indeed, two in three (64%) want to run their own business in the future, FreeAgent research suggests, with a 10% year-on-year rise fuelled by changing working patterns and the subsequent opportunities. COVID-19 has also triggered 27% to move their plans forward.

“Across the global workforce, tech and IT side hustles have been common due to the remote nature of the industry and the increase in demand for these skills,” says Debbie Irish, head of HR for HP, UK and Ireland. “Job security has played a role, too, with two in five office workers saying they are motivated to pursue their passion as their career because the pandemic has changed how they feel about job security, with millennials being the most motivated.”

Accessing the tools at your disposal

The pandemic has been the ideal time to launch a side hustle. Specialist insurance broker Caunce O’Hara found just under a quarter (23%) of those questioned reported setting up their own side hustle in the past 12 months. A further 40% reported their side hustle is between one and five years old. Over half of respondents (51%), meanwhile, earned up to £1,000 a month from their side hustle. Compounding the economic benefits, analysis by Henley Business School estimates side hustles bring £72 billion to the UK economy, with as many as 25% of adults pursuing one today.

The IT and technology sector has proven itself to be the ideal industry for side hustles. Bionic examined global entrepreneurship and discovered that IT and technology was the most popular industry, playing host to 20% of those included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30. The capacity to create a side hustle has also become more of a reality as digital tools have matured. The mass uptake of remote working, for instance, has shown millions how technology can be used to run a successful side hustle, while hosted services have also expanded and become more affordable.

Using existing skills can become the basis for a side hustle, with coding, digital design, content creation and tech support all forming the basis of successful ventures. Some even use their knowledge to teach others by building online courses or writing eBooks. The tech stack many side hustles need – not just within the tech sector – are now integrated, too. Collaboration suites, fast development, and deployment of online retail spaces are accessible, with the ability to connect with international suppliers and manage entire businesses from a notebook or tablet, too, a reality. Connecting side hustles with buyers is also possible with marketplace platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork.

Newcomers, however, need to take care when choosing what kind of IT business to start, warns Dr Rita Fontinha, associate professor of international business and strategy at Henley Business School. “To avoid moonlighting, we need to ask questions like what is the nature of the services provided in the second job? Who are the main clients or customers likely to be? When and where is the secondary work being conducted?” she says. “It’s also important to ask whether any of the main employer's property is being used. This would include material such as hardware, but also, more seriously, data containing confidential information or intellectual property.”

Your portfolio career

Employers have often lamented the challenge of finding the right people for their vacancies, with the pandemic also driving a shift in the worker-employee relationship. Indeed, according to a survey from productivity platform ClickUp, under-45s are driving a demand for a four-day working week. It’s especially true for 35-44 year-olds, with almost a fifth (19%) preparing to quit their job to find a role that offers flexible working, while 16% plan to request a four-day week in 2022; the fifth day will be used to pursue their side hustle. Although the benefits of this model are still under examination, an example of a firm that’s established a four-day week is Atom Bank, with CEO Mark Mullen stating this was vital to retain staff and protect their wellbeing.

“With so much uncertainty over the last 18 months, it's understandable that so many employees have looked for new ways to supplement their income,” says Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library. “What's more surprising is that so many businesses have been supportive of these endeavours. With staff shortages plaguing the UK job market, it may seem counter-intuitive to encourage employees to strike out on their own. It could be argued, however, that this is actually a clever approach to take.”

The pandemic changed the definition of work while also changing attitudes about work-life balance and wellbeing. Meanwhile, in the tech space, businesses need specific skills and generally understand hiring a full-time employee isn't always a practical proposition. Offering a flexible or part-time position that could allow employees to pursue a venture of their own, therefore, could be highly attractive. For workers, likewise, equipped with the freedom and the tools, it’s the ideal time to pursue a side hustle.

UK businesses are being urged to join a six-month trial of a four-day working week, as organisers aim to sign up at least 30 companies by June.

Organised by the 4 Day Week Global organisation and the Autonomy thinktank, the pilot programme will be monitored by Cambridge and Oxford Universities in order to measure the four-day working week’s impact on staff productivity and wellbeing, as well as the impact on the environment and gender equality.

Participating employees will receive 100% of their usual pay for only four days at work, in exchange for their commitment to maintain "at least" 100% productivity.

Autonomy co-director Kyle Lewis said that organisations taking part in the trial will benefit from “unparalleled access to the expertise, tools and resources they will need to run a smooth and successful trial”.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for organisations who want to be pioneers and trial a four-day week as a way of supporting and empowering workers, enhancing organisational productivity and having a positive impact on our society and the environment,” he added.

In 2019, prior to the mass shift to remote working, Autonomy authored a report which found “strong indications that reducing the working week can help reduce air pollution and our overall carbon footprint”.

According to Brendan Burchell, professor in the Social Sciences at Cambridge University, with the rise of technology allowing to maintain productivity, “the time has come for more organisations to take the leap and unravel the practicalities”

“This scheme has tremendous potential to progress from conversations about the general advantages of a shorter working week to focussed discussions on how organisations can implement it in the best possible way,” he added.

One of the businesses taking part in the pilot programme is the Edinburgh-based Canon, which found that the work-life balance of its 140 employees had changed “substantially” during the pandemic.

“As a responsive employer we are always looking at how we can adapt our working practices to ensure that employees find their time with us is meaningful, fulfilling and productive. For this reason, we’re keen to pilot a four-day week to see if it can work for us,” said president Ken Sutherland.

Last year, UK-based fintech Atom bank garnered headlines for introducing a four-day working week for all its employees with no change in salary. Prior to that, UK supermarket Morrisons also announced plans to shift to a four-day working week, keeping employee pay the same. However, this was only made available to head office staff in Bradford, who also had to work one Saturday per month to recoup the lost time.

Businesses can sign up for the trial until the end of March.

A newly-launched initiative will create tools for professional development to help businesses engage in the creation of artificial intelligence (AI) technical standards.

The AI Standards Hub, announced today by the DCMS, is part of the UK’s ten-year National AI Strategy and aims to increase the country’s contribution to the development of global AI standards.

Led by the Alan Turing Institute and supported by the British Standards Institution and National Physical Laboratory, the initiative will provide businesses with education and training in order to improve the governance of AI and boost investment and employment following Brexit.

In November 2021, a survey commissioned by the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) found that limited technological capabilities and poor access to data are preventing investment in AI.

The AI Standards Hub also aims to promote collaboration among the AI community within the UK and abroad, as new research predicts that 1.3 million UK businesses will use AI by 2040 – up from 432,000 in 2020.

DCMS minister for Tech and the Digital Economy Chris Philp said that it’s imperative the UK remains at the forefront of this transformative technology.

“Today I’m confirming that the renowned Alan Turing Institute will lead the trial of a new UK programme with support from the British Standards Institution and National Physical Laboratory to help shape and improve the global standards for artificial intelligence,” he added.

According to Philp, the AI Standards Hub “marks the first step” in delivering the UK’s National AI Strategy and “will develop the tools needed so organisations and consumers can benefit from all the opportunities of AI”.

The AI Standard Hub’s activities are yet to be specified and will be developed by a series of roundtables led by The Alan Turing Institute.

The Institute's chief executive Adrian Smith said that it “looks forward to working closely with our partners in establishing the AI Standards Hub, leveraging our expertise and networks to build and engage an inclusive, multi-stakeholder community around AI standardisation”.

The announcement comes weeks after the Cabinet Office's Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) and the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) developed a “landmark” algorithmic transparency standard that aims to eliminate biases in AI applications.

If you ask someone to picture an IT professional, many will immediately land on the stereotypical image of a bespectacled nerd in a dingy basement, who’s more comfortable around code and computers than other people. As outdated as that notion is, the core of this idea – that IT as a discipline is driven more by technical skills than by interpersonal ones – is still surprisingly common.

In contrast to this preconception, however, research has indicated that so-called ‘soft skills’, like listening and storytelling, are increasingly vital for IT leaders. In a business environment where technology is a central element of long-term success, it’s simply no longer enough for IT chiefs to be technical wizards with poor communication skills.

This is a development that has not gone unacknowledged, and CIOs, CTOs and CISOs are making a concerted effort to equip themselves with capabilities beyond their technical certifications. In this month’s IT Pro Panel discussion, we asked our panellists what non-technical skills are most important to them, how they develop these skills, and how to instill them in their teams.

Communications breakdown

As defined by our panellists, ‘soft skills’ are based on communication and emotional intelligence, and are informed more by personality traits than learned behaviours. Many of them flagged empathy as their strongest proficiency in this area.

“For me, this means placing yourself in someone else's shoes when interacting with them,” says Studio Graphene founder Ritam Gandhi. “Every individual has good days and bad days, you need to give folks you work with the opportunity to have bad days and pick themselves up. I am generally very close to my team and I can sense when they are uncomfortable or something is wrong. If I think it's something to do with work, I'll ask them directly, but if it's personal, I'll give them space without probing as it’s up to them if they want to talk about it.”

Another key ability identified by Newcastle Building Society CIO Manila McLean is the ability to be “bilingual” within the organisation: “Being able to put stakeholders at ease with language they understand and is meaningful for them”, while still being able to talk to technical teams at their own level.

The idea of technical leaders being the bridge between IT and the rest of the business is a popular one among our panellists, and it’s here, they say, that communication skills become invaluable.

“To be an effective IT leader, you have to possess the ability to articulate both the design and justification of any proposition, without over-explanation or excessive detail,” explains TempCover CTO, Marc Pell. “It’s important to remember to present the business case, as opposed to simply assuming that everyone sees the value in reducing technical debt or building for the future. Likewise, it’s critical to hold yourself accountable for making the right decision at the right time, balancing the business need with the technical need.”

RoosterMoney CTO, Jonathan Smart, has been tackling this challenge by bringing product, engineering and marketing teams together, and says making sure information flows in both directions has been crucial for facilitating this.

Peter Donlon, CTO of Moonpig, takes this idea a step further, arguing that for IT leaders, technical skills are secondary in terms of importance.

“As an IT leader, you hire people who are great technically and enable them to solve business problems,” he says. “To do that effectively, you need to have those strong soft skills. That's not to say there's no place for technical skills; I think understanding your craft is important, I just personally think it's second place to soft skills.”

For Kantar CISO Paul Watts, cyber security is one of the areas that is suffering most acutely from a soft skills deficit. Security is being increasingly called on to actively support the business as an important ally, he says, but years of being confined to a siloed technical environment has left them lacking the ability to effectively engage with the rest of the organisation.

“Now CISOs are being thrust into the business limelight, they are looking tired and disengaged in a world where tech and business need to be hand-in-hand,” he says. “I started my career as a consultant and it has really helped me build core skills that help me engage better with tech and non-tech stakeholders, but others have started in a tech role and never left a tech role which leaves them with some skills gaps.”

“The next generation of CISOs have to recognise their role has changed and adapt accordingly. The current generation of CISOs needs to be honest with their soft skills deficits and upskill, or be left behind … the business wants technology to integrate with them now and not just be the order-taking, tin-shuffling, basement-residing 'IT Crowd' of the past.”

“I think that's a really interesting observation, Paul,” Donlon says. “I can believe that and see why that's even more challenging within security. I do think in general that's a pattern I've seen, as tech is coming out of its box and engaging with the business a lot more directly. In my opinion, the days of the software engineer who can lock themselves in a room and just write code are past us. The ability to work and communicate with others is key.”

Keep it simple, stupid

Looking at IT staff in particular, Smart suggests one of the most important non-technical skills IT teams need to possess is the ability to think like their customers (both internal and external), balancing their own views and priorities with what the business needs.

“It’s not about how amazing the technical solution is from a code perspective, but the bigger picture,” he says. “This can be difficult to achieve for one person, which is why it’s good to have smaller squads that are made up of cross-disciplined team members, which further emphasises the need for good listening and communication skills.”

This DevOps-style team structure can help give staff more insight into how their decisions affect other business units, he adds, and can give them a deeper level of responsibility and understanding.

“I absolutely think it helps,” agrees McLean. “I encourage our teams to think of their product as their own business – the performance and the continuous improvement are just as important as the initial creation. I also encourage engineers to participate in customer research such as usability testing, where they see first hand how real end users will interact with their products. It really helps them empathise.”

“I’d agree with that,” says Watts. “In fact, the devs who are working in squads in a DevOps style definitely get better business engagement and ultimately, better outcomes than the ones who don't.”

“We took this a step further recently and performed a role reversal for all members outside of our customer ops team,” Smart adds, “where the customer ops team pretended to be the customers (using a mix of real and fake scenarios) and then had teams respond to the scenarios with points awarded for responsibility quality, speed of response, tone of voice et cetera. Everyone got some real value from this exercise and learnt a lot. It definitely improved empathy for another teams core role.”

Hethinks this kind of exercise could be effectively transplanted to core IT teams to achieve similar results, and Watts notes it could have a major impact on digital workplace programmes such as the rollout of tools like Microsoft 365, which need to be business-led and technologically-enabled in order to be successful.

Our panellists also highlighted other tactics for improving soft skills within their teams, including mentorship schemes, as well as engaging with broader learning and development programmes within the organisation. As Donlon points out, soft skills don’t just apply to IT, and there are many resources available to help progress them.

While there are ways to boost soft skills within a team, many of our panellists opt to seek out these skills at the recruitment stage. Hiring candidates who already have strong empathy and communication skills is easier than training for these abilities after the fact, they say.

“We're always on the lookout for strong technical talent that holds an equally strong set of soft skills,” explains Pell. “This is often difficult to find though. We've learnt that soft skills are arguably harder to teach, given they're linked to a person's personality in many cases. Teaching technical skills, on the other hand, is relatively simple if you find the right person.”

“Completely agreed”, adds Donlon. “We hire people with strong interpersonal skills and lots of empathy; basically good team workers. It may sound obvious but given how we set ourselves up and how collaborative our way of working is, it's crucial we get people in who can do this. That means not everyone has to be the best at presenting and so on, but they do need to be able to work well with others.”

“I always say this to hiring managers: ‘we can teach people technical skills, but we can't teach them not to be an arsehole!’”

Part of the problem, according to Watts, is an over-reliance on technical expertise when building out job requirements for new hires. He believes that recruiters – including internal HR staff as well as external agencies – need to focus on soft skills rather than ticking certification boxes.

“Have you read a tech role spec recently? It’s all about the creds, less about the business outcomes. It’s shocking, and demonstrates that they too are disconnected from the realities of running technology in modern business.”

One potential solution, he says, is to look for candidates from non-technical backgrounds where these kinds of skills are more commonplace, including fields like the humanities.

“CISOs should now be looking for non-technical resources to complement their technical teams and bridge the divide. Never mind the CISSP qualified propeller-head, go looking for the marketeers, the creatives, the English students, the business development managers, and so on.”

The more you know

The same is also true for leaders, as well as general IT staff. Deep platform knowledge and technical competency does not always make someone the best fit to lead an IT team. For many of the reasons outlined above, Pell argues, it can often be better to look for more general leadership qualities.

“I'm sure we've all witnessed the situation where the person with the best technical skill gets promoted to manage the team,” he explains. “The two skillsets differ wildly though; identifying potentially brilliant IT leaders is all about spotting the presence of soft skills and business awareness, on top of the obvious requirement of technical ability.”

With this in mind, our panellists call on a range of techniques for improving their own soft skills. As with our discussion in January around New Year’s resolutions, this remains more of a focus for our panellists’ learning and development than technical abilities.

Watts, for example, has started listening to audiobooks during lockdown as a way to continue learning while minimising screen time. His top recommendations include Simon Sinek’s books Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last, as well as anything by business management writer Tom Peters.

“I also like reading biographies of people like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, et cetera, to get ideas,” he says, “and also learn from their mistakes!”

“I'm a big podcast listener,” Pell adds. “Common listens for me (other than the obviously brilliant IT Pro Podcast) are Secret Leaders, Scott Hanselman's podcast and a couple in my field too, such as InsTech London and Insurtech Insiders.”

In the spirit of learning from others, though, the most popular method for boosting interpersonal skills was talking to peers within the industry. Our panellists highlighted networking and mentoring as essential methods that they relied on for this aspect of their personal growth.

“I've been going out of my way to network virtually in the absence of in-person meetups,” says Pell. “Learning from others is always useful.”

“I agree,” adds Gandhi. “Having a mentor to bounce ideas off and discuss personal challenges at work is really helpful. It provides a completely different external perspective.”

“It’s tough to find the time, but important,” Watts concurs. “Sometimes just having someone to bounce ideas and situations off can be just as valuable, so I do agree with Marc. Getting a good coach or mentor, or just having a safe network of like-minded people, can go a long way.”

These tactics can be employed to further many specific proficiencies under the overall umbrella of ‘soft skills’, but there are a few particular areas that our panellists are seeking to concentrate their attention on.

“I think my own skill that I'd like to improve is the ability to create clear goals for individuals that I lead, which are in turn clearly aligned to broader business goals,” Gandhi muses. “In essence, the ability to provide more structure to those reporting into me in terms of what is expected of them and why. At the moment, I have a great ‘understanding’ with my team, which works really well – but I do feel that as one scales, one needs to also have the ability to set objective and measurable goals.”

Watts, meanwhile, is seeking to spend more time understanding his business and thinking more deeply about how to align his security programme with the business strategy, utilising some of the principles Sinek outlines in Start With Why.

“I find myself in a similar position to those above,” Smart offers. “I do find that I am constantly learning and evolving, there is always a new challenge or something I can learn from.”

For Pell, the thing he’s most concerned with is long-term planning and vision, making sure that he’s clearly defining the wider roadmap for his teams.

“We’re doing so many exciting things right now that it’s sometimes difficult to find the time. I know where I want us to get to in terms of long term direction, but it needs documenting to better aid the team as they make day-to-day decisions that walk us in that direction.”

“If any of my team are reading, watch this space!”

A new initiative is working to shatter the misconception that reporting harassment in the workplace is disloyal to the company or the community, at a time when 47% cyber security professionals report experiencing bullying behaviour in the office.

Almost one in two cyber security employees have experienced harassment at work socials (48%) and in the office (47%), while more than a third said that it had occurred at industry events (36%), according to Respect in Security, an anti-bullying group made up of cyber security professionals.

Those who have actively reported harassment said that it was most often experienced on Twitter (44%), although more than one in three had also experienced it over email (37%).

Nikki Webb, one of the founders of Respect in Security, which officially launched on Thursday, told IT Pro that harassment is a multifaceted issue that can be difficult to quantify.

“Harassment does come in many different forms, be that online or in person, (...) verbal or nonverbal, and it can be direct communication with somebody or it can be done as deliberate action to exclude individuals.”

This includes deliberately not inviting a coworker to a company drinks outing, or excluding them from the office group chat. Whatever the scenario, Webb said that the actions all have one goal in common:

“They violate somebody's personal dignity, which can then create an intimidating or hostile working environment,” she said. “Everybody's perception of harassment is different. What I might perceive as something that's quite funny and jokey, you might take offence to that.

"I think if Respect in Security can do one thing, it's to make the perpetrators step back just for one minute and think: how do my actions affect somebody else? How might that make that person feel?”

Co-founder Marc Avery added that neither he nor Webb are “trying to define any code of conduct”.

“We're not trying to define what harassment is or it isn't. But it's very much to the point about how people are made to feel as a result of somebody else's actions, however they were intended,” he told IT Pro. “We're not here to be judge and jury. (...) We want to raise awareness and get people talking about it.”

Respect in Security found that, of 302 professionals surveyed, 16% said they wouldn’t report an instant of harassment, either by choosing not to (9%) or because of fear (7%).

In fact, the lack of discussion surrounding harassment in the cyber security sector means that the issue is likely just the tip of the iceberg. More than two in five (44%) of respondents said that they believe that reports of harassment in the industry are fairly accurate, while a quarter (25%) think they are under-represented.

The issue has been further magnified by the shift to remote working. With some offices remaining closed, while hospitality venues now reopened, it’s now easier than ever to exclude a colleague from a Friday afternoon pub outing.

“I think that's even worse now that we've been locked down,” Webb told IT Pro. “Imagine how they will feel on a Monday, with people chattering about [the meet-up] at the team meeting.”

Respect in Security is calling on companies to take a stand against such incidents by signing the anti-harassment pledge. By signing it, employers agree to not tolerate, condone, or ignore any form of harassment; ensure that employees are not asked to operate in unsafe environments; as well as protect the anonymity of those reporting suspected violations.

Moreover, the company agrees to empower its staff to come forward with reports without fear of retaliation, and regularly educate them about what constitutes harassment and why it’s never acceptable, while also continually maintaining and actively reviewing their reporting mechanisms.

This could be a helpful step for many other organisations across the tech sector, with Google Cloud recently coming under fire for allegedly telling an employee to take mental health leave when they disclosed an incident of racial discrimination.

While 82% of surveyed cyber security professionals said their organisation has an anti-harassment policy and complaints procedure, nearly half (45%) said that their employer should do more to ensure all employees understand what constitutes harassment and what acceptable behaviour looks like.

Webb argued the cyber security industry needs to do more to be a safe and welcoming space for new members, especially the new generation of young professionals:

“I absolutely love the cyber security industry,” she told IT Pro. “I think that's probably one of my drives behind getting involved in this.”

For many years, the tech industry has been complaining about a shortage of technical skills in areas from cloud platforms to container architectures. But while the tech skills gap remains a persistent concern, there is another skills shortage that's being overlooked by businesses.

The UK is falling behind in its level of 'human-centric' business skills, according to a new report, including HR and communications. As organisations seek to outfit themselves for a largely uncharted world of hybrid working, we're joined by Anthony Tattersall, head of EMEA at online training provider Coursera, to examine whether we're in danger of putting too much focus on STEM skills, and how companies can avoid over-correcting.

Footnotes

• Female enrolment in STEM courses increased to 46% in 2020
• Remote workers spend more hours on the job, finds ONS
• IT Pro Panel: The loneliness of the long-distance worker
• Learn to code online with these six websites
• IT Pro Panel: Why CIOs have embraced hybrid working
• The softer skills CIOs will need to adopt for the future
• What are your tech skills worth?
• CIO hiring process to focus on emotional intelligence in 2021
• Why IT projects fail and how to make yours a success
• Game on: How playing video games could level up your career
• How to become a T-shaped employee
• The STEM skills gap — crisis averted?
• How do I best support my remote workers?
• Why COVID-19 could spur a learning revolution
• Onboarding during the pandemic and beyond
• Why the number of students taking GCSE IT has fallen and how it can be reversed
• How to become a data scientist
• Why you should prioritise employee experience
• 17.1 million Brits lack essential digital skills for work
• Government launches 400 free qualifications to help with economic recovery
• Upskilling a remote workforce
• The IT Pro Podcast: Why the tech skills gap doesn't exist
• The best time to prepare for remote working was six months ago

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IBM will provide over-the-cloud access to its quantum systems for Indian institutions to accelerate advanced training and research in quantum computing as it hopes to help build a "quantum-ready" workforce.

Faculty and students will be able to access IBM quantum systems, quantum learning resources, and quantum tools over the IBM Cloud for education and research purposes. The company hopes this will enable them to work with actual quantum computers and programmes using the Qiskit open-source framework.

"IBM is committed to growing a quantum-ready workforce and building an ecosystem to nurture the quantum community in India. With this engagement, we can take it a step further to scale up this ecosystem in India, for India and the world," said Gargi Dasgupta, director of IBM Research India and CTO of IBM India/South Asia.

The institutions taking part are the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) - Pune, IISER – Thiruvananthapuram, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Jodhpur, IIT - Kanpur, IIT - Kharagpur, IIT – Madras, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Kolkata, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Delhi, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Mumbai, and the University of Calcutta.

This partnership will also be part of the IBM Quantum Educators programme that helps faculty in the quantum field to connect with one another and provides them with educational resources.

Plus, IISER- Thiruvananthapuram, ISI-Kolkata, and IIT-Madras will host their own Quantum Computing Lab courses for students which will include lab sessions using IBM quantum systems.

Earlier this year, IBM offered the quantum industry's first developer certification to help workforces become "quantum-ready". Developers have to display their knowledge of Qiskit, the company's open source quantum development kit, and answer 60 questions in the certification exam.

Using the knowledge of how to utilise Python and basic linear algebra, Qiskit allows users to programme quantum computing hardware. Since it was launched in 2017, thousands of users have developed applications and maintained and improved code, according to the company.

Ocado has announced plans to create 100 new advanced technology jobs in the UK as part of an expansion of its Swiftfields Campus development centre in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.

The grocery e-tailer is seeking to recruit software engineers, product managers, designers, technicians, and testers working on advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, digital twins, and autonomous vehicles.

The new employees will be part of Ocado’s second-largest UK development centre, the Swiftfields Campus, which already employs 385 software and hardware specialists working in areas such as machine learning, automation, big data, cloud computing, and IoT.

Following the company’s investment in robotic picking and autonomous vehicles, Ocado has taken on three new units in the area to expand its testing, experimentation, and collaborative office facilities. The expanded Swiftfields Campus is set to support the company’s accelerated adoption of the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) - the end-to-end e-commerce, fulfilment, and logistics platform used for online grocery shopping by retailers across the globe.

Commenting on the announcement, Ocado head of UK Development Centres Isabel Richards said that the company is “always on the lookout for people who share our drive to innovate”.

“Our ‘Swiftfields’ Campus gives us access to both the amazing technical talent in Hertfordshire and the industrial space that enable us to build world-class development facilities and experiment at speed,” she added. “This new hub in Welwyn Garden City offers exciting opportunities for ambitious, tech-savvy individuals who want to play a part in developing pioneering innovations that are changing the way the world shops.”

Ocado currently employs around 2,500 technical experts in seven countries across the world. Welwyn Garden City is among Ocado’s 12 development centres, which are also based in London and Hatfield (UK), Sofia (Bulgaria), Wroclaw and Krakow (Poland), Barcelona (Spain), Stockholm (Sweden), Toronto (Canada), San Francisco, and Las Vegas (USA).

Last year, following a £1 billion investment round, the company created 500 new technology jobs, with the majority of the new roles being software engineers and product managers located around European development centres. However, a "significant" number of these roles also included positions at Ocado’s London site, which announced 260 new jobs in July 2019.

Over 17 million people in the UK lack essential digital skills (EDS) for work, while less than a quarter (23%) of employees reported having received any digital skills training from their employer.

That's according to a new report released by FutureDotNow, a coalition of companies and civil society groups working in collaboration with the UK government to boost the nation’s digital skills.

The coalition, which counts BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, Dropbox, CompTIA, and BT among its members, defines EDS as accessing payslips, booking shifts and leave, avoiding social media disasters, basic password practice, using cloud storage, analysing data, synchronising information across multiple devices, as well as basic cyber security skills such as being able to identify suspicious emails.

All of these are not being addressed by the majority of UK organisations, the report has found. It also warns businesses of the risks presented by the lack of EDS among employees, such as slowing the adoption of digital processes, which negatively impacts business productivity and financial performance. This, in turn, leads to businesses being held back and the UK’s global competitiveness reduced.

FutureDotNow chief executive Liz Williams said that the report “reveals a hidden middle between digital exclusion and advanced digital skills which needs addressing urgently”.

“There’s a significant part of our workforce without the essential digital skills required for the new global digital world we’re competing in. Great businesses are underpowered like smartphones with a flat battery because their workforces lack these essential digital skills.

"FutureDotNow and its members, who are already seeing the power of working together to upskill their employees, will be able to help them take action. And our Playbook, launched today is a practical guide to identifying missing essential digital skills and how to go about upskilling employees,” she said.

According to techUK president Jacqueline de Rojas CBE, the pandemic has revealed “an increase in people wanting and needing to acquire essential digital skills”.

“This has created positive momentum in driving the UK’s digital adoption which we must maintain in order to address the growing mismatch in the demand and supply of digital skills in the UK. FutureDotNow’s initiative to encourage business leaders to share knowledge and skills is critical to ensure the country and our citizens are ready for what comes next,” she added.

The UK government has unveiled a new policy and funding programme which aims to ensure that all adults have equal opportunities to learn new skills such as coding.

Announced as part of the Queen’s Speech on Tuesday, the legislation is aimed at supporting the UK’s post-pandemic recovery by providing people with the chance to upskill and retrain regardless of their age. This includes facilitating access to student loans, providing employers with a statutory role in planning publicly-funded training programmes, as well as granting the Secretary of State for Education increased influence in monitoring whether colleges meet local needs.

The new policies are part of the recently unveiled ‘Lifetime Skills Guarantee’, which last month launched 400 free qualifications ranging from engineering and digital skills to social care.

Available to any adult who has not already achieved a qualification at Level 3, the digital qualifications offer digital skills boot camps in computer science, software deployment, systems infrastructure, cyber security, and coding. The courses have already managed to train 3,000 people, with another 14,000 signed up to attend later this year.

According to the government, the ‘Lifetime Skills Guarantee’ will allow adults to “change careers, upskill regularly, and stay up to date with changing knowledge and technologies”.

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT described it as “a significant step in the right direction to address the digital skills gap”.

BCS head of Apprenticeships, Annette Allmark, said that the government’s plans “will allow more people to access the training in digital skills they need for their careers – and to develop the skills the economy needs to flourish and ‘build back better’ after the pandemic”.

“Hopefully, this funding will also increase the diversity of people learning digital skills now and in the future. It’s important that the government continues to build on the many excellent training opportunities already available, such as the wide range of popular digital apprenticeships,” she added.

Allmark also stated that “there’s never been such a significant demand for digital skills – not just for an increasing number of digital occupations, but across all occupations as a result of businesses having to digitally transform during COVID”.

According to a recent study, the majority of surveyed HR decision-makers in the UK said they believed reliance on advanced digital skills was going to increase over the next five years. Despite this, participation in A-Level and further education IT courses has declined, with the number of students taking IT subjects at GCSE level falling by 40% since 2015.

However, there is always time to retrain: the new legislative measures aim to assist adults in gaining the competencies required for better-paid employment, which often require candidates to prove that they have the necessary skills. These jobs were found to be notoriously understaffed, with employers unable to fill a quarter of their vacancies due to a lack of employees with the right skills even prior to the pandemic, according to the government.

Allmark said that the areas dealing with “significant shortages of skilled people” are “vital sectors” including artificial intelligence, cyber security, and software development.

“In addition, the digital transformation in the NHS has accelerated during the pandemic with technology being widely used across the service,” she added.

IBM is offering the quantum industry’s first developer certification in a bid to help workforces become “quantum-ready”.

Developers will have to display their knowledge of Qiskit, IBM’s open source quantum development kit, and answer 60 questions in the certification exam.

IBM hopes this will allow people from all development backgrounds to earn a certification in programming Qiskit, “allowing them to leverage their quantum coding skills into a potential opportunity in this exciting new workforce.”

Armed with the knowledge of how to use Python and basic linear algebra, Qiskit allows users to programme quantum computing hardware. Since IBM launched it in 2017, thousands of users have developed applications, maintained and improved code and more.

Now, the company wants to “build a diverse, global, cloud-based ecosystem of developers who can bring quantum computing skills to their own communities and industries.” It hopes that with this new certification, it will help companies and research institutions get their workforce “quantum-ready”.

The certification takes the form of a 60 question exam offered on the Pearson VUE platform and those who pass it must demonstrate experience of using Qiskit to create and execute quantum computing programmes on IBM quantum computers and simulators. They must also display the ability to perform these tasks with little to no assistance from product documentation, support or peers.

IBM also hinted that this is the first of several in a series of new certifications. Upcoming certifications are said to tap into the skills displayed in this newly released certification to demonstrate familiarity with building quantum computing applications to solve problems in optimization, chemistry and finance.”

Earlier this month, IBM unveiled a range of new and enhanced services to help organisations manage their cloud security strategy and controls for hybrid cloud environments. These would be available on the IBM Security Services for Cloud and help enterprises to adopt a consistent and unified security approach across IBM.

Google has re-opened enrollment for its flagship training and certification programme while also expanding its employer consortium as part of wider efforts to boost digital skills.

Career Certificates, which first launched in August 2020, is welcoming new applicants to study online courses in IT support, data analytics, project management, and UX design, alongside Android development, the programme’s newest addition.

Google’s scheme offers an alternative pathway to conventional education for budding tech workers to kickstart their careers, with graduates also able to directly liaise with more than a hundred companies that are a part of an employer consortium.

More than 130 businesses, including Verizon, Deloitte, and SAP, among other big names, are part of this platform in which graduates are matched with employers. An expansion in the number of businesses comprising the consortium also comes alongside news of a new partnership with Guild Education, which works with the biggest US companies to upskill their workers.

These efforts are part of the wider Grow with Google initiative which was launched in 2017 to boost digital skills across the US economy. The latest measures explicitly aim to support the nation’s economy recover following COVID-19.

The company has also announced 100,000 scholarships to be distributed globally through not-for-profit organisations, workforce development boards and other community organisations.

Although these programmes are designed to help improve digital skills within the US, anybody from around the world can register with Coursera to access the qualifications. The certifications also require no prior background knowledge.

The IT support, data analytics, project management, and UX design programmes cost $39 per month, with access to the Android development training materials free of charge barring the $149 examination fee.

The Android development programme teaches the basics of programming for the Android mobile OS in the Kotlin language, with the first three units currently available and more to follow in the near future.

Attaining a Career Certifications qualification will grant students access to the exclusive jobs platform that lists entry-level positions at businesses registered with Google’s employer consortium. This is in addition to CV-building tools, mock interviews, and career networking support designed to assist with the job-hunting process.

Google Cloud’s HR department allegedly told an employee to take mental health leave when they disclosed an incident of racial discrimination, without taking any action against the accused.

That's according NBC News, which spoke to Google Cloud’s former instructional designer Benjamin Cruz, one of 10 Google employees who were told to take mental health leave after they reported having faced discriminatory conduct while working at the company.

Cruz recounted how, in 2019, they were told by a colleague that 'their skin was much darker than she expected’. When Cruz informed HR of the incident, they were advised to take medical leave in order to tend to their mental health, as well as to move to a new role in the company once they return.

However, once Cruz came back from leave and applied for a new position within Google, they were turned down from every role, ultimately forcing them to quit.

“When the medical leave was recommended to me, it was like an automatic process,” Cruz told NBC News.

Barry Stanton, partner and head of employment at specialist tech law firm Boyes Turner, told IT Pro that “asking those who have raised the complaint to take leave is likely to make them feel more victimised”.

“They have done their job, others have, allegedly, behaved inappropriately, yet the transgressor is allowed to remain in situ,” he said, adding that “there are many ways to address the issue”.

“A more measured approach would see the HR team taking time to understand the issue and investigating it through a normal grievance process. Part of that might involve a discussion about what the complainer wishes to do whilst the grievance is being investigated.

"Can contact with the person they have raised issues about be minimised, does the complainant need support in the interim, if so what? How frequently will the HR team check in to ensure everything is okay? Moving an individual based solely on a complaint, is problematic, suspending them even more so, as suspension is not a neutral act.”

Companies could also look into the minimum standard of fairness indicated by the ACAS codes of practice, which, according to Stanton, “suggests that having heard from the complainant, the next step might be to talk privately to the person complained about”.

“Equally, if there is will on both sides to address the issue, a workplace mediation might be an appropriate way to allow both parties to have their say, explain how certain behaviours make them feel and seek a way of working together going forward. Equally, if it is clear that there are significantly heightened stress levels signposting the employee affected to an employee assistance programme may be appropriate,” he added.

A Google spokesperson told IT Pro that the company has "a well-defined process for how employees can raise concerns".

"We work to be extremely transparent about how we handle complaints. All concerns reported to us are investigated rigorously, and we take firm action against employees who violate our policies," they added.

The news of Cruz’s treatment follows the tech giant’s decision to fire their Ethical AI team co-lead Timnit Gebru. In an email to a Google mailing list sent late last year, Gebru complained that she was "constantly dehumanised" while working at Google, adding there was no incentive to hire more women at the company and that Google retaliated when she tried to raise those issues.

Getting yourself a Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) certification will bring a lot of value to your resume, especially if you're beginning your career working with Microsoft products.

As stated by the tech giant, an MTA certification is the entry-level certification for anyone who is looking to begin a career in the IT sector or is thinking about changing their career to one in this industry. It has been made with IT generalists, beginners and students in mind who may lack technical specialization or experience and are seeking to create a career in private cloud computing or desktop or server infrastructure.

This online certification program allows you to highlight the skills you've gained by allocating time and effort to learn new things. MTA certification usually focuses on beginners to help them boost their career progression.

There are a number of exams to take and they offer IT Infrastructure (Windows, Windows Server), Databases (MSSQL Server) and Development (Visual Studio).

The certification and exams for the MTA are part of the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) program. Passing these exams are the first stage in acquiring advanced certifications like the Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) or Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE).

Instead of only including your understanding and experience on your resume, having a MTA certification will underline your abilities. It basically means your potential employer doesn't need to try and fully understand what you're capable of doing if you have this certification.

Possessing the MTA certification can be extremely useful when you are looking at changing career paths or trying out a new specialism. If you're a beginner in the IT world, it is essential to demonstrate to potential employers what exactly makes you stand out from the crowd and differentiates you from other candidates. For example, if another candidate has similar experience to you, having the MTA certification could set you apart from the competition.

How to get an MTA certificate

There are a few MTA certifications to choose from, but many target those that help with specialization. To get MTA certified, a person must pass at least one of 12 exams in the MTA program.

Microsoft provides three recommended tracks of exams classified by the career the learner wants to follow.

There are five exams in the MTA IT infrastructure track, which is for those building a career in desktop or server infrastructure or private cloud computing. These are Mobility and Device Fundamentals, Security Fundamentals, Networking Fundamentals, Windows Server Administration Fundamentals, and Windows Operating System Fundamentals.

The MTA development track is aimed at students building a career as a software developer. This track helps prepare for hands-on product training and Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) certification. Students can start with MTA Software Development Fundamentals and then select the additional topics in this track to help with developing a career.

The other exams in this track are Introduction to Programming Using Java, Introduction to Programming Using HTML and CSS, Introduction to Programming Using JavaScript, and Introduction to Programming Using Python.

For those targeting a career in data platform administration or business intelligence, the MTA database track has one exam, Database Fundamentals. This exam is for those seeking to prove introductory knowledge and skills with databases, including relational databases such as Microsoft SQL Server or Windows Azure SQL Database.

Students can combine this exam with the IT infrastructure exams to prepare for Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) training and certification.

Where to get an MTA certificate

To get MTA certified, a student must take and pass one or more exams in the MTA program. MTA certificate exams cost around $127 (prices may vary in other countries). The exams assume the student has some hands-on experience but don’t assume they’ve had experience in a technology role.

Students can prepare for an exam through a free online learning tool provided by Microsoft or a paid, tutor-led course.

In light of COVID-19, learning online seems to be the safest way of getting a certificate.

One place where potential learners can prepare themselves for an MTA certificate is Microsoft Learn. This replaces the Microsoft Virtual Academy and provides students with a free, interactive, hands-on training platform to develop in-demand technical skills related to widely used Microsoft products and services.

The platform combines short step-by-step training, browser-based interactive coding and scripting environments, and task-based achievements to help students learn skills and prepare for Microsoft certifications.

Whereas Microsoft Virtual Academy facilitated learning primarily through recorded training videos organized into learning paths for specific topic areas, Microsoft Learn features learning plans consisting of written content with embedded hands-on labs. Training content is organized into learning paths, modules, and units.

Students must go through an online portal to schedule and set up a certification exam. For example, on the Pearson VUE website, candidates can schedule an exam in person at an authorized test center or online. Candidates must create a Microsoft Certification profile by signing into Microsoft Learning with a Microsoft Account and completing the form.

Before an exam can be scheduled or accessed, students must log into their Microsoft certification dashboard using the email associated with their Microsoft Certification profile.

Does having an MTA certificate boost your career?

There is a high demand for Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) in many companies and organizations, and many MCPs started their journey as MTAs.

Having an MTA helps candidates stand out to recruiters, and students who pass it could even increase their GPAs, further strengthening their appeal. Passing such an exam demonstrates an aspiring IT professional grasps the fundamental ideas in IT.

No matter what point you are in your career, all Microsoft certifications are advantageous within the IT industry. An MTA is the ideal starting point for anyone interested in a tech career, and it’s the ideal route to Microsoft’s Certified Professional exams, such as MCSD.

Keep in mind that Microsoft retired its MCSA certification in June 2020 and is moving toward more "role-based certifications" around Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Data and AI.

Aberystwyth University boasts the most gender diverse computer sciences teaching staff in the country with women representing a third of academics, although this may not be enough to encourage younger women into the field.

The Welsh university is followed by the University of St Andrews, where 33.1% of its computer sciences staff are women, and King’s College London (KCL), where women represent 31.9% of its academics.

This is according to an analysis of the 25 top computer science departments in the UK, with researchers from CrowdStrike also finding a correlation between gender diversity and quality of the computer sciences department. Of the departments with the highest gender diversity, 40% were in the top ten.

“It’s encouraging to see universities in the UK increasing female role models in the Computer Sciences to inspire the next generation and help to address the growing skills gap in technology disciplines,” said CrowdStrike’s chief human resources officer, JC Herrera.

“Alongside the initiatives being delivered in higher education to improve female representation in STEM, the private sector must play a pivotal role too by partnering with trailblazing organisations and charities, as well as offering scholarships and innovative apprenticeship schemes. If we want to continue driving our industry forward, we must address these inequities.”

The analysis was inspired by recent research that showed women are 52% more likely to consider a career in a STEM subject if inspired by a female role model. This lack of gender diversity in the teaching staff at institutions, therefore, is fuelling a vicious cycle that discourages women.

Female students are less likely to study computer sciences at a higher level or pursue a career in the field unless they can identify with a role model. This means fewer academics in the field corresponds with a reduced likelihood that female students will pursue computer science-related careers and, in turn, inspire others to follow suit.

Despite the slight encouragement these figures represent, a paltry 13% of students studying computer science-related courses in the UK are women, according to UCAS figures. Research from late 2019 also found the proportion of women in tech roles was flatlining.

By contrast, there are encouraging signs in secondary education where figures last year showed more female students in the UK had chosen to take the Computing A-level than ever before. Overall entries for the course rose by 12% this year, with BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT finding roughly 21,000 had enrolled through UCAS.

While women still only comprised a fractional 15% of overall entries, more than a third of women, 34%, achieved an A or A* versus 26% of men.

No matter if you're a youngster looking to break into the industry or a seasoned working professional who's considering retraining, a tech degree is a worthwhile consideration for a wide range of reasons.

First, a computer science or IT degree is one of the best ways to get into one of the few industries that's largely unaffected by the COVID-19 outbreak and the financial crisis it created. Although there were fewer job postings last year, the impact wasn't nearly as severe as it was in other segments, like the hospitality industry.

Believe it or not, many areas have already seen tech job listings recover to pre-pandemic levels. What's more, cloud computing, information security, and big data jobs are predicted to increase by more than 530,000 over the next decade, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Second, people working in the tech space often earn significantly more than others. In fact, the nationwide median tech salary was at least 218% higher than the average local salary. It’s worth noting that a post-graduation job isn’t always guaranteed, that’s why a university's job placement rate is so important when choosing a college. It's also a good use of your time to contact someone who recently graduated from the degree program you’re considering. This could give you some genuine advice based on their own experience.

While there are plenty of tech jobs that don’t necessarily require a degree, it can certainly help, especially if you earned it from a prestigious school such as Stanford or MIT. These stalwarts aren't the only tech colleges you should consider. There are plenty of other options with higher acceptance rates and cheaper tuition fees that may be just as beneficial to your skill set and future career.

We’ve performed a coast-to-coast search to find the best tech colleges in the US. You can find these great tech schools in our alphabetized listing of the best tech colleges below.

Carnegie Mellon University

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Related department or school: School of Computer Science

Overview: College ranking site Niche.com ranks CMU as its No. 1 college for information technology in the U.S. Its graduate school programs are especially renowned. U.S. News & World Report also ranks CMU as having the best computer science graduate school and the best IT management graduate program.

Degrees offered: CMU offers B.S. degrees in artificial intelligence, computer engineering, computer science, human-computer interaction, information systems, machine learning and robotics. Bachelor’s degree specializations include animation/special effects, business/enterprise systems, game design and quantitative analysis. CMU’s M.S. degrees include computer science, information technology and software engineering. Finally, if you want a Ph.D., CMU offers one in computer science.

Acceptance rate: 15.4% (2020)

Annual undergraduate tuition: $57,560

Total enrollment: 14,799 (fall 2019)

Job placement rate: 60.9% employed, 27.2% continuing education (2019)

Cornell University

Location: Ithaca, New York

Related department or school: Department of Computer Science, Department of Information Science

Overview: Cornell Computing and Information Science (Cornell CIS) is the parent unit of three interconnected departments: computer science, information science, and statistics and data science. Situated in Gates Hall on the university’s Ithaca, New York campus, the unit’s current research includes a wide range of topics, from tech basics such as natural language processing and data science to more current issues like human-robot interaction or technology and equity.

Degrees offered: Cornell offers three separate IT bachelor’s degree programs, which are taught at three different colleges. Applicants can choose between a B.A. in information science at the College of Arts and Sciences, a B.S. in information science at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, or a B.S. in information systems and technology at the College of Engineering. Cornell University also offers a Master’s and PhD in information science.

Acceptance rate: 10.9% (2020)

Annual tuition: in-state: $39,244 (state contract colleges) out-of-state: $58,586 (state contract colleges) endowed colleges: $58,586

Total enrollment: 23,620 (fall 2020)

Job placement rate: 66%

Illinois Institute of Technology

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Related department or school: Department of Computer Science

Overview: Illinois Tech is a private, not-for-profit, technology-focused research university with software-engineering-focused computer science programs. That, along with thorough computer science theory, provides solid fundamentals for long-term career success. Illinois Tech conducts research in artificial intelligence, computer networking, cybersecurity, data science, parallel and distributed systems, software engineering, and theory of computation.

Degrees offered: Bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees are available in career-oriented specializations, including: cyber, system and network security, and forensics; data management and analytics; digital systems technology and embedded systems; IT entrepreneurship and management; management information systems; networking, information and communications technology; software development; system administration; systems analysis; and web design and application development.

Acceptance rate: 60.2% (2020)

Annual tuition: $47,670 (fall 2020)

Total enrollment: 6,342 (fall 2020)

Job placement rate: 69.2% employed, 14.6% continuing education (2020)

Lehigh University

Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Related department or school: Computer Science & Engineering Department

Overview: Lehigh’s tech majors provide a strong foundation in computer science and engineering, from the hardware/software interface through systems software, programming languages, software engineering and the mathematical foundations of computing. Electives include artificial intelligence, computer networking, parallel and distributed computing, security, robotics, bioinformatics, data mining, web and mobile application development, and databases.

Degrees offered: Lehigh University offers a variety of computer science and information technology degree programs, including B.A. and B.S. degrees in computer science, and a B.S. debris in computer science and business. The latter is accredited in computer science and business and teaches students the skills necessary to manage and innovate in the world of IT in a corporate setting.

Acceptance rate: 25% (2020)

Annual tuition: $54,790 (fall 2020)

Total enrollment: 7,067 (fall 2020)

Job placement rate: 70% employed, 23% continuing education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Related department or school: Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department

Overview: World-renowned, MIT consistently tops the U.S. News & World Report and other college rankings. It’s also widely recognized for its world-class faculty and research. From robots that perform with professional dance troupes to medical electronic devices that harvest energy from differences in body temperature, MIT’s work improves the quality of life for people worldwide.

Degrees offered: Undergraduates can enroll in electrical science and engineering; electrical engineering and computer science; computer science and engineering; computer science and molecular biology; or computer science, economics and data science. MIT also offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

Acceptance rate: 6.7% (2020)

Annual tuition: $53,790 (2019)

Total enrollment: 11,254 (2020-21)

Job placement rate: 53% employed, 41% continuing education

Michigan Technological University

Location: Houghton, Michigan

Related department or school: Department of Computer Science

Overview: A medium-sized public university, Michigan Tech offers degrees in computer science, software engineering and cybersecurity. Its Department of Computer Science’s expertise includes software engineering, human-computer interaction, virtual environments, data analytics and visualization. It also has core strengths in computing systems, systems software and parallel computing. Students interested in gaming should consider Michigan Tech’s concentration in game development.

Degrees offered: Michigan Tech offers B.S. degrees in computer science, cybersecurity or software engineering, M.S. degrees in Computer Science or Cybersecurity and a Ph.D. in Computational Science and Engineering.

Acceptance rate: 74.3% (2020)

Annual tuition: In-state $16,130, out-of-state $36,432 (fall 2020)

Total enrollment: 7,041 (2020)

Job placement rate: 93% (2020)

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Location: Newark, New Jersey

Related department or school: College of Computing

Overview: Located 20 minutes from Manhattan by train, NJIT bills itself as one of the most computing-intensive campuses in the country. The university’s multidisciplinary curriculum and computing-intensive approach to education provide technological proficiency, business know-how and leadership skills. NJIT grads frequently land jobs with major companies like IBM, Mercedes-Benz, as well as COVID-19 vaccine developer Pfizer.

Degrees offered: NJIT offers B.S. degrees in bioinformatics, business and information systems, computer science, computing and business, human-computer interaction, information systems, information technology, and web and information systems.

Acceptance rate: 72.8% (2020)

Annual tuition: In-state $17,674, out-of-state $33,386 (2019-20)

Total enrollment: >11,400 (2020)

Job placement rate: 82% (2019)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Location: Troy, New York

Related department or school: Department of Computer Science

Overview: Founded in 1824, it bills itself as the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute operates an on‑campus business incubator and a 1,250-acre technology Park. Its Department of Computer Science is aggressively growing with a focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning and cybersecurity. Its students have distinguished themselves by founding companies while still in school and landing high-income jobs at a broad range of companies.

Degrees offered: B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science

Acceptance rate: 47.4% (2020)

Annual tuition: $55,600 (2020-21)

Total enrollment: 7,569 (2020-21)

Job placement rate: 84% (2017)

Rochester Institute of Technology

Location: Rochester, New York

Related department or school: Department of Computer Science

Overview: The computer science program provides students a deep foundation in theory and modern software and hardware concepts, as well as numerous programming languages and paradigms. Students also get paid to work full-time in technological corporate settings.

Degrees offered: RIT offers a wide range of tech degrees, starting with an associate’s degree in applied computer technology. You can also get a B.S. degree in computing exploration, computing and information technologies, computer science, computing security, game design and development, human-centered computing, new media interactive development, software engineering, and web and mobile computing. There are various M.S. and Ph.D. programs as well.

Acceptance rate: 70.7% (2020)

Annual tuition: $50,564 (fall 2020)

Total enrollment: 18,668 (fall 2020)

Job placement rate: 73.4% employed, 19.3% continuing education (2018)

Stanford University

Location: Stanford, California

Related department or school: Computer Science Department

Overview: Hands down, Stanford is one of the best schools in the country — it’s also very hard to get into. The main educational goal of the Computer Science Department is to prepare students for research and teaching careers at universities or in industry. Strong research groups exist in the realms of artificial intelligence, robotics, scientific computing and systems. Students commonly work with researchers at nearby institutions.

Degrees offered: The Computer Science Department offers B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science. The B.S. degree requires students to choose an education track, such as artificial intelligence, biocomputation, graphics or human-computer interaction.

Acceptance rate: 4.3% (2020)

Annual tuition: $55,473 (2019-20)

Total enrollment: 16,385 (2019-20)

Job placement rate: 94% (2018)

Stevens Institute of Technology

Location: Hoboken, New Jersey

Related department or school: Department of Computer Science

Overview: Located across the river from New York City, Stevens is known for its prestigious cybersecurity education program. Its Department of Computer Science includes labs and research centers funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and other sources. Students get the opportunity to apply for patents, become entrepreneurs, and pitch their engineering projects and business ideas to investors.

Degrees offered: Stevens offers B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science; B.S. It also offers an M.S. in cybersecurity and a Ph.D. in data science.

Acceptance rate: 40% (fall 2020)

Annual tuition: $55,952 (2020-21)

Total enrollment: 7,283 (fall 2019)

Job placement rate: 96% (2019)

University of California

The University of California is tricky, as many lists of the best tech colleges in the U.S. include the University of California, but each lists a different campus.

What’s called “the University of California” is actually a sprawling public university system — the most comprehensive in the world. It comprises 10 campuses and numerous research centers scattered across California. It has nearly 23,000 faculty members and more than 285,000 students.

Tuition: In-state $14,000, out-of-state $43,800 (2019-20)

Each campus handles admissions separately. Here are the campuses that typically get high marks for their tech education programs:

University of California-Berkeley

Related department or school: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Overview: This campus and Stanford University are the major universities closest to Silicon Valley, so they’re linked to many of the biggest names and companies in tech. To say it has close ties to the industry is an understatement. Representatives from Apple and Google drop by for speaking appearances and career fairs.

Degrees offered: B.S. or B.A. in computer science. Various M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

Acceptance rate: 16.3% (2020)

Job placement rate: 61% (2018)

University of California-San Diego

Related department or school: Computer Science and Engineering Department

Overview: This is known as an affordable option because of the number of available scholarships and fellowships. UCSD’s tech grads fuel the internet, wireless communications, biotech and computer industries. Many students work with UCSD’s research centers such as the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology, the San Diego Supercomputer Center and others.

Degrees offered: UCSD offers B.S. degrees in computer science, computer engineering and computer science with a specialization in bioinformatics. There are also M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science and computer engineering.

Acceptance rate: 31.5% (2020)

Job placement rate: 95% of respondents received their first full-time job offer within three months of graduating (2019)

University of California-Irvine

Related department or school: School of Information & Computer Sciences

Overview: A broad foundation in IT disciplines combined with cutting-edge research in strategic areas.

Degrees offered: UC Irvine offers B.S. degrees in computer science, data science, informatics, software engineering, computer game science, business information management, and computer science and engineering. There are also M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science, informatics, networked systems, software engineering and statistics.

Acceptance rate: 26.5% (2020)

Job placement rate: 89.47% employed (2019)

Making your way in the tech industry will always be tough, whether you’ve just graduated from college or you’re changing your career in later life.

This process of job searching can be stressful, intense and carries with it buckets of uncertainty, with the IT field, in particular, being quite intimidating. To navigate these murky waters, many among us look for the best possible career advice to cement our motivation and keep us on track for pursuing a career in the industry we’re passionate about.

Thankfully, there’s a fountain of knowledge in the form of experienced professionals just waiting to be tapped.

Be creative in your career pursuits

COVID has unquestionably affected the job market, with job seekers and college graduates now more than ever having to be far more creative in their endeavors. Joblessness is up across the country, meanwhile, so it’s important to remember that the career path you’ve planned out for yourself might not reflect how things turn out.

The CEO and co-founder of graduate recruitment app Debut Careers Michele Trusolino explains, “Often it is not industries that thrive, but companies who redefine how that industry is serviced.”

For Trusolino, “every industry is now a ‘tech industry’ and they need the highly sought after skills to push the boundaries.”

Her advice is absolutely right when you consider today’s markets and the state of the economy. The operations of almost every business have some overlap with the tech industry, which can only be a good thing for those seeking jobs, as it opens the door to be creative in their pursuits.

Let’s say you have some coding experience, for example. This can be used at so many different organisations with companies of all sizes seeking developers to boost their IT operations. Digital skills will always come in handy, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s at a pizza delivery company or a manufacturing plant. You’ll need to be flexible in your approach, however, and broaden your horizons to find the best opportunities. These are valuable skills, and most companies are more than willing to put them to good use.

Trust your gut and take risks

Looking for a new job can be stressful, and lots of research through the years has proven as much. One 2017 Career Builder study found that 73% of job seekers said job hunting was one of the most stressful things in their life, having surveyed 5,016 candidates from the U.S. and Canada.

Don’t let the stress of finding a new job hold you back, though. As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said in the past: “In a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks."

There will be times when those stressful feelings point to a larger issue. As Tim Cook put it in his commencement speech to Auburn University graduates: “Intuition is something that occurs in the moment and, if you are open to it, if you listen to it, it has the potential to direct or redirect you in a way that is best for you.”

Be open to change and try something new

When I started college, I studied K-12 education. I dreamed of teaching classic literature to high schoolers. I couldn’t wait until the day I had my college diploma in hand and could share my love of literature with America’s youth. Looking back, I had no idea what I actually wanted.

After a month of student teaching, I quickly learned that being a teacher wasn’t for me. In the end, I graduated with a degree in professional writing and political science. Since graduating, I’ve worked in tech, health care, manufacturing, human resources and spent some time as a butcher.

I’m not the only who’s shifted gears in college or worked in various industries either. In fact, people choose to set off on new career paths all the time. According to a 2019 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of baby boomers, individuals born between 1957 and 1964 held an average of 12.3 jobs between the ages of 18 and 52.

As Bill Gates shared in a 2020 commencement speech, “The important thing to remember about career paths is that they don't have to last forever, and when I was in my 20s, I thought I'd always worked in software. I never saw myself working in philanthropy or on global health at all, let alone leaving behind my job at Microsoft to do it full-time. As you get older, your interests and your skills will evolve. My advice is to be open to change. Don't be afraid to try something new.”

Gates’ words serve as a good reminder that being open to new career opportunities can pay off. Gates would know, as he began his career as founder and CEO of Microsoft and now leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Persistence pays off in the long run

Embarking on a new career path can be an arduous process. No matter where your career takes you, understand that persistence pays off in the long run.

Eva Peris, CMO and co-founder of Wanted tells graduates, "Do not give up. The more you understand your professional journey and personal goals, the more you'll be able to convince a recruiter that you're the right fit for the job. If things take longer than expected, [keep] yourself updated through internships or freelance work…the right job will come soon.”

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt shared his advice with Virginia Tech’s 2015 graduating class, telling them, “Be persistent. When someone says you’re thinking too big, say ‘I don’t think I’m thinking big enough.’ Challenge them. Be smart enough to not listen to people who push you down. When someone says the odds are too small, be dumb enough to give it a shot.”

Whether you’ve just graduated from college or are considering a career in tech, there is a wealth of advice to take into account. From commencement speeches by tech executives to one-on-one interviews with some of the industry’s most well-known leaders, there’s no reason not to use such words of wisdom to your advantage.

It's widely known in the tech industry that degrees in subject areas such as computer science or cyber security do hold value. However, the main stumbling block many individuals face when applying for jobs is a lack of hands-on experience.

This is where internships can prove invaluable to prospective candidates starting their careers in IT. Internships can help bulk out CVs and provide candidates with a better insight into how the information they’ve learned at an academic level applies to real-world scenarios. It also shows employers that the candidate has a strong grasp of what the industry needs and understands the necessity for real-world experience before applying for an entry-level position.

Good-quality internships can be difficult to secure so candidates should relish the chance to impress every day and build their profile as much as possible within the business that’s chosen to take them on for a short time to maximize potential outcomes. Plus, once you've secured and completed your internship, it will be a great help for how to nail any IT interviews in the future.

Finding an IT internship

One of the key pieces of advice to finding and securing an internship is to apply early. Many high-profile tech firms run internships but with very early application deadlines so it’s always recommended to submit as early as possible to show maximum commitment and make sure your name is at the top of the pile.

Candidates should also make good use of the connections they have. Nepotism gets a bad reputation but there’s no shame in capitalising on any advantages you have at your disposal, especially when starting out in such a competitive field. Are your family or friends already in tech? Perfect - there’s nothing wrong with sending them a message asking about potential opportunities. Those with degrees should also tap into their wide network for potential ways into the industry - generating a broad network of contacts is a big reason why university is recommended to young professionals.

Many companies also dedicate entire sections of their websites to their internship programmes so it can simply be a matter of searching for the company that excites you the most. Leveraging the power of the internet both in search engine queries and automated job alerts can ensure you never miss an opportunity that crops up.

Six tech companies that offer IT internships

While there are a number of companies that offer IT internships, we've highlighted just a handful of them below.

Each company on the list is committed to providing college students with hands-on experiences in the tech industry and offers a range of internships for students to apply to.

1. Google

Google offers a number of internships, ranging from software engineering to infrastructure technology. All the company asks is as an intern at Google, you "Bring your insight, imagination, and a healthy disregard for the impossible."

Visit Internships+ to apply for a Google internship.

2. Amazon

Whether you're working towards an undergraduate degree or a PhD, Amazon offers a host of technical internships worldwide. Most Amazon internships at Amazon are in the summer and last 12-16 weeks.

Visit Amazon internships for students to apply for an internship.

3. Apple

Interns at Apple are given the opportunity to work on critical projects on the company's Silicon Valley campus. Internships are also available at Apple's international offices but are all currently operating on a remote basis.

Visit Jobs at Apple to apply for an internship.

4. Hewlett-Packard

At Hewlett-Packard, there's no shortage of career-changing internships to choose from. As an intern at HP, you can expect the kind of hands-on experiences that will bolster your resume and cover letter, while you build your professional network and contribute to critical projects.

Visit HP careers to apply

5. Salesforce

There are a number of reasons to intern at Salesforce. Not only are interns encouraged to mingle with senior leadership, but IT interns can also explore new skills through guided learning experiences at the company. Note that most Salesforce internships are over the summer period, but some are still available during the academic term.

Visit Salesforce to apply for an internship.

6. Microsoft

Internship opportunities at Microsoft vary by location and education level. There's a host of options to choose from, though. Whether you're interested in software engineering or cybersecurity, Microsoft promises its interns the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology.

Visit Microsoft internships to apply for one.

What to look for in an IT internship

Some people seek internships with the goal of just adding another bullet point to their resume. If your goal is to have a career in IT, though, you want to make sure your internship serves as a stepping stone into your field of interest. Finding such an internship might require some extra effort on your part, but the added focus is sure to pay off in the long run.

Apply for internships that give you hands-on work experience in the IT field too, then you can be sure a career in IT is the right career path for you. Internships are a great way to expose yourself to a multitude of career paths, so don't miss out on the chance to do so.

As you navigate the internship process, it's also important to consider programs that offer mentors available to interns. A mentor will help you navigate your internship and settle into your working environment. Often, mentors can also give interns access to higher-level executives, allowing them to learn from the experts within the company.

It doesn't hurt to consider internship programs that offer full-time job opportunities at the end of them either.

Interviewing for an IT internship

You've made it to the interview stage. Now what?

First impressions are important. There's nothing worse than a candidate who shows up to their interview dressed inappropriately or looking dishevelled.

As a general rule, you should dress business casual, unless directed otherwise. Also, consider leaving your cell phone in the car, or at least switching it to airplane mode before entering the building.

Don't underestimate the value of being overprepared. Show up to your interview with multiple copies of your resume. Should the interview go well, you might find yourself sitting across the table from more interviewers than you originally planned for. Plus, you never know when an interviewer will face unexpected printer problems.

When it comes to answering questions, there's no way to predict every question the interviewer will ask. That said, spend some time before the interview considering answers to some of the most common interview questions. At the very least, practice a 60-second elevator pitch that gets across your ultimate career goals and interests.

Don't forget to show a real interest in the company and its goals too. Doing your research is a surefire way to impress your interviewer and proves that you've made an informed decision in applying for an internship at the company.

You're applying for an internship, so employers may not expect you to have practical experience. Keep in mind, though, if the interviewer wants to see what you're capable of, they may give you an assignment. Don't underestimate the importance of this task. Doing so could make or break your chances of receiving an offer.

Having thoughtful questions prepared for an interview will show that you're engaged in the interview process too. Interviewers expect questions and will wait to answer any inquiries that you may have.

Making the most of your IT internship

Internship programs offer everyone a fantastic learning experience. Use that opportunity to educate yourself about the business that you're engrossed in, and the kinds of job opportunities that might become available.

Also, make sure that you get to grips with the company you're interning with, so you can be best placed to learn and help out with the tasks at hand to the best of your ability. It's crucial to understand what makes a good employee, and why the best employees are in the position they're in.

Meeting and speaking with your manager early on is also important, given you'll need to establish positive working relationships to make the most of your experience. If there are any particular areas that you want to learn more about, or would like to transition into, the best way to go about this is to just ask around, and meet the right people. Contacts are crucial.

You should also socialize with any fellow interns that you meet during your experience, as you're all going through the same process together, and forming a small network will be really helpful. Make sure to attend as many company events as you can, as well, so you can really get your name out there. You may even find a mentor that can show you the ropes, offer essential advice, and draft a positive recommendation letter when you're looking for your next opportunity.

You finished your internship. What comes next?

When you have a chance to look back on your time as an intern on your last day, it's a great exercise to note down everything you've learned along the way.

Are you more suited to working on your own, or did you really excel in a group setting? Are you an amazing communicator, or is this something that you need to work on in your next role? How do you see your leadership skills? These are only a handful of the questions you should be asking yourself.

You should take stock of everything you learned during your experience, your strengths and weaknesses, as well as any skills you've picked up, and what you'd like to learn in future if given the chance.

It's also the perfect time to update your resume and include details around the most important projects and tasks you were assigned to. Note down some accomplishments that are relevant to your career pursuits.

With a fresh perspective on your future goals, you might feel motivated to further expand your IT skills, gain more real-world experience and even expand your professional network by joining various IT organizations.

No matter what you do though, never stop learning.

Acquiring robust coding skills through free coding courses in the UK offers a significant opportunity for individuals looking to pivot their careers or enhance their current technological expertise. Proficiency in coding is increasingly vital across numerous industries, empowering professionals to automate processes, boost efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge.

The career prospects in software development are compelling. Junior software developers in the UK can expect starting salaries of £30,000.00 per year or £14.42 per hour, while senior or lead roles can command on average £52,720. This strong demand and earning potential make programming an attractive field for sustained career growth.

Fortunately, learning to code does not require a substantial financial investment. A wealth of free resources caters to both beginners and seasoned learners. Whether your goal is to master a new programming language, upgrade existing skills, or delve into specialized areas of software development, free coding courses provide a flexible and cost-effective path. Below is a curated list of some of the top free coding courses accessible in the UK to kickstart your learning journey.

The best free coding courses in the UK

FreeCodeCamp

Website: https://www.freecodecamp.org/

FreeCodeCamp, a charity, offers an extensive, entirely free learning platform where individuals can master coding through hands-on projects and interactive challenges. With a vast library boasting over 9,000 tutorials and growing, learners can progress at their own pace. 

The curriculum is project-based, enabling practical application of learned skills. Key certifications, which are internationally recognized, cover areas such as Responsive Web Design, JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures, Data Visualization, Back End Development and APIs, and Quality Assurance. A vibrant community forum provides robust support for collaboration and assistance, enhancing the learning experience.

User review insights: Highly praised for its comprehensive curriculum and hands-on approach. Users on platforms like Course Report and SwitchUp consistently rate it highly (often 4.5-4.9 out of 5 stars) for its practical projects and supportive community. G2 reviewers give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. Other sources continue to recommend it as a strong starting point for web development fundamentals.

Code First Girls

Website: https://www.codefirstgirls.org.uk/

Code First Girls, co-founded by Alice Bentinck and Matthew Clifford, is a social enterprise dedicated to closing the gender gap in the tech industry. It has provided free coding education to over 80,000 women across the UK and beyond. 

The enterprise's CFGdegree programs and other free courses cover foundational topics such as web development, Python, data science, and SQL. These programs are designed to be flexible, enabling women to gain job-ready skills while balancing other commitments. Code First Girls partners with major corporations to connect participants with employment opportunities in tech.

Among these courses are introductions to web development, Python programming, data science, and SQL programming.

User review insights: Participants often highlight the supportive environment and the direct pathways to employment opportunities. Testimonials on their website and in industry articles consistently reflect the positive impact on career progression in tech. While large aggregator review scores are less common, their partnerships with major companies and the increasing number of women trained (over 100,000 as of early 2023) attest to their effectiveness and reputation.

Code Your Future

Website: https://codeyourfuture.io/

CodeYourFuture, founded in 2016, is a UK-registered charity dedicated to empowering refugees and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds by training them to become software developers. The organization offers free, part-time coding programs in several UK cities, including London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow. It has also expanded internationally, with active programs in Rome (Italy), Medellín (Colombia), Cape Town (South Africa), and Tunis (Tunisia).

Its full-stack curriculum covers essential technical skills such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Node.js, and React, alongside soft skills development in areas like teamwork, problem-solving, and agile methodologies. The program is designed to be inclusive, offering introductory modules that lead into their core Software Development course. A second, much more substantial course also covers full-stack web development. 

To support accessibility, students who complete an initial introductory course may be eligible for financial assistance covering expenses such as Wi-Fi, travel, and childcare in certain circumstances. 

User review insights: CodeYourFuture earns high regard for its profound social mission and its intensive, supportive training environment focused on refugees and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Graduates frequently praise the strong sense of community and the dedication of volunteer mentors. Reviews on platforms like Google Reviews for its various chapters and numerous testimonials emphasize its life-altering impact. Its recognition as a Digital Public Good (DPG) further validates its quality and open-source curriculum

Codecademy

Website: https://www.codecademy.com/

Codecademy, founded in 2011 by Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski, has helped millions of learners worldwide acquire coding skills. The platform offers a free ‘Basic’ tier, granting access to introductory coding courses, enabling beginners to learn foundational concepts at their own pace. This makes it an excellent entry point for those curious about programming but not yet ready for a financial commitment.

Codecademy is known for its interactive, hands-on learning environment, where students build real-world projects, such as websites and applications, reinforcing their understanding. The platform provides courses in a wide range of programming languages, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, SQL, and more.

For learners seeking structured and in-depth training, Codecademy offers paid subscription plans: ‘Plus’ and ‘Pro’, which unlock career paths, skill paths, interview preparation, and extensive project work designed to develop job-ready skills.

With its mix of free and paid options, Codecademy remains a popular and accessible choice for aspiring coders, offering both foundational skills and pathways to advanced knowledge.

User review insights: Codecademy is widely recognized for its interactive, browser-based learning platform, making it easy for beginners to start coding without a complex setup. Its free 'Basic' tier is often praised as an excellent entry point. Users appreciate the immediate feedback and hands-on exercises. While some advanced content and career paths are behind a paywall ('Plus' and 'Pro' plans), the free offering remains substantial for learning foundational skills in various languages. 

Coursera

Website: https://www.coursera.org/

Coursera is a major online learning platform that partners with leading universities and corporations to offer a vast catalogue of courses, specializations, and degrees, including numerous options in coding and computer science. Many individual courses on Coursera can be audited for free, providing access to lecture materials and readings. However, to earn a formal certificate of completion for a course or Specialization, a fee is typically required, which varies by program. These certificates can be valuable additions to a professional profile. 

Coursera's coding content spans a broad spectrum of tech skills, from beginner-level introductions to languages like Python and Java, to advanced topics such as machine learning, data science, and cybersecurity. While some content is self-paced, many courses offer structured learning with assignments and community discussion forums. For comprehensive access, Coursera offers a subscription model, Coursera Plus, which provides unlimited access to a large portion of its catalog for a recurring fee.

User review insights: Coursera is valued for providing access to courses from prestigious universities and companies. The ability to "audit" many courses for free is a significant benefit, allowing learners to access high-quality lecture materials and readings. While certificates and graded assignments typically require payment, the free audit option is excellent for exploration and learning specific topics. Users appreciate the breadth of subjects, from beginner coding to advanced specializations, such as AI and data science.

Founders & Coders

Website: https://www.foundersandcoders.com/

Founders & Coders is a UK-based charity that provides tuition-free, peer-led training programs in full-stack web development. Their distinctive learning model emphasizes collaborative learning and employability.

Its primary offering is an intensive, full-time 16-week coding boot camp, designed to equip individuals with the skills needed for a career in software development. The curriculum includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Node.js, and PostgreSQL, with a strong focus on project-based learning and agile practices.

A unique aspect of their model is the expectation that graduates contribute back to the community, mentoring prospective applicants and supporting subsequent cohorts, fostering a sustainable, community-driven learning environment. Additionally, profits from their graduate placement services are reinvested into funding the training programs.

User review insights: Founders & Coders is recognized as a unique, tuition-free coding academy in the UK, emphasizing peer-led, collaborative learning. Reviews often praise its intensive, community-driven bootcamp model. Graduates highlight the strong focus on employability and the supportive environment. Its non-profit nature and the requirement for graduates to contribute back to the community are seen as distinctive and positive aspects. Course Report gives it a rating of 4.49 out of 5 stars.

Microsoft Learn

Website: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/

Microsoft Learn is Microsoft's official platform for free, interactive, self-paced learning, designed to help individuals and professionals build expertise in Microsoft products and services. It offers a vast collection of learning paths and modules, covering technologies such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform (including Power BI), and SQL Server, as well as broader topics like AI, cybersecurity, and data science.

Each learning path is structured into modules, which include instructional content, hands-on lab exercises in a sandbox environment, and knowledge checks to reinforce learning. The platform caters to learners of all levels, from beginners exploring fundamental concepts to advanced professionals seeking specialized knowledge.

Upon completion of specific learning paths and associated assessments, learners can prepare for Microsoft Certifications — globally recognized credentials that validate expertise in various Microsoft technologies. These certifications can significantly enhance a professional's resume, career prospects, and earning potential in the IT industry. Additionally, Microsoft Learn provides community-driven resources, including forums, study groups, and expert-led training sessions, to support learners throughout their journey.

User review insights: Microsoft Learn is highly regarded as an authoritative and comprehensive resource for mastering Microsoft technologies. Users appreciate the structured learning paths, hands-on labs in sandbox environments, and the direct alignment with Microsoft Certifications. The platform is praised for being entirely free and regularly updated with the latest information on Azure, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, and other MS products. It's considered invaluable for IT professionals working within the Microsoft ecosystem.

W3Schools

Website: https://www.w3schools.com/

W3Schools is a widely recognized online educational resource, offering extensive tutorials and references for a broad range of web development technologies. Its content covers programming languages and frameworks such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, PHP, SQL, Java, jQuery, React, AngularJS, XML, and Bootstrap.

Unlike structured learning platforms, W3Schools provides detailed explanations and examples for individual programming elements, allowing learners to study specific topics at their own pace. A key feature is its integrated "Try it Yourself" editor, which enables users to experiment with code examples directly in the browser and see immediate results. This hands-on approach enhances practical understanding and encourages interactive learning

While the majority of its learning materials are free, W3Schools also offers paid certification programs for users who wish to formally validate their skills in specific areas, which can be beneficial for career advancement. Additionally, the platform offers interactive coding challenges and exercises, helping learners reinforce their knowledge through practice.

User review insights: W3Schools is a long-standing and widely used resource, valued for its straightforward tutorials and "Try it Yourself" editor, which allows for immediate practice. It's often recommended for quick lookups and learning the basics of web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. While some find its explanations a bit simplistic for deep understanding, its ease of use and breadth of topics make it a popular free resource for beginners and as a handy reference for experienced developers.

Code.org

Website: https://code.org/

Code.org is a charity dedicated to expanding access to computer science education, particularly for schoolchildren. While its primary audience is younger learners, its resources also serve as an excellent starting point for adults seeking a gentle introduction to coding concepts without any prior knowledge.

The platform offers a variety of free resources, including its widely recognized "Hour of Code" tutorials, which are one-hour introductory activities available in over 70 languages. These activities introduce basic programming principles through engaging, often game-like interfaces, making coding accessible and fun.

For those looking to delve deeper, Code.org provides structured courses tailored to different age groups. Its curriculum is designed to demystify coding, foster problem-solving skills, and encourage participation from underrepresented groups in technology. Additionally, Code.org plays a key role in advocating for computer science education policies, partnering with schools and policymakers to integrate coding into core curricula.

User review insights: Code.org is highly praised for its mission to expand access to computer science, especially for schoolchildren. While its primary focus is on younger learners, its "Hour of Code" tutorials and introductory courses are often cited as excellent, non-intimidating starting points for adults with absolutely no prior coding experience. Users appreciate the fun, game-like approach to learning fundamental programming concepts.

In a competitive talent market, such as IT, obtaining a certification is a sure way to verify your expertise, demonstrate your knowledge quickly to others, and ultimately make job hunting a far smoother process. Recruiters look for credentials to back up details provided on an applicant's CV and many companies request certain types of certification in order for an applicant to even be considered for a role.

According to training provider Global Knowledge, 89% of the global IT industry is certified. It recently published its list of the 15 top paying IT certifications in 2019, showing that employers are focusing on specific areas, in particular, cloud computing, cyber security, networking and project management. In fact, cloud and project management dominated the top five spots.

Global Knowledge 2019 report:

Although the figures provided represent a look at the US market, we can see that Google's own Cloud Architect certification is now the best qualification to pursue in terms of average salary, closely followed by qualifications in project management and then development roles for AWS.

"The two leading areas are cyber security and cloud computing, followed by virtualisation, network and wireless LANs," notes Zane Schweer, Global Knowledge's director of marketing communications. "Up and coming certifications focus on AI, cognitive computing, machine learning, IoT, mobility and end-point management."

Cloud comes out on top

"Cloud computing is paramount to every aspect of modern business," explains Deshini Newman, managing director EMEA of non-profit organisations (ISC)2. "It's reflective of the highly agile and cost-effective way that businesses need to work now, and so skilled professionals need to demonstrate that they are proficient in the same platforms, methodologies and approaches towards development, maintenance, detection and implementation."

Jisc, a non-profit which specialises in further and higher education technology solutions, has joined many other organisations in adopting a cloud-first approach to IT, and so relies heavily on services like Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure.

"Certified training in either or both of these services is important for a variety of roles," explains Peter Kent, head of IT governance and communications at Jisc, "either to give the detailed technical know-how to operate them or simply to demonstrate an understanding of how they fit into our infrastructure landscape."

"Accompanying these, related networking and server certifications such as Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MSCE) are important as many cloud infrastructures still need to work with remaining or hybrid on-premise infrastructures," he notes.

Security certifications are also high on the most-wanted list, but they are required across a variety of different platforms and disciplines. One of the growth areas (ISC)2 has seen is in cybersecurity certifications in relation to the cloud. "This is something that is reflected by the positioning of the cloud within the Global Knowledge top 15," Newman points out.

Aside from technical training, ITIL is still considered a key certification as a way of benchmarking an individual's understanding of the infrastructure and process framework that IT teams have in place.

"But with ITIL v4 just around the corner I'd recommend holding off any training until v4 courses are widely available," advises Kent.

And it's not just about the accreditation - it can often also be about the company behind the certification itself. This is part of what makes the most desirable certifications desirable - the credibility and support of the issuing bodies.

The benefits of certification

Global Knowledge's report highlighted that businesses believe that having certified IT professionals on staff offer a number of benefits - most importantly helping them meet client requirements, close skills gaps and solve technical issues more quickly.

This is great for the company, but what do you gain as an individual? Well, aside from being in higher demand and the ability to perform a job faster, the main answer is a larger paycheque.

"In North America, it's roughly a 15% increase in salary, while in EMEA its 3%," says Schweer. "We attribute cost of living and other unique circumstances within each country to the difference," he notes.

Research by (ISC)2 and recruitment firm Mason Frank International also showed similar results.

"In our latest Salesforce salary survey 39% of respondents indicated that their salary had increased since becoming certified and those holding certifications at the rarer end of the spectrum are more likely to benefit from a pay increase," says director Andy Mason.

"While the exact amount of money an individual can earn will fluctuate from sector to sector, it is clear that certifications in any sector can and do make a big financial difference," agrees Newman. "That's on top of setting individuals apart at the top of their profession."

Does certification create an 'opportunity shortage'?

However, not everyone regards certifications as the be-all-and-end-all for recruiting the best possible staff. Some, such as Mango Solutions' head of data engineering, Mark Sellors, actually believe that it can often 'lock-out' certain candidates that might be perfect for a role.

"This can be troubling for a number of reasons," he says. "In many cases certifications are worked out in an individual's personal time. This means those with significant responsibilities outside of their existing job may not be in a position to do additional study, and that's not to mention the cost of some of these certs."

He adds that using certifications as a bar above which one must reach can also further reduce gender diversity within the IT space, as a past study by Hewlett Packard found that women are much less likely than men to apply for a job if they don't meet all of the listed entry requirements.

It's Sellors' belief that the problem facing many hiring managers is not just a talent one, but rather a one of opportunity.

"They're not giving great candidates the opportunity to excel in these roles as they've latched on to the idea that talent can be proven with a certificate," explains Sellors. "Certifications can be useful in certain circumstances - for example when trying to prove a certain degree of knowledge during a career switch, or moving from one technical area to another. They're also a great way to quickly ramp up knowledge when your existing role shifts in a new direction.

"More often than not, however, they prove little beyond the candidate's ability to cram for an exam. Deep technical knowledge comes from experience and there's sadly no shortcut for that."

With businesses striving to better utilise the volumes of data collected on a daily basis, alongside deploying technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), it’s imperative their workforce is sufficiently trained to handle these challenges. A freely flowing supply of digital skills has never been more important to the UK economy and to the growth of organisations across all sectors and of all sizes.

Research from PWC Economic Outlook from 2019 suggested AI and similar technologies would replace roughly 20% of UK jobs by 2037, with a similar number of jobs also expected to be created within that period. This evening-out in the jobs market, in practice, demands that the workforce is sufficiently trained and qualified to undertake these future roles, with a demand for highly specialised roles too expected to place further pressure on training and upskilling UK workers.

Accenture data shows half of an average employee's time (51%) is ripe for augmenting with smart technologies, in order to improve a worker’s efficiency and the productivity of the wider workforce. However, out-of-date training regimes and workplace education risk losing £141.5bn of growth that such innovations might one day bring.

These studies only provide a snapshot of the urgent need to upskill and train the UK workforce, with a library of research pointing to an ever-widening digital skills gap that sees demand outpacing supply. Although the government has acknowledged these dangers, historic measures have failed to reverse this trend. There are programmes being established, however, that go some way towards filling the gaps forming in the digital economy. There are now plenty of government-backed initiatives out there, funded by a variety of sources, that workers can explore in order to get the training they need.

With a combination of public sector and private sector schemes, the UK hopes to stem the tide and mitigate the potential issues that might arise further down the line. These educational programmes vary based on levels, with many aimed at developing skills for those already at work and others targeting budding novices who are seeking to change career paths altogether.

UK Government Digital Skills Partnership

The Digital Skills Partnership (DSP) brings together public, private and charity sector organisations to help increase the digital capability of individuals and organisations in England. It is a wide-ranging programme, with a focus on addressing digital inclusion and the general digital skills workers now need, right up to highly advanced skills for specialist roles.

Digital Skills Innovation Fund

Another Government initiative, the Digital Skills Innovation Fund is a £1 million grants pot that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Combined Authorities can bid for. It funds initiatives which specifically aim to help people take up digital roles. There is an additional 400,000 to provide digital skills to older and disabled people.

Institute of Coding

The Institute of Coding is part of the government's Industrial Strategy. Pilot programmes in Leeds, Devon and Somerset, Lincolnshire, Stoke-on-Trent and the West Midlands tested how to reach out and support people with the cost of retraining. Employers will have a tangible input to the curriculum, working with universities to develop specialist skills in areas where they are needed most.

The Institute is funded with £20 million from Government and a further £20 million from a consortium that includes IBM, Cisco, BT, Microsoft, 25 universities, and professional bodies such as the British Computer Society and CREST. The 25 universities involved, led by the University of Bath, range from sector leaders in business and computer science (UCL and Newcastle University) to experts in arts and design (University of the Arts) to specialists in widening participation and outreach (Open University and Birkbeck, University of London).

One Digital

One Digital is a National Lottery-funded project aimed at helping people learn digital skills through local digital champions. It supports people with all kinds of skills, including helping them to get the skills needed for work.

Code Club

Code Club is a global network of free coding clubs for young people aged between 9 and 13. It is run by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a UK charity. Code Club introduces coding concepts one by one and young people progressively build their knowledge as they complete different projects. There are currently over 12,000 clubs in over 160 countries, supporting over 180,000 young people learning to code each week. Schools offer space and equipment, and participation is free. Details of projects in your area can be found at the Code Club website.

Amazon has announced that after more than a year of searching, that it has chosen Queens, New York City and Arlington, Virginia as the locations for its two new headquarters, citing top talent recruitment as the key driver in the decision.

In a search lasting longer than a year, drawing bids from 238 North American cities, $5 billion will be invested in the new headquarters locations creating 50,000 jobs in the process. The new locations will join Amazon's pre-existing headquarters in Seattle and a centre of excellence for its operations business will also be built in Nashville, creating a further 5,000 jobs.

The Nashville site will handle the company's customer fulfilment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities. The online retail giant is confident the new builds will generate "tens of thousands of additional jobs in the surrounding communities", according to an Amazon blog post.

"We are excited to build new headquarters in New York City and Northern Virginia," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. "These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come. The team did a great job selecting these sites, and we look forward to becoming an even bigger part of these communities."

Why did Amazon pick Queens and Arlington and the two new primary locations? Amazon says it's because by being based there, it will be able to recruit more strong local and regional talent, particularly in software development and related fields. Others disagree, though.

Many critics argue that after months of lobbying cities for subsidies and grants, the decision was ultimately one of economics. It would give Bezos's company tax breaks for relocating outside to one of the boroughs outside Manhattan to the tune of $1.3 billion in business tax credits and property tax breaks.

"This is the largest economic development initiative that has ever been done by the city or the state," New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, The Guardian reports. "Either you are creating jobs, or you are losing jobs. Either you are part of the economy of tomorrow, or you're part of the economy of yesterday. This is a competition."

Arlington will also earn Amazon some healthy cash bonuses too as the company will receive $573 million in subsidies from Washington DC, $550 million from Virginia and $23 million from Arlington based on its promise to create high-paying jobs.

"The whole exercise was just to create more pressure for more tax breaks," said Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First. But Amazon insists "economic incentives were one factor in our decision - but attracting top talent was the leading driver".

The Institute of Coding (IoC) is inviting groups to apply for a portion of a 2.3 million funding initiative aimed at narrowing the digital skills gap.

The 20 million government-backed group will allocate funding to between five and ten groups of organisations who can present a clear programme to improve access to digital skills, and boost graduate employability and outcomes.

These collectives, or groups, are invited to bid for the Future Projects Fund so long as they include at least one university or college with an existing computer science or IT course, and at least one industry partner. Beyond that, bidding groups could also include other higher education providers, employers, and even outreach organisations.

"Gaining access to high quality education and training is absolutely critical to tackling the UK's digital skills shortfall," said the IoC's director Dr Rachid Hourizi.

"The IoC's new fund will enable academic institutions and industry organisations to work together, developing cutting edge education to promote digital excellence and improve the technical skills for a new generation of workers.

"This initiative is the latest in a wide array of activity from the IoC to launch new services and spread digital skills across the country."

Successful groups will focus on innovative approaches to digital skills education for fields in which the wider industry faces shortages, while showing evidence the programme will improve student and graduate employability.

The plans must also demonstrate universities have engaged with employers to design curriculums around the industry - and that female students, or those from ethnic minority backgrounds, are being actively encouraged to take up digital skills.

"This new fund provides an exciting opportunity for the creation of high quality STEM courses for the next generation of graduates," said FDM COO and chair of the IoC's industry advisory board Sheila Flavell.

"At a time when the UK's digital industry is playing such a vital role in economic growth and job creation, it's absolutely critical that we extend access to technical education to as many young people as possible, from all walks of life."

The IoC, first announced by the prime minister earlier this year, is a publicly-funded conglomerate bringing together more than 60 organisations and 25 universities to attempt to close the skills shortage the UK faces.

The announcement marks the IoC's first major initiative since the organisation, jointly funded by industry sponsors and the higher education regulator Office for Students (OfS), officially launched in June.

Speaking at its launch, Dr Hourizi told IT Pro that as well as hiring from abroad or relying on young university graduates to fill gaps, companies must look inwardly as to how they can reskill or retrain their existing workforce.

Although predominantly tied with higher education, the IoC says it is committed to imparting skills onto the wider population, especially those entering education in later life, not to mention boosting access for women and ethnic minorities.

Meanwhile, the UK's skills shortage is becoming increasingly urgent, with a recorded fall in the number of students taking up STEM subjects at university ahead of the upcoming academic year.

Newly-published research also suggested Brexit will exacerbate the crisis, with an analysis of 41 million online job adverts showing the top five skill groups the UK most-needs include data engineering, IT security, market research, app development and web development.

Collectives can bid for a slice of the IoC's 2.3 million Future Projects Fund, which is part of the government's initial 20 million investment, until 26 November, with the money set to be allocated to successful groups between 31 January 2019 and 31 January 2020.

The IoC will also be holding town hall Q&A-style meetings, in partnership with Council for Professors and Heads of Computing (CPHC), in London on 5 September, and Manchester on 16 October to answer questions about its initiative.

Not satisfied with dominating the cloud, web search and browser charts, Google is now attempting to take on the recruitment market too, launching its job search experience in the UK.

The feature has been integrated into Google's search, and means that anyone can type in search terms relating to jobs (such as "jobs near me", "IT jobs" or similar keyword strings), to see relevant vacancies in their search results, discovering more information about the roles in just a few clicks.

Listings will include job title, industry, location, and salary information to help jobseekers decide whether or not to click through to apply on the recruiter's website, so they can see if it's a good fit for them. They can also add job searches to their Google Alerts, so if any new postings become available, they'll see the details first.

Google has teamed up with a variety of recruiters to power the experience, including The Guardian Jobs, Reed.co.uk, Haymarket, Gumtree, The Telegraph, Reach plc's totallylegal, CV-Library and totaljobs.com.

"We've been working closely with Google to optimise reed.co.uk and ensure our clients gain the full benefit of the discoverability that this new search experience will deliver," Mark Rhodes, director of marketing at Reed.co.uk said.

"Early signs from our testing with Google show jobseekers arriving at Reed.co.uk via this new search experience are application-ready, with a high level of intent, so we anticipate seeing a positive impact on the quality and volume of applications we supply to our recruitment clients."

The addition of Google's job search experience is part of Google's commitment to help 100,000 people in the UK find a job or grow in their career by 2020.

The company has already launched Google Digital Garage programme, which offers anyone in the UK the opportunity to learn new digital skills for free, enabling them to jump on the careers ladder in a variety of digitally-led roles.

"We are delighted to partner with Google for the launch of their new and improved job search experience in Search," Richmal Roseman, head of recruitment marketing at Haymarket, added.

"At Haymarket Recruitment Media we are dedicated to connecting the right candidate to the right role so we are really excited to see Google's innovation in Search enhance that service. They have developed sophisticated technology that will benefit both our candidates and our clients when they work with us so we are thrilled to be a partner from the start."

When looking from afar, it may seem to many that a CIO got to the position they're in because they followed a structured pathway: study an IT-related degree, use the skills practically in their first job, and slowly but surely move up the ladder to become a C-level executive and part of an organisation's board.

However, in reality this is almost never the case.

For many CIOs, their first taste of IT, and their initial interest in the subject, often comes later on in a professional career. In this IT Pro Panel, we look at three IT leaders who have all reached the top of their profession in different ways.

The South East Asia exploration - Amnesty International CIO John Gillespie

Gillespie's career began in sales and marketing, before he then became a business analyst. It was only after a move to South East Asia where a role in IT really transpired as a possible career path. It was here that he became ICT advisory of The Asia Foundation in Cambodia, and then IT manager at Nam Theun 2 Power Company in Laos.

"I ended up running the IT for what was a big hydro electric construction project and I discovered that I loved that, and loved bringing the magic and power of technology to an organisation and seeing that impact on the way that people worked and the way the organisation functioned," Gillespie tells IT Pro.

He adds that this was his first real flavour of IT, setting up an organisation from scratch.

"We started with an empty server room and a big pile of cardboard boxes that would hold up the servers and all of the bits and pieces; we had a two-year period where we build up a complete organisation with all of the classic accounting systems, websites and email and that's where I got a chance to see the whole thing from end-to-end," he states.

After that, Gillespie returned to the UK, and following a few roles in consulting, architecture and in business analysis, he heard about the job at Amnesty International, which was "far too good to turn down". Gillespie has been CIO of the organisation for almost five years now.

The science-IT skills overlap - The Francis Crick Institute CIO Alison Davis

Davis knew she liked IT at a relatively early age: she had heard that to be good at IT she needed analytical and logical skills - two of the things she says were her strong points at school.

However, she enjoyed science even more and took a liking to chemistry in particular.

"The beauty of this was that if you started a degree in 1981, you could get into IT from a variety of disciplines as long as you could demonstrate you had a numerate mindset and aptitude tests would prove that," she explains.

Davis did study Computer Studies as an A/O level, which was a halfway house between GCSEs and A-Levels, but she went into chemistry for further education and then ended up at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

"I knew that as I was at a big company, I'd have the freedom to move and develop a career that wasn't a pure bench chemist," she says.

When GSK decided it needed a helpdesk in 1986, Davis got her big break.

"I had been a local lab expert fixing the printer and sorting things out for people and there was an advert for the helpdesk and I didn't know I wanted to leave chemistry, but I knew at some point I didn't want to continue, so I applied for it," she tells IT Pro.

These were the very early days of having a helpdesk - before the IBM PC got real traction and before ITIL was around - but it was here that Davis discovered a lot about IT.

Eventually she became CIO at the Francis Crick Institute, which she says is the ideal place for her because it enables her to stay around the science field, but work in IT.

Unearthing the inner IT in you - Wrightington Wigan Leigh NHS Foundation Trust acting associate director of IM&T, Mark Singleton

Singleton believes he didn't have the self-discipline to go to university after his A-Levels, and therefore his first job was as a temp working for the NHS. He did study IT and business at GCSE and A-Levels, though, which came in handy when he started filing things because he could create a quick-access database.

"It was doing things like filing records, so it wasn't anything extravagant, and the NHS organisation that I was at started relying on these as it improved the way of working and it was here that they recognised my IT skills," he says.

From there, Singleton produced reports and did some analysis for the NHS and this kickstarted his analytical experience in healthcare. Since then he worked for a few other NHS organisations before moving to Wrightington Wigan Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, where he worked his way up to head of BI and associate director of IM&T.

"I worked my way up through various data and analytical roles and despite not having any referents in my career I did decide to do a degree while I was working, and I'm currently on the last year of completing my masters," he tells IT Pro.

"So I absolutely believe in further education, but I believe unless you want to be a doctor or solicitor, in terms of IT, it's better to get work experience first and decide where you want to be and what area you want to be in, and then get the qualifications that wrap around that."

All three IT leaders took different routes to get where they are, proving that many skills from different departments are interchangeable with IT, and that progress and development can be made even at a late stage in IT.

If you're a senior IT decision-maker and you'd like to apply to be part of the IT Pro Panel, please email panel@itpro.co.uk.

A nationwide initiative to improve workplace gender diversity wants to get 500 companies to commit to its standards, after receiving a 97,000 grant from the UK government.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committed to the second round of funding for the Tech Talent Charter after an initial round last November, bringing its investment in the scheme to 170,000.

Tech Talent Charter won the support of 200 of the UK's largest companies in April, such as HP and recruitment firm Monster, and with the new funding wants to reach a total of 500 signatories by 2019.

"We are delighted to have the DCMS both as a funder and a partner in this next phase of Tech Talent Charter growth," said CEO Debbie Forster.

"With this funding we will be able not just to grow from 200 to 500 companies by 2019 but also to ensure we are a fully national programme, extending our regional work as we break outside the London bubble."

Signatories to the charter, first proposed in 2015 and launched the following year, pledge to uphold its values of improving diversity in tech by implementing inclusive hiring practices and releasing diversity reports, among other measures.

Forster said the additional funding would allow the charter to build an "open playbook" of best practice on recruitment, retraining, and progression from women in tech, sourced from members' personal experiences, as well as holding further regional events that serve as learning opportunities for businesses.

The previous round of funding went towards the charter's national event, and setting up scalable systems for recruitment and growth.

"We'll also be working with the government, our members and partners to launch our first report in the autumn, containing not just the first national benchmarking data of gender diversity but also a map highlighting support available and talent recruitment and retention strategies around the UK to support companies who want to move the dial on diversity," Forster said.

The initiative aims to combat the lack of female representation in the tech industry, with research showing women make up just 17% of IT professionals in the UK - a figure that has remained worryingly static in the last few years.

The latest round of funding, announced to coincide with the end of London Tech Week, aims to support adding to the 225 signatories the charter has now gathered, with the latest organisations signing up including the Met Police, Cisco, and RBS.

"Diversity is not just a moral imperative, it also makes good business sense," said Margot James, minister for culture, communications and creative industries.

"We are more than doubling our support for this essential and timely initiative to put the UK at the forefront of tackling the gender imbalance in the tech workforce as we work to build a Britain which is fit for the future."

Tech Talent Charter has also received additional funding over the last few years from its corporate sponsors, and in kind from a number of host companies including recruitment firm Monster, which created the initiative, Nationwide and Accenture.

The charter will also be hosting a free-to-attend Manchester event on 3 July, supported by Manchester Digital and sponsored by Cisco, that aims to educate employers on best practice on recruiting and retaining female talent.

Picture: Bigstock

Two hundred organisations have now signed the Tech Talent Charter in a bid to help encourage more women to enter technology roles and help companies retain their female tech talent.

The government-supported campaign announced the milestone as it conducted the first of a number of regional events at the Sad Business School in Oxford, where 30 SMB and startup companies met up to discuss practical solutions to the problems of recruiting women to tech roles, and ways to incentivise more women to retrain in tech.

The Tech Talent Charter exists to combat the lack of women in digital and technology roles. Recent signatories include the British Heart Foundation, Microsoft, Salesforce, Vodafone and all UK government departments. Numbers are growing quickly, with the charter counting 90 signatories last November and 125 in January.

Debbie Forster, CEO of the Tech Talent Charter, said: "Last November we promised to grow our membership, to break outside the London 'bubble' and to focus on action over talk to move the dial on diversity in tech.

"We are therefore delighted to have doubled in size since then and to have hosted out first event in Oxford focusing on helping small companies and startups to recruit more women into tech roles. We know there are many out there already doing great work and by working with partners like Nominet, this event will help us to continue to connect the dots rather than re-inventing the wheel."

A lack of women in digital and technology roles is a growing problem, with just 17% of UK tech workers being female, according to the BCS's own research, while recent Department of Education statistics show 0.4% of girls chose to study Computer Science at A-Level.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) committed government funding to support the development of the Tech Talent Charter last year, and minister for digital and the creative industries, Margot James, said she hoped the charter will give more opportunities for women looking to work in the IT sector.

"The Tech Talent Charter is a timely initiative to put the UK at the forefront of tackling the gender imbalance in the tech workforce," she said.

"It is great to see so many companies showing interest and I hope by encouraging others to join we can galvanise support for the charter so everyone has the opportunity to work in this challenging and exciting field."

The Charter is hosting a series of regional events aimed at businesses of all sizes across the UK, sponsored by domain name registry Nominet.

Chief operating officer Eleanor Bradley said: "It's essential that our tech workforce is diverse and inclusive if we are going to address the digital skills gap and make use of the widest range of talent possible."

Picture: Bigstock

For CIOs, peer networking is something that they would all agree is vital in order to succeed in their roles. They can learn from other IT leaders about the technologies, processes and projects that others have been successful with, and about the types of methodologies, resources and personnel required to deliver them.

But while an emphasis has been on CIOs to network amongst themselves, many IT leaders are encouraging their employees to network with their own peers, in order to develop new skills, get new ideas and bring these back to the organisation.

Learning from like-minded people

Richard Tallboy, the CIO of popular pan-Asian restaurant chain Wagamama, believes that it is essential for his team to go out and learn from people in similar roles, as it can help them develop professionally.

"I think it's important for all of us to be experts in what we do, and that's why it's definitely important to get the team out there," he says.

He adds that one of the key skills that employees can learn is how to influence key suppliers.

UK insurer LV='s CIO, Richard Warner, is a big believer in 'getting off the island' - by which he means, exposing the team to technologies and processes outside of the company they work for.

"One of the attributes we put in last year was that we wanted our staff to go out and be curious about what is happening in the outside world," he says.

This meant that the company signed its staff up to various innovation labs and bootcamps to try and get a variety of people exposure to different technology. They would be taught specific skills and were tasked with bringing back what they had learned from these events to the company.

Extending the networking sphere

While learning directly from peers in similar organisations and positions is one way of developing new skills, Manchester City Council CIO Bob Brown suggests that his staff have access to a wide range of advisers through memberships and partnerships with external bodies.

"As a council we have Gartner to get analyst advice when we need to, we're a member of the IT Service Management (ITSM) Forum, and members of the National Cybercrime Centre, while we've built a close set of alliances with businesses in Greater Manchester over the last few years and it's not uncommon for us to ask for our peer-to-peer network for help, advice and support," says Brown, who adds that it's available for all members of staff.

Meanwhile, Tallboy believes working alongside peers from the same company, but in different regions, can also help to ensure that the IT function is getting the most out of its suppliers.

"Typically if you have the same suppliers, you can work together. For example, we had a call with CIOs in the US about the challenges we've got [to help us overcome them]," he states.

Networking for a reason

Understanding how to influence a supplier is one reason to network, and Wagamama's Tallboy suggests that CIOs shouldn't encourage their staff to network just to "level up".

"It's about approaching it as getting a resolution to problems, so I encourage our head of operations and IT to take the challenges they have and manage them by networking," he explains.

For LV='s Warner, the reason for networking is not necessarily about finding the right technology, but about how you apply the technology effectively within the organisation, and help the organisation's overall strategy.

"The differentiator to really succeed is how well staff manage change programmes related to the technology. The tech function has a big role in ensuring that it's a business implementation not just a tech implementation," he says.

Tallboy adds that unless there is something game-changing, like a new app that the company wants to keep quiet, there is no reason that IT staff should not go to their peers to discuss how they can better use technology.

"A lot of things don't give you a competitive advantage, it's how you use the technology that gives the company a competitive advantage," he states.

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The UK government has committed to signing a Tech Talent Charter in a bid to boost gender diversity within tech roles in the country.

Digital and culture secretary Matt Hancock announced the news today, revealing that the whole of government will sign up to the charter, which now has more than 125 signatories including Dell, Sage and Cisco.

Tech Talent Charter aims to put the UK at the forefront of tackling the gender imbalance in the tech workforce, and brings the public, private and charitable sectors together to share ideas and experience. It also commits signatories to publishing diversity reports and implementing inclusive hiring practices.

Hancock claimed the government will do this by "including women on interview shortlists wherever possible" and collecting and submitting anonymised data for an annual diversity report.

"It is essential the public sector leads the way in driving this change and today I can announce every government department will be signing the charter," he added. "Cracking the challenge is in part about changing the education system but it's also about changing the culture and opening up."

Margot James, the minister for digital, will also write to major tech firms asking them to sign up. "This will help galvanise support for the charter so everyone has the opportunity to fill the fantastic jobs available," Hancock said.

The Tech Talent Charter was first launched over two years ago and is backed by a board of directors and a steering committee made up of representatives from the various businesses and organisations that have pledged to uphold its values and principles.

Hancock first hinted about signing the charter las year, using the analogy: "You can't catch all the fish if you only fish in half the pool", meaning if Britain's tech industry is to prosper, it should be using the talents of the whole nation.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was the first government department to sign the charter, and now other government departments are set to follow suit.

The upper echelon for those in IT and digital employment is becoming part of the C-Suite, part of the board, and a vital strategic member of how an organisation is run. That could be from the position of a Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or Chief Digital Officer (CDO), amongst many others all of which have different responsibilities within organisations.

These roles do share something in common, however; the fact that there is no usual' pathway beyond this point. Many CIOs go on to become COOs or CEOs, while many CTOs switch from working in non-tech organisations to becoming CTOs at tech vendors. But in regards to how they make these leaps, or learn new skills, there isn't a designated pathway.

It's a complicated question: after getting so far up the ladder, how do you continue to develop as a professional?

Former Specsavers and HMRC CIO Phil Pavitt suggests the CIO job can be a lonely one within the business, but that IT decision makers (ITDMs) should venture out and work with other CIOs as well as meeting with investors, innovators and suppliers if they're to develop their careers.

"I spend a lot of time with other CIOs and CEOs and a lot of time in the West Coast of America meeting companies. It's important to learn from these peer points for self-development," he states.

Many of these opportunities arise at business conferences, but Aaron Powell, chief digital officer at NHS Blood & Transplant (NHS BT) suggests that ITDMs should be very selective with which events they attend.

"There will be endless conferences and networking summits' to attend but you have to be able to select from these wisely to ensure that, firstly, the speakers actually have something interesting to say and have done it, rather than talking about what they would like to have done or have only done in pilot mode; and secondly, that you're not simply going to be sat in front of suppliers all day trying to sell you technology that you have no interest in," he says.

But it's not just the peer group that ITDMs cite as a good way of learning more; Mark Ridley, group technology officer at venture builder Blenheim Chalcot, says he tries to seek out mentors as well as peers.

"I regularly try to find people who are smarter than I am, who have more experience than I have so I can essentially just learn from what they've done, which I find more important than book-learning," he explains.

"I then try to return that favour as well actively mentoring younger people in tech and digital," he adds.

Reverse-mentoring', a term used by Omid Shiraji, interim CIO at Camden Council to describe being open-minded enough to take the opportunity to learn from the people who are being mentored, is also important.

"Mentoring others has helped me in improving my self-knowledge and understanding areas for development," he says.

Both Ridley and Shiraji also like to connect with executives who don't necessarily work within IT to gain different perspectives of how IT and digital fit into the organisation.

Book smart

Shiraji credits his executive masters in information leadership with providing him an ideal foundation for a digital leadership role. The course combined practitioner-led workshops and academic seminars, which gave him a range of skills and helped him to grow his network both of which he has used as a CIO.

Ridley has taken on courses in IT and outside of IT, both of which he says have helped him to develop as an IT leader; he did a week's boot camp in MIT last year which focused on entrepreneurship, and he has taken on IT courses such as Andrew Ng's course on machine learning through Coursera.

But while Pavitt and Powell suggest there isn't a huge need for structured courses for CIOs and other IT leaders, Ridley disagrees.

However, he admits that a CIO-dedicated course that could teach IT leaders things they didn't know and take them out of their comfort zone doesn't necessarily exist.

"I think if you could get that and distil that type of professional learning, where it is group learning, in a structured way, with practical sessions and a group of peers around me, it could work," he says.

Meanwhile, Shiraji advises ITDMs to read books in what little of their own time they have, too.

"I was once told by a former boss that there is a book for every problem advice I have found useful in my career. The Adventures of an IT Leader and Staying the Course as a CIO are two must reads for any CIO both providing different perspectives and tips on being successful in the role," he says.

He adds that insight can also be gleaned from research organisations such as Gartner and McKinsey.

However, Powell is sceptical about the advice that comes from many of these types of organisations.

"There are lots of consultancies and advisory organisations that will tell you that they have the latest thinking and the latest formula for CIO success. In my experience, generic models aren't that effective and you need to define the model that works for you and your organisation, not take the latest off-the-shelf proposal from an advisory firm," he says.

The same sentiment can be extended to IT leaders different models work for different CIOs, CTOs and CDOs in regards to their professional development. There may be a gap in the market for a course tailored to these IT leaders, but it would be extremely hard to make this a reality as every IT leader is looking for different skills to develop.

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