If it looks like AI professionals are in demand right now, just wait for 2028, when the UK's set to have more than half its AI roles unfilled.

New research from Native Teams and Robert Walters has found that demand will reach nearly 300,000 roles, against an estimated domestic supply of just 137,000.

"The scale of projected demand for AI talent is expected to significantly outpace domestic supply growth in many advanced economies, including the UK," said Phill Brown, global head of market intelligence at Robert Walters.

"Historically, major advances in technology only translated into meaningful productivity growth once organisations had the workforce capability to implement them at scale. The same dynamic is now emerging with AI, where access to experienced talent will play a defining role in how quickly businesses can convert investment into measurable economic output."

The answer for many organizations is to hire staff internationally, rather than simply throw money at the problem. And doing this, the researchers found, could lift UK productivity growth by 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points annually, by helping organizations scale AI capability more quickly and reduce deployment delays linked to talent shortages.

The supporting infrastructure behind a globally distributed AI team – global payroll, work payments, and compliance systems – has widely matured over the past few years, the researchers found, making global hiring far more practical at scale.

With the biggest AI deficit, the UK is also the most active global AI talent hirer. In technology specifically, the UK generates 20% of all cross-border tech transactions, ahead of the US at 15%. And it's also the fastest-growing market, adding more than 50% year-on-year.

"Organizations are now able to access critical AI capability more quickly and respond faster to changing technology demands, while also creating greater access to worldwide opportunities for professionals," said Jack Thorogood, founder and CEO of Native Teams.

The researchers found that the top 10 origin markets generate two-thirds of all cross-border hiring, with each one offering cost savings of between 40% and 68%. Europe-to-Europe hiring generated 41% of all hiring activity.

Four-in-ten roles are either senior or leadership – signalling, said the researchers, a shift from cost arbitrage to capability building.

The two main sources of talent, Spain and the Philippines, are rather different. Spain is seen as a hub for international hiring, supported by strong digital infrastructure and favourable remote work policies. It's also popular for its time zone and EU access.

The Philippines, meanwhile, has a strong position as a global talent hub, particularly in IT services, customer support, and remote operations. Language and cost are also factors.

"Global hiring is no longer merely a contingency for local talent shortages; it is rapidly becoming the primary workforce strategy for businesses focused on growth and scale," the report concludes.

"Organisations are turning to cross-border hiring not just to support expansion, but to accelerate AI adoption and enhance overall productivity. This shift is driven by the reality that domestic talent supply, particularly across technology and AI-related roles, has reached a ceiling that current local pipelines cannot sufficiently meet."

Positions specializing in AI training are the single-fastest growing role globally, according to new research.

Figures from Deel’s annual State of Global Hiring report show demand for AI training roles surged 283% worldwide in 2025.

The report noted that AI training is a new, expansive profession that barely existed two years ago. Yet there are now more than 70,000 workers training AI systems across more than 600 organizations.

The scope of responsibilities varies wildly, the study noted, ranging from basic data annotation to expert-level feedback in areas such as language translation, economics, and medicine.

“AI needs human touch and the job market has clearly responded,” the report noted. “Tapping into the global talent pool brings in native speakers and subject matter experts.”

Notably, pay rates for these roles vary considerably. While 30% of trainers earn between $15 and $20 per hour for annotation work, 19% earn between $50 and 75 per hour, and 6% earn more than $100 per hour for particular expertise.

Demand for AI trainers is highest in the US, the study noted, where 58% of the world’s total are based. Other key markets include India, accounting for 7.2% of roles, followed by the Philippines (4.6%), Canada (2.1)%, and Kenya (1.7%).

Gender pay gaps are already present in what is an emerging field, according to Deel.

Male AI trainers in the US earn a median of $50 per hour, for example, while their female counterparts earn just $30 per hour.

AI talent flocking to the UK

Deel’s annual report also highlighted the growing appeal of the UK tech sector, which is now among the top hiring markets globally.

The drift of remote workers out of London has reversed, the study showed, and they're now returning.

There was a similar shift seen in France and in the US, where workers are now as close to cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco as they were in 2021.

“UK talent is gravitating back toward London, and global employers are following. The renewed pull of the capital is a major reason the UK is leading the world in start-up hiring,” said Lauren Thomas, economist at Deel.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Business leaders are deluding themselves when it comes to enterprise AI integration, with many believing they're further ahead than they are.

According to data from Multiverse, more than half (59%) of leaders believe their employees collaborate with AI every day, yet only 42% of employees report actually doing so.

In terms of AI autonomy, the disparity is wider, with 23% of CEOs believing employees are already delegating entire tasks to AI, but only 8% of employees saying they actually are.

The perception gap is even greater when it comes to data analysis for decision making, with 58% of leaders thinking staff are using the technology on this front, but only 36% of workers agreeing - a gap of 25 percentage points.

Meanwhile, there's a significant gap when it comes to automating repetitive tasks, an 18-percentage-point gap for optimizing multi-stage processes, and a 15-percentage-point gap for performing simple admin tasks.

Senior workers are flocking to AI

Multiverse noted that AI use is greater amongst more senior workers, with 52% of mid-level workers saying they collaborate with AI daily, while only 21% of junior employees report doing the same.

This disparity, the firm noted, persists across management levels, with nearly half (48%) of middle managers using AI on a day-to-day basis compared with just 20% of individual contributors.

“AI is not a monolithic tool, and its application varies wildly between a junior developer, a middle manager, and a CEO. The 30% gap in adoption we see between seniority levels is a clear signal that the one-size-fits-all approach to AI is failing," said Gary Eimerman, chief learning officer at Multiverse.

"To bridge this divide, businesses must move beyond generic training and implement custom AI upskilling paths tailored to the unique daily workflows of every individual.”

Execs need to lead by example

Currently, leaders aren't properly prepared to guide their organizations through AI transformation. More than half (55%) of leaders said they have received less than five hours of formal AI training from their organizations, for example.

Similarly, 58% say they're forced to rely on informal experimentation with tools like ChatGPT just to teach themselves the basics.

Workers at all levels are concerned about this lack of training, with 85% of leaders and 78% of employees agreeing that more frequent training is essential to keep pace with the current rate of change.

Multiverse said the answer is to introduce an applied learning strategy. By developing custom AI frameworks aimed at addressing the specific needs of individual workers, leaders no longer need to fly blind.

AI training is a murky area for many organizations, with recent research from SAP indicating that only four-in-ten UK businesses have given their staff comprehensive AI training, despite rising investment in the technology.

While leaders believe AI can deliver returns faster than other technologies, SAP found just 7% of organizations have adopted an enterprise-wide AI strategy.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Only four-in-ten UK businesses have given their staff comprehensive AI training, despite rising investment in the technology.

SAP's Value of AI in the UK: Growth, People & Data Report, launched in partnership with Oxford Economics, found businesses are failing to equip employees with the skills to use AI responsibly.

More than two-thirds (68%) said they believed their staff use unapproved AI tools – so-called shadow AI – at least occasionally as part of their day-to-day work. Katie King, CEO of AI in Business, said while these figures raise concern, there are some silver linings.

“Shadow AI isn’t a sign of resistance, but a sign of enthusiasm. Employees are hungry to use these tools, but this eagerness is seeing some move faster than their organizations can support them. This energy is a huge opportunity for UK businesses, if it’s guided in the right way," she said.

"The answer isn’t to dampen this enthusiasm, and the solution is reasonably simple. Give people access to approved tools, clear guardrails, and role-specific training. When staff understand how to use AI responsibly, it becomes a source of innovation and confidence rather than risk.”

While leaders believe AI can deliver returns faster than other technologies, the report found just 7% of organizations have adopted an enterprise-wide AI strategy.

Similarly, seven-in-ten businesses have begun reskilling or upskilling staff to help close the emerging AI skills gap, yet many harbor concerns that progress is falling behind current rates of adoption.

“AI is fast becoming a key driver of growth for UK businesses. When organizations make the technology part of their long-term strategy, they can innovate faster, scale with confidence and compete globally," said Leila Romane, managing director of SAP UK&I.

"It’s essential to get data foundations right, while giving employees the training, tools and space to experiment safely. That’s how businesses create a culture of responsible AI adoption from day one."

AI spending is surging

According to the report, UK businesses are on average spending £15.94 million on AI this year, with companies expected to increase their investments by an average of 40% in the next two years.

They're also expecting strong returns, with ROI forecast to almost double from 17% in 2025 to 32% in 2027. This ROI increase comes as many businesses begin to unlock significant value from the technology.

Firms reported seeing better insights (36%), stronger customer engagement (34%), and faster time-to-value (31%) with AI over the last year.

However, only 7% of UK businesses are investing in AI based on strategic, holistic prioritization, with most relying on ad-hoc pilots or department-led projects.

SAP warned this is creating a fragmented approach to adoption, which is holding back many businesses.

"Too much of today’s spend is fragmented and ad-hoc. Data readiness is inconsistent, particularly in business functions including finance, legal, and HR. Employees are eager to use AI, but training and governance frameworks have not caught up, creating risks around shadow AI," the report concludes.

"UK organizations are committing serious investment to AI, but without a long-term, robust strategy that brings together data, people, governance, and the wider ecosystem of partners, they risk missing out on the full value of the technology."

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Lloyds Banking Group has announced plans to train every employee in AI skills in a bid to streamline adoption of the technology across operations.

The bank’s new AI Academy, launched this week, aims to provide “practical AI skills” for 67,000 staff “no matter their role or level”.

As part of the scheme, employees will gain access to interactive modules, podcasts, articles, short courses, and additional opportunities for community-based learning.

“Learning is tailored to the different ways colleagues use AI from AI Users to AI Leaders, Builders and Enablers,” Lloyds said in a statement.

“To begin, all 67,000 colleagues will complete a short module on Working with AI Responsibly, ensuring safe and ethical use aligned with Group standards.”

Ron van Kemenade, chief operating officer at Lloyds Banking Group, said the skills program will help prepare staff for AI adoption across the organization, ultimately streamlining the roll-out of the technology.

“Scaling AI is about getting real use-cases into production so we can simplify processes for colleagues and deliver more personalized services for customers,” he said.

“By investing in the skills of our people, we can do this responsibly and at pace, improving service today and building the foundations to scale new innovations in the future.”

Lloyds targets complete skills overhaul

Lloyds anticipates a wholesale transformation of skills across the organization in the coming years, noting that by 2030 “most of the skills used today will have evolved”.

The financial services giant said it projects around 60% of the workforce will need to reskill as a result of AI integration, yet literacy in this area is lacking.

Lloyds said it aims to upskill 100% of colleagues by the end of 2026 alone – a bold target, but one which it said will help deliver marked benefits both for customers and employees alike.

“Upskilling our colleagues is central to how we transform. The AI Academy gives every colleague practical, hands-on tools to use AI responsibly in their day-to-day work,” said Sharon Doherty, chief people and places officer.

“By investing in our people, we’re strengthening the skills that matter most, so our teams can deliver for customers with confidence in a workplace already supported by AI.”

Lloyds has long-running experience with machine learning and AI innovation, having first implemented an ML-powered savings tool for customers in 2021.

Last year, the company put 50 generative AI use-cases into full production, ramping up adoption of the technology across core operations, while unveiling plans to deploy an agentic AI-based financial assistant for over 20 million customers.

Responsible AI

A key focus for the bank lies in responsible and ethical development. In 2022, it became the first in the UK to hire a dedicated responsible AI lead, for example, and its Responsible AI programme helps guide internal development of the technology.

All told, the bank has seven core AI ethics principles. These are implemented through a range of overlapping schemes, frameworks, and teams, including:

• The Lloyds AI Assurance Framework
• A dedicated Data & AI Ethics Committee (DAIEC)
• The Lloyds Risk Mitigation Template
• A “central repository” of AI risk guardrails that staff must adhere to

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

While most workers believe they can spot a phishing attempt, nearly one-in-four under-35s would fall for a suspicious message if they thought it came from a colleague or boss.

Four-in-five British workers told Accenture researchers they were confident they'd spot a suspicious message, even though more than a third have never received cybersecurity training.

Men show the biggest faith in themselves, being nearly twice as likely as women to report high confidence in spotting cyber threats, at 22% compared with 12%.

But younger workers in particular may be wrong about this. The survey of over 1,000 British employees found that 15% would share company data or make payments via messaging apps, without verifying the sender, if the message seemed to come from a leader or colleague.

Among under-35s, so those in the millennial and Gen Z demographics, this rose to nearly a quarter (24%).

“With cyber criminals weaponizing information from social media to deceive people with realistic messages or calls, employees must make faster judgement calls on what’s real and what’s not," said Kamran Ikram, Accenture’s security lead in the UK and Ireland.

"The workforce feels cyber confident – though its uneven among men and women – there remains a serious skills and training gap across the board. Being overconfident yet undertrained is a dangerous position to be in."

More cybersecurity training is needed

Notably, more than one-third (37%) of British workers have never received any cybersecurity training, including 44% of over-55s. Meanwhile, only one-in-five have been trained to recognize deepfakes or AI-generated phishing emails.

This lack of training is more significant in smaller companies, where 79% of microbusinesses with less than 10 employees and 55% of small firms with between 10 and 49 employees offer no cybersecurity training at all.

"Organizations must look to be resilient in every area of their operations and supply chain, which means ongoing education on cyber threats," said Ikram. "Businesses can’t rely on patchy preparedness when attackers are advancing by the day.”

Even when employees are receiving training, it's not adequately covering all the risks, Accenture found. Half of those that have been trained said they've received no guidance on using AI safely, such as what data should not be shared with public tools or how to identify AI-enabled attacks.

As a result, 17% have no awareness of AI-driven cyber threats while only 61% are aware of deepfake videos or AI-generated phishing emails, and fewer than half are aware of voice cloning or identity theft.

“AI is bringing immense opportunity to business, but it also is changing the risk landscape as criminals increasingly incorporate AI into their arsenal," said Ikram.

"Today, awareness of AI-enabled attacks is still uneven, and that gap is where the next wave of breaches will likely happen. But more than that - building a cyber-savvy workforce isn’t just about protecting your systems, it’s also what allows innovation and trust to scale together.”

Workers do at least have a sense of collective responsibility. While a quarter of British employees believe that the IT or security department is most responsible for protecting a company against cyber threats, more than twice as many accept that it's a joint responsibility across the organization.

MORE FROM ITPRO

• Are we in a cyber awareness crisis?
• Employee phishing training is working – but don’t get complacent
• Best online cyber security courses

Nora works in Uganda in business process outsourcing (BPO) at a call center. She's cautiously optimistic about AI adoption – after all, she's been able to reduce wait times from ten minutes to just two. But she's also worried about whether she'll have a job in the future.

This anecdote was shared by Elise Montano, director for measurement and impact at Caribou, while speaking about the tension between AI and work at the Mozilla Festival in Barcelona, Spain.

"Nora is an example of living at the cutting edge of this tension," Montano told attendees.

As part of a wider research project, Caribou interviewed 20 BPO workers in the region. Every one of them reported using AI everyday, Montano noted, and they are worried about its impact on their jobs.

And they should be: younger people will be the hardest hit by AI, as entry-level jobs continue disappearing. Montano noted that BPO tasks are 68% filled by young people, and 50% of the tasks in entry-level positions are ripe for automation versus 4% in more senior roles.

"AI is starting to remove the first rung of the career ladder," she said. But at the same time, she added, AI is also raising expectations of what skills workers will have. "The second rung of the ladder has moved up for many people."

Aside from younger people, Montano said Caribou's research suggested that women were the next cohort of people at high risk of automation, followed by rural jobs.

Those findings align closely with a study from the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) earlier this year, which found generative AI is three-times more likely to impact women in the workplace than their male counterparts.

On the job training

Montano noted that the BPO workers her team spoke to were largely teaching themselves on the job, rather than being offered formal training, an issue which enterprises are now grappling with globally as staff turn to ‘shadow AI’ tools and non-approved training materials.

"Most learning is on the job," she said, adding they learned how to do it themselves — despite being required to use the technology on the job.

Indeed, she shared an anecdote about another worker who was mandated by managers to use Microsoft Copilot in his work, and even monitored to ensure he did – but not given any training at all.

"There's a whole ethics issue of people being forced to learn this on their own time," Montano added.

Notably, that sort of "experiential training" seems to work well when it comes to AI.

Caribou set up an online training effort in an attempt to reach five million small businesses — which they achieved. However, she noticed there was little impact noticeable in terms of profits, jobs or efficiency for the businesses.

In the organization's next attempt, it offered specific tools to benefit SMBs and training how to use them — sparking a much more positive response.

Of course, context matters, and Lindsey Gottschalk, vice president of strategy and partnerships at Data.org, noted that formal learning does seem to help in her work with charities and social impact organizations.

"We do still see the value of formal learning, but only when paired with experiential learning," she added.

Sometimes less is more

But the question remains on how much training is necessary to upskill workers for the AI era – and naturally it depends on industry and role. But reaching a basic level of digital skills at a wide scale is a good start, Gottschalk said, though she added that “one course on ChatGPT is not going to get a worker ready for AI”.

She also warned that providing AI tools without the right level of digital or data maturity brings risks, as workers will have a "false sense of understanding of what comes beneath it."

For example, rather than hiring a graphic designer, a company may hand generative AI tools to an employee and ask them to sort out marketing content. Although they might know how to use AI, a lack graphic design abilities will ultimately lead to AI slop.

Gottschalk pointed to no-code tools letting companies create a product without understanding the outputs, biases or other challenges of such engineering.

"That's a real danger," she said. "We really care about that baseline of data maturity."

MORE FROM ITPRO

• AI skills training can't be left in the hands of big tech
• In-house AI training "insufficient" for supporting business goals
• Tech industry heavyweights push for more AI training

Cisco's announced another big skills training drive, pledging to upskill a million more people in AI and digital technologies over the next four years.

The US initiative follows a White House AI meeting with government and industry leaders, as part of the Pledge to America's Youth: Investing in AI Education, a national effort to expand AI learning and readiness.

"This effort underscores a collective priority to prepare people of all ages for the AI era. We are proud to stand alongside government and industry leaders in this pledge," said Fran Katsoudas, Cisco's EVP and chief people, policy, and purpose officer.

"Through 'Learn with Cisco', we aim to train one million more people across the US in AI and digital skills over the next four years. This reflects our core belief: every person deserves the opportunity to step confidently into the economy of the future."

The company's observed that educators aren't always fully equipped to teach AI, and said it's working to bridge that gap with curricula, training, and tools for teachers and businesses.

Cisco has been running its Networking Academy for nearly 30 years, and said that over that time, more than 2.9 million people have taken part. More than nine-in-ten of those who complete the course go on to jobs or further education, it said.

"The fact is undeniable: to stay ahead, the ability to learn is an important skill and a competitive edge for individuals, companies, and countries," said Katsoudas.

"Embedding continuous learning into everything builds a workforce ready to adapt, innovate, and lead for lasting impact."

The US training initiative follows a similar scheme for the EU, launched earlier this year. The initiative involves offering free training to 1.5 million people in essential skills such as digital awareness, cybersecurity, data science, IoT, and AI. Again, there's training for teachers too.

Tech giants promise $330 million for AI training

Cisco wasn't the only tech giant to make promises at the White House meeting, with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft between them, promising $330 million for AI training.

Google pledged to allocate $150 million from a previously $1 billion commitment to grants supporting AI education and digital wellbeing.

Amazon, meanwhile, said it would support AI skills training for four million learners and provide curricula for 10,000 educators by 2028.

And Microsoft said it would offer Copilot free in Microsoft 365 for college students, along with $1.25 million in grants for educators and free LinkedIn Learning AI courses for students, teachers and job-seekers.

"As we think about this national priority, we think it comes down to three things. First, empowering teachers and students with the latest AI tools," said vice chair and president Brad Smith.

"Second, building AI skills. With AI moving faster than any technology in history, the only way to keep up is learning by doing and getting recognized for it. Third, creating economic opportunity by connecting these new skills to jobs."

MORE FROM ITPRO

• Software engineers among the hardest hit in latest Cisco layoffs
• Cisco eyes network security gains for agentic AI
• Cisco wants to train 1.5 million Europeans in digital skills

It's not sophisticated threats causing the majority of cyber incidents, according to new research, it’s distracted staff.

A recent study from KnowBe4 found that distraction is the top reason organizations fall victim to cyber attacks, cited by 43% of cybersecurity professionals.

A lack of security awareness training was close behind at 41%, with the pressure to act quickly at 33% and fatigue or burnout at 31%. Only 17.1% of respondents attributed successful cyber attacks to the sophistication of the threats themselves.

KnowBe4 said the study highlights the serious risks faced by staff on a daily basis and urged enterprises to ramp up support for workers.

"Cyber risk is not just about advanced technology; it is about human bandwidth and the cognitive load of today’s fast-paced digital workplace,” said Javvad Malik, lead cybersecurity awareness advocate at KnowBe4.

Unsurprisingly, the main threat faced by workers was phishing, accounting for 74% of all incidents. Respondents noted staff frequently faced social engineering techniques such as employee impersonation - an issue that's grown in both scale and intensity in recent years.

Three-in-ten cited social engineering via social media platforms such as LinkedIn as a major issue.

Malicious links or attachments were also among the top risks encountered by employees, accounting for 38% of all attack methods.

AI concerns are growing

AI-generated attacks aren't dominant yet, KnowBe4 found, with only 11% citing it as their biggest threat - but cybersecurity professionals are worried about its use among cyber criminals.

When asked about future threats, 60% of respondents expressed greatest concern about AI-generated phishing and deepfakes, followed by ransomware at 48% and shadow IT or unsanctioned AI tools at 42%.

"It’s like preparing for a hurricane while still dealing with daily rain - organisations know the big storm is coming," researchers said.

"While today’s threats still mainly involve someone pretending to be the CEO asking for gift cards, security teams are bracing for a future where that 'CEO' might video call you with a perfectly cloned voice and face."

Investment is needed to bolster staff awareness

Enterprise cybersecurity budgets are increasing to counter rising threats, the study found, with 65% revealing they expect bigger spending moving forward.

Just 4% of respondents said they expect their cybersecurity budget to fall.

The biggest priority is email security, a key focus for 45%, followed by security awareness training at 37%, and cloud security at 34%.

However, while 32% believe that AI-based tools will have the greatest impact, only 26% are prioritizing this for funding.

"These investment priorities reflect a growing understanding that effective security requires a harmonious blend of technical controls and human capabilities," the researchers said.

"With email security and security awareness training leading the investment priorities, organisations are clearly recognizing the interconnected nature of technical and human risk."

Nearly 90% of respondents expressed confidence in their ability to respond to cyber attacks - a bit of a problem, said the researchers, given the high prevalence of successful attacks.

"The findings highlight that bridging the gap between perceived value and investment in integrated human risk management is crucial," said Malik.

MORE FROM ITPRO

• A guide to cyber security certification and training
• Employee phishing training is working – but don’t get complacent
• Our guide to the best online cybersecurity training courses

Women are much more likely than men to see cybersecurity as a shared responsibility across an organization, but aren't getting the training they should.

Managed threat detection and response provider e2e-assure surveyed 1,000 employees across a range of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, professional services and financial services.

Researchers found that while half of women said they viewed cybersecurity as the responsibility of everyone in the organization, the same was true of only three-in-ten men.

Nearly nine-in-ten workers said they had been the victim of a cyber attack at work.

Notably, 28% of women said they were unclear of the consequences of falling prey to cyber criminals, compared with 16% of men. And there's also less awareness of AI policies amongst women, at 21%, compared with 27% for men.

Meanwhile, when a breach does occur, only three-in-ten women receive the necessary training - and risk a disciplinary if they cause another breach - compared with 35% of men.

"Cybersecurity in 2025 and beyond is not just an IT issue, it’s a business-wide responsibility. Our research reveals that while men and women recognise the importance of security, businesses are missing a crucial opportunity to drive forward cyber resilience, as they feel disconnected to training provided," said Rob Demain, CEO of e2e-assure.

"This means men are less likely to recognize the importance of their cybersecurity practices for the rest of the organization. And while women view it as a collective responsibility, they’re uncertain about the consequences, due to lack of training effectiveness."

A quarter of men said they saw themselves as responsible for the security of their company, compared with just 18% of women. And it's important, the researchers concluded, that employees do have this sense of collective responsibility.

"To relieve frustration and fatigue for cyber risk owners, and build resilience from the ground up, an organization needs to have a 'one team, one dream' mentality," they wrote.

"There needs to be a strong narrative in place, positioning cybersecurity as a collective responsibility, driving an internal cybersecurity culture to ensure employees are engaged with training and policies."

Employees should be kept at the center of the security strategy and involved in the creation of policies, the report recommended. Security measures should be explained clearly and feedback collected regularly, with training and security measures adapted accordingly.

However, things could be worse, according to research from non-profit cybersecurity training organization ISC2, which recently found that more than a third of women are now involved in creating organizational Gen AI use policy - 5% higher than the figure for men.

They're also working harder to get certifications, with more than a quarter working towards AI-specific security certifications, compared with just 18% of men.

MORE FROM ITPRO

• IBM pledges support for UK government cyber skills program
• Women in tech think the industry has changed for the better, but there’s still more work to be done
• Women in cyber security: Closing the gender divide

People want purpose and meaning at work — and if they don't get it, two thirds would quit to find it.

That's the findings from a survey by careers skills organization Tomorrow University, which found seven-in-ten ranked purpose as a defining role in their career choices, and 66% saying they would leave their current role for one that "better aligns with their sense of purpose."

The report comes amid a host of workplace disruptions, including AI changing the nature of work, hybrid working and flexible hours changing the structure of work, and new generations entering the workforce and causing cultural upheaval.

Indeed, the report found that more than half of professionals polled said their career priorities have shifted in the last five years and they now wanted to focus on "finding purpose and impact."

But the report's findings don't mean employers need be pitted against their staff, as helping workers find their purpose can benefit organizations, with a fifth of employees saying a sense of purpose can help drive their performance, second only to work-life balance at 42%.

Working with purpose

What do respondents mean by purpose? According to the report, 58% define it as continuous learning and opportunities for growth, with 57% saying it involves working in a field that aligns with their values or passions

Similarly, nearly half (41%) say purpose is about helping others or having a positive impact in other people's lives.

"Our research shows that people want more from their careers, but it's important to remember: purpose is a journey," said Dr Thomas Funke, co-founder and CEO at Tomorrow University.

"Almost 60% of people surveyed define 'purpose' as continuous learning and personal growth. It’s about commitment to personal growth and inner work."

While the differing definitions of purpose may make this difficult for companies to unpick, the survey also asked employees how their bosses could help, finding that six-in-ten wanted opportunities for professional development in impactful fields.

Upskilling and career growth are key focus areas

Notably, five-in-ten said they wanted financial support from their employer for further education or certification.

That's no surprise as shifts in the job market, such as the rise of AI, could have a major impact on employment — with one report saying 60% of jobs will be hit by AI in some way.

"Nobody knows exactly what the future of work will look like but with 40% of job skills expected to change, one thing is clear: adaptability is essential to future-proof careers. Education is powerful in this transition," said Funke.

"The way we learn should equip professionals with the technological literacy and human skills to grow continuously, build a fulfilling career and, most importantly, make a positive impact on the world," he added.

"It’s why individuals, government bodies, business leaders and educators alike must champion a future-focused education model that places purpose at the center.”

MORE FROM ITPRO

• IT professionals aren’t budging on flexible work demands
• Considering an RTO policy? Think again
• Not everyone working from home is procrastinating – but I miss doing it in the office

Finding talent with AI skills has already become a major challenge for enterprises, but with some enterprises shelving DEI hiring practices, research suggests the situation could get worse.

In General Assembly’s State of Tech Talent report, two-thirds of recruitment leaders said hiring candidates with AI skills is more challenging than recruiting for other tech roles.

This means many enterprises have to pay more to secure talent, with 68% saying they usually have to offer higher salaries to candidates with AI skills, up from 64% last year.

Meanwhile, virtually all said that it's harder today than three years ago to find qualified candidates with both the soft and technical skills needed.

The study found three-quarters of tech hiring leaders are also worried they're hiring skilled AI workers too quickly and without taking time to build a sustainable, diverse pipeline of talent.

"To move forward, we need to build an AI economy that uplifts everyone — employees and companies alike," researchers advised.

"That requires upskilling and reskilling employees for an AI-powered future of work and building more sustainable entry-level pathways into technical careers."

DEI in the spotlight in the AI era

Notably, six-in-ten organizations said the increased focus on AI skills has heightened the need for diversity initiatives.

Building teams with a broad array of backgrounds has proven beneficial when it comes to successfully implementing AI strategies. Yet despite this, around 4% of HR professionals surveyed said their company had scaled back or eliminated their focus on DEI in tech hiring over the past year.

Hiring leaders aren't happy about this, however, and are concerned this could lead to greater problems down the line. Around half believe this could raise costs per-hire or lead to higher employee turnover.

These concerns are warranted. Analysis from Deloitte, for example, found a significant portion of Millennial and Gen Z employees are more likely to stay at a firm longer if it boasts a diverse workforce.

Nearly half (45%) of respondents warned candidates will see their company as a less desirable place to work. This aligns with research from Glassdoor, which found prospective employees are more likely to accept a job with employers that align with their values on DEI.

The topic of DEI in tech has come to the fore in recent months, with a host of major tech firms including Google, Meta, and Amazon scaling back or scrapping diversity policies.

Naturally, these moves have sparked intense criticism from industry stakeholders and raised concerns among minority groups across the sector.

Execs aren’t clued up on AI

Elsewhere, the study found there are skills-related issues at the top of many enterprises. Most VPs and directors, for example, said they’d never had any training on the topic of AI.

Only four-in-ten executives said they were very or extremely confident they know how to use AI tools without compromising company data, and more than a quarter said they were not very or not at all confident.

Around two-in-five admitted they lacked the knowledge to make decisions when it comes to hiring vendors that use AI.

Daniele Grassi, CEO of General Assembly, said this underlines the need to upskill executives to prepare for the ‘AI era’.

“Technical and non-technical leaders alike must understand the legal, privacy and ethical implications of AI use," Grassi said.

"They need to know how to evaluate AI vendors, how to protect company data, and how to guide their teams on using AI in their work. Companies who don’t establish AI usage policies and upskill executives on AI face consequences ranging from data and privacy breaches to competitive disadvantage."

MORE FROM ITPRO

• What makes an effective diversity strategy?
• Diversity measures no longer “business critical” at Microsoft, internal emails suggest
• How to successfully implement a diversity strategy

The tech industry could be set for a spike in temporary hiring, according to a new study from recruitment firm Robert Walters.

Nearly half (48%) of UK employers would be willing to hire contract or temporary staff this year to assist with certain projects, the study found, while 20% said they’d be willing to do so in light of permanent headcount freezes.

Similarly, 22% of employers said they would consider investing in temporary hires to plug skills gaps in the organization.

While many contractors moved to permanent roles in the interest of job stability over recent years, changing policies on employer National Insurance contributions and economic instability means firms are opting for more agile workforces.

The tech industry seems to be at the forefront of this change. The study found job listings for temporary roles related to cybersecurity, web development, and JavaScript have all increased by 22%, 6%, and 5% respectively.

“The dexterity of a flexible, skilled workforce can really come into play for many employers this year – especially in digital and tech fields,” Chris Eldridge, CEO of Robert Walters UK & Ireland, said.

“It is especially critical for leaders to ensure their tech infrastructure keeps up with the rate of change – temporary talent has the agility to help ensure company operations are secure from constantly evolving cyber attacks and risks,” Eldridge added.

Contract work has become more appealing for staff, as well, with 34% of staff reportedly willing to take on a contract position this year. Nearly one-third (30%) said they were more attracted to contract roles due to higher earning potential.

“Although contracting is typically viewed as a riskier option because of the absence of job security, recent high-profile layoffs and unsatisfactory bonus seasons have prompted professionals to reconsider this,” Eldridge said.

“Some individuals might opt for contract positions as a temporary fix or a way to enter a specific company, while others may view it as a more long-term career path,” he added.

Why are temps in demand?

Advances in technology are happening fast and new demands require expertise to manage transformation projects, according to Novo Constare, CEO and co-founder of Indeed Flex.

“Temporary staff lends itself well in these scenarios as it enables employers to upskill during specific phases of a project and to use flexible staffing to handle a surge in workloads,” Constare told ITPro.

There’s also a cost benefit, Constare added, as businesses don't need to make a long-term financial commitment to temp workers. This means businesses can be more flexible and agile when navigating economic uncertainty.

"Today's business market demands new levels of agility from organisations to weather the economic highs and lows,” John Paul Caffery, CEO and founder of RAMP Global, told ITPro.

“We've seen companies experience exponential growth only to face rapid declines, where overhiring subsequently becomes a major problem. Temporary hiring can save businesses from facing this same fate and can act as a proactive measure to prevent rounds of large-scale layoffs in the future,” Caffery added.

Caffery echoed the sentiment that temporary workforces also allow businesses to shift responses to changing business or project demands.

MORE FROM ITPRO

• 2025 could be the year of 'revenge quitting'
• Employees are dead set on flexible working arrangements
• Hybrid workers aren’t disconnected from office colleagues

Many routinely assert that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are less likely to be targeted than their larger counterparts, but this is far from the case. SMBs have limited resources versus their larger counterparts, which can make cyber security a challenge.

But robust security is possible if these companies take a handful of simple steps to avoid the common cyber security pitfalls and ensure they’re resilient if a cyber attack does land. 

1. Plan for the worst-case scenario

It’s true to say cyber attacks are a matter of when rather than if – regardless of the size of your business. One of the biggest traps for SMBs is fixating solely on preventing cyber attacks, says Haris Pylarinos, founder and CEO of security skills company Hack The Box. This can leave firms reeling when a cyber assault does eventually get past your defenses. 

He advises ensuring your business doesn’t have any weak spots through methods such as vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, as well as making sure you have an incident response plan in place.

When a cyber attack happens, one of the biggest pitfalls SMBs face is a lack of preparation, says Jack Peters, customer solutions architect at M247. He cites data from AAG showing that less than a fifth of UK businesses have a formal incident response plan in place. “It’s essential that businesses create, implement and maintain a strategy for how they will handle a cyber attack, as this will allow everyone to correctly identify any weaknesses and vulnerabilities within the IT framework,” he advises.

The plan needs to be implemented before an incident occurs, he says, highlighting that a pre-emptive approach “will be beneficial in the long-term”. 

According to Pylarinos, SMBs should focus on key areas: preparation, detection and analysis, as well as containment, recovery, and post-incident analysis. 

It’s also important the incident response plan is easy to understand. Although the specifics may vary depending on the size of the organization and industry, Peters advises using the five-step cyber security framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “This is a great model to follow.”

2. Get the basics right

As a foundation for all things security, SMBs should ensure they are getting the basics right. As part of this, it’s key to update your devices regularly. Many smaller businesses suffer irreparable damage after falling victim to a cyber attack that could have been prevented if they’d taken the time to update systems. 

One way to ensure you are protected is to update your devices automatically, advises Elliott Wilkes, CTO at consultancy and managed service provider Advanced Cyber Defence Systems. This should include all devices that access company data such as computers, smartphones, servers, virtual machines (VMs), and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, he says. “It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised at how many ransomware events have taken place over the past few years using well-known vulnerabilities that have been fixed, but the organization didn’t deploy the patch.” 

While it might seem obvious, ensuring all devices have an antivirus system and that team members use strong passwords including random words, numbers, and symbols can “provide a first line of defense”, says David Clarke, head of security at IT consultancy Quostar. 

Craig Jones, VP of security operations at security firm Ontinue advises creating and implementing policies around secure internet use and handling sensitive data. “This includes avoiding suspicious emails or links, not sharing passwords, and not using unsecured Wi-Fi networks for work-related tasks. Don’t assume everyone knows the basics – even simple mistakes can lead to significant breaches.” 

3. Use technology like MFA wisely

Technology isn’t everything, but it can help boost security when resources are limited. Cheap and easy to use, one of the best additions to your security strategy is multi-factor authentication (MFA). Adding this extra layer of defense will help avoid your business being caught out by weak passwords and it also reduces the margin for human error.

Wilkes advises enabling MFA on all accounts where possible, using an app such as Google or Microsoft Authenticator. “If you only have the option to use SMS, that’s ok too – but try to use an app if you can. These store temporary codes that you enter along with your password to login to a website or application.”

For super-robust defenses, especially if your business operates in a high-risk industry vertical, you could consider a physical token to secure your accounts, such as a Yubico YubiKey. “These provide authentication that is much more resistant to phishing emails, which is an increasingly common way criminals gain access to an organization’s systems and data,” says Wilkes.

Additionally, if it’s feasible within your budget, SMBs should consider security information and event management platforms (SIEMs) which feature vulnerability assessments and cyber threat intelligence technology, says Clarke. “Regular cyber security assessments can be critical to protecting firms by helping them identify weaknesses and potential entry points into their networks.”

4. Invest time and effort into cyber security training

It’s often said that employees are a firm’s weakest link, and many cyber attacks are successful due to a simple mistake made by a member of staff. A costly blind spot for any business, particularly SMBs, is failing to invest in cyber security training, says Pylarinos. “With cyber threats on the rise and growing in sophistication, training your staff to combat the latest risks is crucial.”

As part of this, SMBs should ensure they are encouraging cyber awareness among all employees, says Pylarinos. This is often overlooked: In 2022, the UK Government found only one in five businesses (17%) provided awareness sessions for those not directly involved in cyber security. 

This is despite the fact that the majority of breaches (83%) were a result of phishing – seeing employees mistakenly clicking on malicious links or downloading malware-ridden documents. “By consistently training employees of all levels on the basics of cyber awareness, SMBs can spot phishing or social engineering lures and thwart cyber threats across their organization,” says Pylarinos.

Employee training can be performed in a number of ways, using educational platforms and exercises. Experts also agree it should be done regularly to ensure you are up to date with the latest threats.

Lewis West, head of cyber security at recruitment firm Hamilton Barnes, advises SMBs to be focused on building a “strong security culture” and increasing awareness across the entire team. “Training employees to become more aware of security and adversaries’ methods is an effective way to reduce the number of successful cyber attacks.”

Google has announced the launch of a new scheme to help businesses across the UK train staff in artificial intelligence (AI) skills. 

The ‘New Fundamentals’ training scheme offers free courses for both individuals and businesses to gain practical AI skills and fine-tune their understanding of AI technologies. 

Created by AI experts at the tech giant, the new program offers ten ‘easy-to-follow’ modules, two of which have been rolled out at launch. 

This includes a course designed specifically for SMB leaders that will provide a crash course in machine learning and how this can be used to improve efficiency in small businesses, reduce costs, and drive growth. 

“It covers ways to apply different ML models, when and how to invest, and how to prepare data and resources for a machine learning project,” Google said in an announcement today. 

A second course on how businesses can enhance productivity with AI tools has also been rolled out upon launch, allowing workers to learn how to use AI products and tools in day-to-day activities. 

The launch of the SMB leader-focused course comes in response to a study conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) that found just 2% of small businesses were using machine learning tools. 

Craig Beaumont, chief of external affairs at the FSB, welcomed the announcement, adding that SMBs across the UK have a great opportunity to capitalize on recent developments in the AI space and drive growth. 

“While only one in 50 small firms have started using machine learning, the potential of AI to fuel innovation and supercharge operations is starting to make waves in the business community,” he said. 

“We welcome Google’s early work on this to help small business owners adapt to take full advantage of the upcoming tech boom, and get their fair slice of a significant £400 billion ($515 billion) of economic benefit by 2030.”

The new AI training scheme from Google has launched in the wake of a report it published on the economic benefits of AI over the next decade. 

The UK Economic Impact Report, compiled by Public First, found that AI innovation could potentially create more than £400 billion in value for the UK economy by 2030 and “supercharge productivity”. 

Long-term, the report found that AI tools could help the average UK worker save over 100 hours a year, equivalent to nearly a full week of work. 

“Today, the UK has an exciting opportunity to unlock new economic growth with AI – and that growth becomes more sustainable if it’s inclusive,” said Ruth Porat, SVP and CFO at Google and Alphabet. 

“Google’s new training is designed to equip everyone with AI skills to work more efficiently, grow their business or career, and help ensure the benefits of AI-powered growth are felt in every industry and every part of the country.” 

If you ask IT professionals what their top concerns are, security will certainly be among the top five. Whether it’s preventing ransomware attacks, regular patch management or trying to ensure users don’t click risky links, cyber threats are always lurking in the background ready to cause a crisis.

While the idea of hackers trying to brute force their way into systems may make for better TV, internal threats – be they actively malicious internal actors or employees falling for phishing attempts – are a far more common attack vector.

According to a report from Kroll published in November 2022, insider threats are actually increasing, making up close to 35% of unauthorised access incidents recorded in the third quarter of the year. The company also noted an uptick in credential theft, particularly via ‘smishing’.

One mitigation often put forward is increasing understanding and ‘buy-in’ from employees across the breadth of an organisation. What this actually means, however, can be hard to pin down, let alone implement.

Members of the IT Pro Network have come together to discuss exactly this problem and whether there really is a solution to effective security training for all.

Cyber security starts at home

“Something I have done in the past which has worked.... Don’t look for buy-in for cyber security at work,” says Mark Evans, interim information technology director at construction firm Tilia Homes. “Teach people how to protect their children, their bank accounts, their car insurance, their NHS information, their banking details – those learned behaviours will come back into the business.

“People need to be aware that they have a responsibility to themselves to protect their data and that gives them all of the context they need in order to develop good cyber hygiene.”

Paul Watts, distinguished analyst at the Information Security Forum feels the same, adding that making the conversation less ‘corporate’ can help people actually focus on what’s being said.

“When I was CISO at Network Rail, I borrowed a whole primary school year group. They came in and helped me get people talking about staying safe in cyber space. That was a great day and the business was much more receptive to a conversation with no corporate agenda (although the health and safety prep was hard work),” he says.

For some organisations, this marriage of cyber security at work and cyber security at home is easier to bring together. Peter Donlon, group CTO at online greeting cards business Moonpig, says: “One of the more successful approaches for me has been educating the company on what it is we need to protect and bring to life the consequences of not doing so. In our case holding millions of people's personal photos, messages to loved ones, addresses, etc.

“When you highlight what it is we're all trusted to look after and what the consequences of breaking that trust are, I've found it becomes easier to educate people on how they need to play their part.”

Speak softly and carry a big stick

While it’s good to be understanding and wish to educate, there’s only so far this attitude can go if someone is unwilling to cooperate or participate in an organisation’s cyber security strategy.

“You need to do everything you can to educate people of the importance, and constantly remind people,” says Gerard McGovern, director of digital strategy. “I like the idea of centring it on activities out of work that will then permeate into the workplace, but it must be backed up with consequences. If reception let someone into the office without checking ID, there would be consequences. The same must be true with cyber.”

Watts makes a similar observation, adding: “We've gone out of our way to demystify technology and make it more accessible without educating people on the risks.

“I do wonder sometimes whether that is on us as a community of practice; you don't give someone a car and expect them to know how to drive it without giving them some tuition first.”

A generational divide

IT leaders are often faced with the challenge of different age groups being more adept with technology, depending on when digitisation became part of their lives. For the baby boomer generation, computers arrived relatively late in their career. Many were in middle age by the time there was a computer on every desk, with the internet becoming ubiquitous even later.

For the younger members of generation X and the older millennials – once shorthand for ‘young people’ – computers have been around in some form or another for most of their lives. They still remember a world before the internet, however, which crept into schools, universities and workplaces when they were in their teens and twenties.

Now, it’s generation Z, often given the moniker “digital natives”, who are entering the workplace and shaking things up, having never known a pre-internet, pre-PC world.

Yet while these younger generations may be more tech savvy, they’re not necessarily more knowledgeable when it comes to cyber security.

“Yes, younger people who have grown up with technology are generally more familiar with digital apps and devices and may be more comfortable using them,” says Craig York, CIO at Milton Keynes University Hospitals NHS Trust. “However, being tech-savvy doesn't necessarily equate to being more aware of cyber security concerns. The younger generation at my organisation are perhaps more lax about cyber security than their older counterparts.”

In Watts’ experience, not only are younger people no better at cyber security than their older counterparts, they bring a whole new wave of challenges.

“You've only got to look at the herd mentality when following a trend on social media, a new (unproven) app that an influencer shoves down their throats, they will literally do anything for 'likes' and, of course, FOMO [the fear of missing out],” he says.

“I always thought the young would … pay more attention to their digital persona and footprint. I'm being proven very wrong there.”

‘Quiet hiring’, the latest buzzword permeating the global technology industry, might be more than just a flash-in-the-pan trend for businesses.

This broad term, which refers to organisational approaches to reskilling and retaining critical talent, has emerged in the wake of the pandemic-fuelled ‘quiet quitting’ phase, which saw workers at firms across a range of industries ‘quietly’ refusing to go above and beyond their contractual duties.

Quiet hiring was identified as Gartner’s number one Future of Work trend for 2023, suggesting it’s a practice or approach that businesses will focus on sharply throughout the year. It’s not without justification; amidst a period of acute economic disruption, tightening budgets and talent shortages spanning a host of key industries, Gartner suggests quiet hiring could prove vital for business decision-makers.

What is quiet hiring?

Emily Rose McRae, senior director of research at Gartner tells IT Pro quiet hiring is an approach for organisations to “get skills and capabilities without adding headcount”.

“That’s to contrast it with quiet quitting,” she says, “which would ultimately be an organisation losing skills or capabilities, but not losing headcount.”

Fundamentally, quiet hiring as a concept involves placing a stronger focus on maximising the potential of current staff by offering them the chance to upskill, retrain, or move to other areas of the business. The aim is meeting the demand of certain critical functions that may be short-staffed or otherwise left lacking.

“It’s a way to get the skills and capabilities where you need them and redistribute what you have to where it’s going to have the most strategic value,” McRae adds.

“It’s recognising a reality that we’re all facing right now, which is that the talent shortage is materially impacting our businesses. We are not able to do things that are part of our strategic plan because we don’t have enough talent, or the right talent.”

How does quiet hiring work in practice?

A prime example, McRae says, would be an organisation with a ten-strong data science team seeking to fill five new positions, but not being able to fill these roles within a realistic timeframe.

“You could suddenly offer way more money in the market to try and attract people faster, but that’s expensive, and with current economic uncertainty, it’s not necessarily an option for a lot of businesses,” she says.

To compensate, the hypothetical organisation could source talented analysts within the HR or marketing team, for example, and reassign them to work within the data science function to plug the gaps.

However, while this appears to be a straightforward decision, there are pitfalls, McRae notes. Not least of all in terms of cross-functional skills capabilities.

“The problem here is they aren’t data scientists, they’re analysts, and there might be some skills missing there. So how do you deal with that? Well, one option would be to upskill them; send them to a bootcamp or do an apprenticeship.”

“Another option would be to actually redesign the role, so the data scientists focus on compensating for the skills the analysts don’t have and they can do the things that they’re familiar with.

“You could also hire contractors to do the complex statistical programming that’s not normally in the analysts’ wheelhouse.”

Is quiet hiring right for your business?

All too often, organisations and business leaders have a tendency to get caught up in the latest buzzword trend and buy into the hype and hyperbole surrounding new technologies, leadership approaches, or management styles.

With quiet hiring, this is no different, and McRae emphasises it isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. There are nuanced considerations businesses and senior teams must take into account when pursuing this approach – whether it’s right for their individual circumstances.

This is particularly relevant for smaller businesses, McRae adds, who simply might not have the headcount or capacity to redirect talent and resources to other areas of the business.

“For some companies this isn’t going to fly,” she says. “For some companies, they’re going to look at quiet hiring and say ‘no, HR people are HR people, marketing people are marketing people” and they’re not open to that idea. Culturally this doesn’t work for some.”

What are the business benefits of quiet hiring?

Amidst a period of tightening budgets, hiring freezes and growing economic uncertainty, McRae says quiet hiring offers businesses a range of benefits, including creating a more cross-functional workforce that understands the acute challenges faced by the organisation.

“It can absolutely create a more agile workforce as a whole, who have some background knowledge to start with that allows them to adapt to a lot of different circumstances and move more easily across the business,” she explains.

Similarly, in terms of alternative benefits for the organisation, McRae notes this approach can prove highly beneficial in creating future leaders who understand the acute challenges facing the organisation.

These employees could be vital in terms of long-term success due to their understanding of strategic goals and considerations.

“It also, frankly, helps build your leadership pipeline, because the more cross-functional experience people have, the better leaders at an organisation they’ll be,” she adds. “They won’t be so siloed into a part of the business. So that’s a benefit for the employee and the organisation to have people who understand the business better.”

Are there employee benefits to quiet hiring?

While there are tangible business benefits to quiet hiring, McRae says that in terms of individual employee benefits, there is a “tricky” element at play here.

She notes that while a key benefit for employees is the potential for increased internal mobility, and the opportunity to upskill or retrain, employees are still ultimately beholden to senior leadership.

Therefore, employees making proactive moves to capitalise on the opportunities of quiet hiring may encounter difficulty. There are, however, some things individuals within an organisation can do.

“It is an opportunity to increase your skills and value within an organisation,” she says. “But the thing that makes this different from your standard internal mobility, so applying for a new role within the organisation, is that that is coming from the employee.

“Quiet hiring, as an approach, is coming from senior leadership. The direction is different. You can make suggestions, you can actively reach out to parts of the business that you know are hiring, or struggling, and suggest you rotate in.

“Those are just some of the things you can do to jump start this on an individual basis. But this really does come from senior leadership.”

What are the downsides to quiet hiring?

Some employees within an organisation pursuing a quiet hiring policy or approach may view this with hesitancy, McRae notes.

In recent years, workforces across a range of industries have become increasingly burnt out and taken on heavier workloads, which has been exacerbated by talent shortages. The key difference with quiet hiring, however, is that it isn’t a case of employees being lumbered with additional work, it’s a redistribution of those individuals to other areas of the business.

“There is 100% a risk [of burnout],” she says. “What keeps it from coming to that is really whether you’re doing quiet hiring right. You’re not doing quiet hiring right if you ask someone to take on responsibilities on top of their normal job.

“The reality is that if this is not a good fit for you, you’re able to say no. Because, your company still values your work. And that might sound counterintuitive, telling your company no, but in this circumstance you 100% can.

“Now, that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have a bad manager that wouldn’t respond poorly to it, or senior leadership that would respond poorly to it. But the reality is that your skills are so valued that they want to move them over into another part of the business. Trust that if you needed to, you could look somewhere else, but also that they want to keep you.”

The cyber security skills gap is arguably widening, with the UK government recently finding nearly half of all businesses lack the basic skills needed to protect themselves in today’s complex threat landscape. This presents an opportunity for IT professionals who might want to switch careers.

Making the transition into a cyber security career makes perfect sense, with experts saying an IT background is a solid foundation for a career in the sector. With multiple roles available, the job doesn’t always require technical skills, with IT professionals equipped to explore careers spanning cyber security sales to strategy too.

As the cost of living crisis deepens, cyber security is well-paying and recession-proof, according to Amanda Finch, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec). “The industry skills shortage means there are plenty of openings – and it’s an incredibly interesting, fast-moving and topical area to work in.”

A key driver for moving into cyber security is the “excitement factor”, adds Liam McQuade, IT recruitment consultant at The Bridge. Those who want to combine their technical knowledge with creative problem-solving can look at opportunities in cryptography, for example, he says. “Being part of continuous improvement in keeping data and infrastructure secure is hugely rewarding.”

There are many solid reasons for IT professionals to get into cyber security, but there are also several ways to navigate this transition and different factors to bear in mind to maximise the chances of success.

Which skills are best for cyber security?

It's easier to move into cyber security than many people think. The switch doesn’t usually require extensive re-skilling – especially for those working in IT, according to Finch. “The industry welcomes almost any skill set, including technical abilities to encrypt data and protect the network, as well as analytic skills to spot threats and determine the right response to new attacks.”

There’s also a need for people skills to manage teams without increasing stress, as well as to educate the wider business on how to identify potential attacks and reduce risk, according to Finch.

Brett Griffin, a business manager at cyber security recruiter Gleeson Recruitment Group, says cyber security sales is “a great career opportunity” for IT professionals. “But,” he continues, “this is sometimes overlooked in favour of purely technical roles.

“The sales side will always rely on human intelligence rather than artificial intelligence (AI) to understand clients’ individual risks, empathise with their challenges, and explain and provide tailored solutions. This means there’s a little more long-term job security.”

There are multiple routes you can take, but some general steps can help IT professionals ensure they’re in a good position to pursue a career in security.

Those considering the move should learn how networks function. It’s also a good idea to know how to configure and maintain a corporate network with an active directory structure, as well as to brush up on the basics of security such as patching, good password practice and understanding of risk, says Leon Teale, senior penetration tester at IT Governance.

Seeking out additional training

While most IT professionals will have these skills on a basic level, many will only understand them as needed for their own day to day work, Teale says. Therefore, additional training is sometimes necessary.

Many IT professionals may not need to fork out for a cyber security degree although certifications might be a helpful way forward. Basic foundational books and courses can offer some guidance, and an apprenticeship or course from a certified body might make sense for IT professionals who are looking to switch early in their careers, Finch says.

There are a number of entry level courses available, such as CISMP or CompTIA, says Freha Arshad, managing director, Accenture Security in the UK. “All of the major cloud service providers offer security courses for varied levels and skill sets. With enterprises increasingly focused on the cloud, this area is also a good place to start.”

In addition, says McQuade, there are free resources online to support self-learning: “HackXpert and TryHackMe provide training labs, while Cybrary offers a library of helpful videos, labs and training exams. Many online platforms also provide game and real world scenario-based resources.”

It’s worth taking into account that businesses often prioritise practical skills and experience over degrees and qualifications, says Haris Pylarinos, CEO and co-founder at gamified cyber security training platform Hack The Box. “Companies are now much more open to hiring IT experts with relevant cyber skills and practical experience, as well as self-taught hackers.”

He recommends taking part in Capture the Flag competitions or bug bounty programmes. “Entering them is a good way for IT professionals on the hunt for new roles to demonstrate their proactivity and eagerness to develop their cyber skill set.”

Honing your CV and looking for openings

Once you’ve decided to pursue a career change into cyber security, you’ll need to hone your CV. IT professionals should look at the skills they have and work out how they can be applied to cyber security, says Finch. “Are you already skilled at analysing data and spotting minor discrepancies, or at managing and educating others?,” she asks. “You can then update your CV as appropriate – showing how this experience can be applied in a security environment.”

Evidencing your technical skill set on your CV, including your involvement in any major projects, is “a must”, says McQuade. “Employers are hungry for candidates that can showcase their ability – and interest – in the sector. I’ve read some excellent candidate-owned blogs, including one written by a malware analyst who had taken live malware samples and reverse-engineered them.”

It's important to showcase your abilities, yet at the same time be honest, specific and direct in your CV, says Jim Tiller, CISO at Nash Squared. “If you are moving from IT to cyber security and try to blur the line, it will be exposed. Present your strengths and experiences in IT and relate those to the job you’re looking to fill. For example, if you’ve supported endpoint systems for the last three years in IT, this knowledge and experience is valuable to an organisation looking to fill an endpoint security role.”

In order to find openings, sign on to specialist boards and with recruitment agencies, advises Lauren Wakeling, UK country manager at CoursesOnline. These can be found via a quick Google search, with Careers in Cyber and Infosec People two examples of those who “understand the industry and what’s needed to progress within it”, she suggests.

It's important to keep up to date with what’s happening in the cyber security industry and to build networks with other professionals and organisations, says McQuade. “Cyber security influencers share great content on LinkedIn, including TED Talks, videos and articles, which can really help to enrich your knowledge and sign-post you to other sources of learning. LinkedIn can also put you on the radar for recruiters looking for talent.”

The pathways into cybersecurity careers are as varied as the types of threats cyber security staff will face.

Qualifications are available from institutions of all types and at all levels, with cybersecurity certificates and degrees the most sought after – although there are also plenty of shorter courses for those who need to brush up or upskill to a new role

Cybersecurity certifications can lead to some of the highest paid jobs in IT, but along with degrees in cybersecurity, they have their pros and cons.

It's challenging enough to decide which path to take in your career, so we've compared cybersecurity certification vs degree to give you a better idea of what is most suitable for achieving your goals.

Cybersecurity certification vs degree

Certifications and degrees in cybersecurity are geared towards IT professionals who'll operate at different levels and have different career goals, with each type leading to different kinds of experience.

If you're hoping to attain skills in a niche area or address specific cybersecurity issues but you've already worked in the area for a few years, a certification might be for you.

They tend to be less expensive and usually impose less of a drain on your time, which makes them an attractive choice if you're already working, although more advanced certification courses that include work experience components are available too.

However, certificates are also a useful route for those looking to switch careers to cybersecurity. Although certificate exams require learning a syllabus, there are plenty of short courses available that will take someone with little to no knowledge of IT or security and equip them with all the tools they need to sit specific certificate exams.

If you want to approach cyber security from the ground level – for instance if you've just graduated – an undergraduate or postgraduate degree can be a better path following more generalised study in computer science.

If you pursue a cyber security degree there's also a higher chance your course will include real world experience like an internship inside an IT organisation. The advantages of doing so (on-the-ground experience in a live environment) are obvious, but you should also remember it can lead to more opportunities in cyber security leadership positions, such as management and research.

The following are some common cyber security certifications.

Examples of cybersecurity certifications

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Provider: ISC2

The International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) offers this certification, recognised all over the world, for IT staff with at least five years experience in information security. 

You'll learn about everything from access control and network security to risk management and more.

Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

Provider: EC-Council

The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) offers this certification for IT professionals who want to understand (and beat) the latest dangers to come from the world of hacking.

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

Provider: ISACA

The Information Systems Audit and Control Association's (ISACA) cybersecurity certification gives you an understanding of the information security framework of an organisation where you'll learn management, design and oversight of a company's entire cybersecurity stance.

Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)

Provider: ISC2

Also from ISC2, this course will certify you to manage the security of cloud computing systems, a skill that is in incredibly high demand and will applicable in most workplaces.

CompTIA Security+

Provider: CompTIA

This globally recognized certification will provide you with a foundation-level understanding of risk management and network security and will prepare you for several pathways into information security. It's one of the most popular security certifications and is often the first that learners acquire in order to prove foundational knowledge.

Examples of cyber security degrees

University of Bristol: Computer Science with Cyber Security

Cybersecurity is about policy as much as technology, and a degree such as this one recognizes and includes the administrative responsibilities you'll face, giving you a solid grounding in security methodologies.

King's College London: Cyber Security MSc

With strongly practical elements, this degree is about the technical aspects of cybersecurity, but includes the theory about how they're applied.

The main differences between a cybersecurity certification vs degree

The quality and depth of the course content, the qualification level you'll have when you graduate and the areas you're likely to find work in all vary depending on whether you pursue a certification or a degree.

Some employers favour certifications because they contain more direct experience with cyber security systems and scenarios. If you intend to focus on a specific technology niche or architecture, certification courses also tend to concentrate on skillsets and domains that are narrower than courses that cover theory about the entire field.

Certification will also give you the chance to stand out in a very crowded employment market, and if you're already working in the field it won't only be more affordable, it usually takes less time than a full degree.

1. Type of training

A certification often contains more practical components like experience in the industry as a placement or intern, so you'll be exposed to the latest systems and methods as they evolve and graduate with experience in more specific technologies or domains.

By contrast, a degree covers the overarching principles in and theory behind cybersecurity as a whole. You'll graduate with a deeper and wider understanding of the field and get the chance to focus subsequent training or career opportunities on the segments of the industry that interest you.

2. Study duration

Overall, you'll spend fewer hours engaged in actual study in a certification than you will with a degree. Because certifications focus on a specific area or technology they're mostly shorter, whereas degrees are a full time commitment that can last up to four years.

3. Cost of training

Certifications can cost far less than an entire cybersecurity degree simply because of the time and materials needed to complete them. As an example, a typical CISSP certificate exam costs £585, whereas you can pay up to £37k for a full undergraduate degree over four years – quite a difference even when you consider student loan and finance choices.

4. Level of qualification

If you're looking for a job in a particular cybersecurity area, a certification will signal demonstrable expertise to employers. But if you're looking further down the road towards more advanced opportunities in a broader area, potential employers will favour a cybersecurity degree.

5. Future job prospects

As always, you'll get the job you've trained for. A certification will get your foot in the door of a specific cybersecurity field that matches your course content, but a degree will widen your search potential in case you decide to go into other fields like R&D or the administration or management of cybersecurity methods.

Certifications in cybersecurity have both potential upsides and downsides.

Pros and cons of taking a cybersecurity certification

Pros:

• Certification in cybersecurity is often a much shorter process
• Training usually costs far less than a full degree
• Certificates are highly-specialized, and clear signal to employers that you know your stuff
• Generally considered an easier way into the industry, particularly for those switching careers

Cons:

• Some employers will need cybersecurity generalists, which specialist certificates may not provide
• Specialized certificates make it harder for those new to the industry to explore a wide variety of topics
• You may need to train for multiple certificates in order to make up for a lack of a degree

Pros and cons of taking a cybersecurity degree

Pros:

• Degrees typically have far better support structures than those offered by shorter courses and certificate programs
• Degrees provide solid foundational knowledge, making it more likely that you will fit the requirements for a wider pool of jobs
• Universities tend to have strong links with employers
• The broad knowledge degrees provide allows you to make more informed choices when it comes to specializing

Cons:

• A degree requires an enormous amount of commitment, both in terms of cost and time
• Degrees tend to be more static and less reactive to emerging trends, compared to specializing with certificates

Cybersecurity certificate vs degree: Which is better?

The question is simple, the answer – less so. It depends completely on you, your goals and your starting point. 

If you know the basic best practices and theory of the cybersecurity field and want to expand your practical skills in a specific niche, a certification is ideal. You will spend significantly less money on training and you will be able to bypass much of the introductory teaching that's associated with degrees, allowing you to get that certificate much quicker.

If you're starting out and want the broadest possible education about the area, or if you're not sure what specific career path you want to take, a degree will give you a solid foundation upon which to expand skills in the areas that most interest you, and when you figure those areas out, opportunities for advanced career goals will already be more accessible at your employers of choice.

Of course, this is just general advice. If you're new to cybersecurity, there are plenty of shorter courses available designed for those with zero knowledge of the industry that will prepare you for certificate exams. These are a great way to slowly build up your knowledge, although they require a bit more self discipline and won't be able to offer the same levels of support you will receive undertaking a full degree.

The science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) fields have traditionally suffered from poor diversity. On several fronts like gender and race, sectors such as tech, mathematics, and manufacturing have failed to cultivate a diverse workforce.

“Things are not getting any better in terms of diversity in tech,” Dr Kate Devlin, a reader in artificial intelligence (AI) and society at King’s College London, and expert on human interactions with technology, and its social implications, tells IT Pro. “It's a longstanding problem, and things aren't improving, despite there being many initiatives to try and do it. And in my own sub-field of that, which is AI, it's particularly bad.

Devlin was recently blocked from giving a speech to a government department about women in STEM, in which she was set to both praise the government for some of its initiatives, while calling for greater focus on the sectoral changes required.

“I was going to be talking about the way in which Silicon Valley – the whole setup of it – exploits women,” she continues. “That's very evident in the technology that we use every day; it's always women as an afterthought, which is why Apple didn't bring out menstrual tracking until a late iteration of the health app.

“The odds are still stacked against women in tech, and that's both algorithmically and in the workplace. And that we know AI has got a particularly egregious bias problem.”

Representation begins in the classroom

Things are muddied by statistics, however. For instance, in terms of participation in education, one can argue there’s been a positive trend. Government figures show 30% more women and girls are now taking STEM A-Levels than in 2010, and, at undergraduate level, there has been a 50% increase in women accepted onto courses.

Looking at workforce statistics, too, shows some minor signs of optimism. Women comprised 26.6% of the STEM workforce in 2021 – up from 24.4% in 2020 – according to research by Women into Science and Engineering (WISE). Nevertheless, STEM continues to be male-dominated. Given the sluggishness of this progress, though, and alarmingly low starting point, it’s no surprise that Devlin and others see the landscape as getting worse.

“The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) recent Global Gender Gap Report warns that progress towards gender parity has slowed globally,” Betty Vandenbosch, chief content officer at online course provider Coursera tells IT Pro.

“It will now take 132 years to close the global gender gap – up from an estimated 100 years just two years ago. Factors contributing to this widening gap include women leaving the workforce during COVID-19 as a result of care responsibilities, a lack of flexibility within the workplace, and poor opportunities to advance their careers.”

Although the record numbers of women taking computer science degrees are encouraging, more can be done by the government to encourage young girls and women into STEM, says Heather Dawe, who is head of data at digital transformation firm UST. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the sector, having worked at a senior level as a statistician within the public and private sectors.

“Progression in diversifying STEM industries largely starts within the education system – it is here that young women can first be shown what a career in STEM can empower them to achieve and create,” Dawe tells IT Pro. “Here, the widespread perception of STEM subjects being male-centric can be reversed, when young girls can be shown the pathways for themselves in technology leadership roles. Setting a standard for representation and creating a sense of belonging within STEM starts in the classroom.”

For specific policy changes, Dawe pointed to the government’s recently announced secondary school initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries, which will provide STEM student teachers with up to £27,000 per year. She hopes this will encourage more female STEM students to pursue teaching as a career, with a degree of financial support, but urged the government to launch more initiatives aimed specifically at women.

Christine Bejerasco, CTO at WithSecure, agrees girls have to be shown other options early in life, and thinks that the private sector, too, has a far larger role to play in encouraging young girls into STEM throughout their schooling experience.“It could be part of tech companies’ social responsibility to go to schools, even at the younger stages, and not just preach but have programmes where children can tinker with these things.

“By the time you're a teenager, it may be too late,” she adds. “We’re going into universities all the time, and that's already towards the latter stage when people have already decided. That’s why the course that I taught was predominantly men, with one woman. If we had gotten there earlier, there could have been more diversity in the classroom.”

The gender diversity crisis is intersectional

Devlin argues the government can definitely do more to break down the perception of STEM as a male-dominated field, and that some of its calls for action have fallen flat. Despite this, she acknowledges that changes to education have been largely positive, and that girls in school, today, offer hope to the industry.

“There are some good things that have been done, the curriculum now is starting very early to talk about algorithms – it talks about those from Key Stage 1 onwards. And there's lots of talk about interdisciplinarity being introduced, particularly in AI.

“We can certainly start education early on. It used to be, probably still is, that by the time girls reach secondary school age, they were quite put off subjects like maths and computer science. But I've seen the way my own daughter – she’s 12 – uses technology, and she and her friends just love Minecraft. The stuff that they can do in a game that’s entirely self-taught, I just think that’s wonderful.”

It’s worth acknowledging the lack of diversity within the sector is also an intersectional problem, with black women disproportionately underrepresented in STEM roles as compared to white counterparts. “Just recently, research from Coding Black Females found that the number of black women in IT is two-and-a-half times smaller than that of the UK workforce as a whole,” says Kiri Addison, threat detection and efficacy product manager at Mimecast.

Addison notes the government could reframe these numbers into an opportunity for industry-wide collaboration, with the aim of tackling the gender gap. Such a scheme could also break stigmas around working in STEM roles, and attract a far more diverse talent pool for the future of the industry.

“Governments can work with many institutions to raise awareness of the current diversity challenges in STEM by creating scholarships with universities and apprenticeship schemes. With technical training, more people will be able to see if there is a potential career path in STEM and will be encouraged to apply for more roles.”

You can’t play diversity by numbers

Devlin is also quick to note that diversity isn’t purely a numbers game, but instead needs to be enabled through a cultural shift that can empower those women already in the workforce.

“I've just come back from an amazing conference, World Summit AI in Amsterdam. It’s run by a woman and founded by a woman, and it was incredible in terms of diversity,” Devlin tells IT Pro. “There were panels that accidentally ended up all women panels because that's where the expertise was, as opposed to this striving where someone says “I need a woman for a panel”. So, this is completely possible, it's really doable. It's just that the emphasis is not being put on that.”

Across the sector, Devlin indicates there’s a great need for women to be encouraged into these positions, and for male counterparts to do more to champion women for their expertise rather than as token panellists.

It’s clear more needs to be done to improve gender diversity in STEM, but the long-term impetus appears to be on the government to do more for girls and women earlier in life. If generational barriers are broken down through educational opportunities and a concurrent cultural shift across the sector, diversity could be improved in the long term, before biases become any more entrenched in emerging fields such as AI.

Large companies are relying on online learning more and more, to improve the career goals of their employees, and upskilling can be an important way of retaining staff while adding to existing expertise.

But the public sector has lagged behind the private sector on this front, and is currently experiencing record churn and vacancies. 410,000 staff quit social care in 2021, and care roles around the country are now short of approximately 165,000 staff.

This week, we spoke to Hadi Moussa, General Manager and Managing Director for EMEA at one of the largest online learning platforms, Coursera, to unpack how virtual upskilling courses can help improve staff retention in social care, as well as the prospects of roles within the sector.

Highlights

“The objective is to drive quality improvement among the UK health care professionals, and also to help address some of the knowledge gaps among the NHS staff to help meet and of the future public health challenges.”

“Creating more of a culture of learning, and effectively having people find the time for learning, is a major challenge that we also hear from many of the companies that we work with. I think it's really about embedding it into the way that staff operate, because you need to show really the value of gaining those additional skills in terms of your ability to do your job better, your ability to drive better outcomes, your ability to, for example again, get promoted over time.”

“One of the key components that is really required for the UK to become a technology superpower is around skills. And that is why we believe that there is this need to continue investing in skills, even in this type of environment, to be able to drive the outcomes that both the private sector and the public sector are looking for in this case.”

Read the full transcript here.

Footnotes

• How to digitally upskill your staff on a budget
• Upskilling a remote workforce
• How to upskill your existing workforce to beat the talent drought
• Beating the IT brain drain: How to break the cycle of vanishing skills
• Why reskilling isn't just about learning new technology
• Google to offer US businesses $100,000 worth of digital skills courses
• Tech skills in the UK lag behind most of Europe
• Global Skills Report 2022 - Coursera

Subscribe

• Subscribe to The IT Pro Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe to The IT Pro Podcast on Google Podcasts
• Subscribe to The IT Pro Podcast on Spotify
• Subscribe to the IT Pro newsletter
• Subscribe to IT Pro 20/20

​​This automatically-generated transcript is taken from the IT Pro Podcast episode ‘How upskilling is driving staff retention'. We apologise for any errors.

Rory Bathgate

Hi, I'm Rory Bathgate.

Jane McCallion

And I'm Jane McCallion.

Rory

And you're listening to the IT Podcast, where today we're shining a light on virtual upskilling.

Jane

Increasingly, large companies are relying on online learning to improve the career goals of their employees, and upskilling can be an important factor in retaining staff who might otherwise seek out opportunities elsewhere.

Rory

But while this has been embraced by the private sector, the public sector has lagged behind, and is currently experiencing record churn and vacancies. 410,000 staff quit social care in 2021, and care roles around the country are now short of approximately 165,000 staff. With the cost of living crisis driving some to search for new roles, it is clear that NHS-wide retention and training schemes are needed.

Jane

Today, we're speaking to Hadi Moussa, General Manager and Managing Director for EMEA at one of the largest online learning platforms, Coursera, to discuss how virtual upskilling courses can help improve staff retention in social care, as well as the prospects of roles within the sector.

Hadi Moussa

Thank you for having me.

Rory

Thanks so much for being on the show. So just to start off, as a kind of a broad question. For those who don't know, could you explain the line between upskilling and reskilling?

Hadi

Yeah, it's a good question. I think one that, you know, we get asked all the time. I think if you look at kind of the overall trends and what's happening, you know, more broadly across different industries, you see that there are some major trends happening today. There are many industries that now are being disrupted to some extent, we are seeing a significant level of automation that is happening across multiple different industries. There is a lot of research on this topic. If you look at what McKinsey has been doing for example, we see this large shift, where many of the lower skilled jobs are getting automated today, jobs typically in food service, in customer service, agriculture, office support roles, but at the same time, we see, you know, significant demand for higher skilled jobs, you know, these are things like jobs in STEM or in health, for example, and, you know, to be able to kind of really make that transition, there is a requirement for investment in a different set of skills. And this is where, you know, we start to look at things like reskilling right, people who effectively are in one of these jobs that are at high risk of automation, or who are looking to make the a career transition, would need to develop these new skills, to be able to take on these new roles that are being created right now. And, you know, this is where we are seeing a significant expansion in the number of digital jobs, for example. And so this is where, you know, we would be talking about effectively, a major reskilling and basically acquiring new skills, to be able to move into a completely different sector, for example. And that's a key focus area of many governments, also many companies as well. I think upskilling is, you know, typically more within the same domain, where you have kind of developed skills, you have domain expertise, but you're looking at adding to those skills. You're looking at making sure that those skills remain current with the fast pace of change that we see across different jobs. And again, we see a lot of investment in that space as well, because of how fast things have changed, both in terms of the increase and kind of the change in the nature of some of the jobs that we are seeing today. But also general trends around, for example, remote working. And, you know, this is a trend that maybe accelerated with COVID, but is a trend that we expect to continue and many studies show that it's actually continuing to increase over time. So two I think really important areas, that many companies, many governments, universities as well, are really thinking about how to adapt to this fast changing world.

Jane

So we spoke a little bit, me and Rory, about the public sector in our introduction. Earlier in the year Coursera partnered with Imperial College London, to provide three free online courses for all NHS workers. Could you explain the courses on offer and a little bit more detail of how it's going so far and just kind of what's going on?

Hadi

Yeah, absolutely. And I think kind of going back to something you mentioned as well, we see many unfilled roles right now in posts within the NHS. And if you look at recent data, I think one in ten nursing posts, for example, and one in seventeen doctors' posts are currently unfilled. And I think at least 100,000 NHS clinical posts are also unfilled at this point. So, you know, that shows a couple of things I would say. One is there is a need, obviously, to increase staff wellbeing and motivation, again something that you alluded to in the introduction, but also upskilling and reskilling are now key requirements for the NHS as well. And you know, it's the same for other UK social and health care institutions in general. So to bridge this upskilling gap we have actually partnered with the NHS, to offer 1.2 million employees free access to three online courses. The three courses are 'participatory approaches in public health', 'introduction to quality improvements in health care', and then 'using data for healthcare improvement'. These courses were created by Coursera, and Imperial College. And really, the objective is to drive quality improvement among the UK health care professionals, and also to help address some of the knowledge gaps among the NHS staff to help meet and of the future public health challenges. So that's really kind of the key objective of these courses that we've worked with Imperial College on.

Jane

And do you know, is there a sort of particular profile of people who this is aimed at or who are taking up this training? For example, nurses do a very different job to clerical back office staff. Is it aimed at all of them? And if so, is everybody taking the courses up equally?

Hadi

Yeah, so I mean, we're aiming this, I would say at kind of a broad range of occupations. So it is aimed at, you know, everyone, everyone within the NHS effectively. And again, like we have looked at how we can design something that really can help engage the largest number of employees. And in terms of what we want to help with effectively, we want to help the staff engage with, you know, relevant communities, we want to help them critique the role of social cultural factors in health contexts, we also are helping design an approach to public health challenges, which are more participatory by nature, so that the nature of the courses are really aimed at reaching kind of a large part of the NHS staff at this point.

Rory

I think of the three courses that you named, it's interesting that when you talk about upskilling, what comes to mind often is quite technical courses. So 'using data for healthcare improvement', that seems in line, but yeah, it's interesting that you mentioned these social and cultural courses as well, such as 'participatory approaches in public health'. Would you say that the upskilling through online courses, virtual upskilling, has a very broad range of potential applications as a result, it's not just the technical subjects?

Hadi

Yeah, absolutely. And I think, again, depending on the specific job category, specific domains, the skills that are needed are very different, right? In some cases, obviously, it's really important to upskill with additional technical skills. In other cases, it may be kind of more practical, I would say, which is, what these courses are about, they really help NHS, the NHS staff's development of knowledge and more practical skills in terms of how you involve patients and the public in the research in quality improvement in healthcare. And also how to understand and use health data as well. So there is an element, obviously, of how do you use the data within healthcare, but also a lot of focus on the practical skills that are needed.

Jane

So are there challenges that are unique to providing upskilling courses in the public sector versus the private sector?

Hadi

I think, yes. Obviously, when you work within a company, typically you have a process that is set in terms of how you develop learning and development that is still changing, but I think within kind of a predefined area, right? Where you have a clear way of how you want to deliver that. And you also have specific metrics that you're setting within the organisation. You can to some extent, you know, mandate, what you expect in terms of learning. You can set specific targets for people that they need to meet from a learning perspective. You can link it potentially to performance management, you can link it to how people, you know, get new jobs within the organisation or get promoted within the organisation. So there is a lot more structure that already exists, I think within the private sector. I think in the in the public sector, governments are really looking I would say very closely at this area right now. But there isn't always the infrastructure in place. And that's where, you know, governments need to do some work to set that infrastructure, to kind of put these workforce development programmes in place, to reach kind of the right target segments, to create the right incentives for people to to build these additional skills that are needed. And so I think that delivery of it, the infrastructure that is required, is something that governments effectively really need to work on in a world where skills and roles and the nature of jobs is shifting very rapidly.

Jane

Yeah, because one of the things that strikes me when we're talking about clinical staff in particular, is that they're quite often time poor. Doctors can and nurses can do shifts that last sort of 12 hours plus, and when they're going to find them, I guess my question, concern on behalf of clinical staff, is when they're going to find the time to do this training on top of everything else that they have to do in their day to day.

Hadi

Yeah, absolutely. And I would say this is also a challenge for private companies, it is not just kind of in the public sector. Creating more of a culture of learning, and effectively having people find the time for learning, is a major challenge that we also hear from many of the companies that we work with. I think it's really about embedding it into the way that staff operate, because you need to show really the value of gaining those additional skills in terms of your ability to do your job better, your ability to drive better outcomes, your ability to, for example again, get promoted over time. And that is a big challenge. And again, a big challenge both for private and public sector. But it's really about how you create that culture where people see learning as part of the job itself, and they see learning as a way of delivering much better outcomes. And it needs to become, you know, become effectively embedded into in the day to day, versus something that is seen as a, you know, completely separate activity from your day to day job.

Rory

It's interesting, would you say that upskilling should be seen as a kind of ongoing process in any role, that's part and parcel of the responsibilities of the role itself, or is something to add on to the role periodically?

Hadi

No, I think absolutely the first one, right? You need to see it as something that is a core part of the role, because kind of the roles are also changing. And in a world where roles are changing, the skills required for roles are also changing, it is important to maintain the skills that are relevant for that role. And the best way to do it is to see it as a core part of your day to day. I think the key though, is really to be able to show that this drives outcomes as well. Right? By, you know, having evidence that upskilling, continuous learning, helps you drive outcomes both in your current job but also in terms of your long term career as well, helps build that buy-in, so it becomes embedded in and of your day to day activity, versus something that you see as just an add on.

Jane

So how is Coursera, beyond just providing the learning materials, how is Coursera supporting the NHS in this process? What's your role I guess?

Hadi

Yeah, our role in this was to help kind of create these courses with Imperial College right? And, you know, defining what are some of the key areas where we could support in terms of upscaling? What are some of the key, you know, skills gaps that we could support with? And really, our goal would be to involve as many people as possible, both kind of clinical and non clinical staff, to have them go through these courses. And again, which would help them respond to you know, future public health challenges. So, that's really kind of the the objective here, really helping in terms of how we can further enhance their skills. And you know, we're always looking at opportunities in terms of how we can continue to support going forward and where there are specific skills areas Coursera can support with alongside some of the both industry partners, but also university partners that we work with. And maybe just kind of to set the context a little bit more about Coursera. The way we think about Coursera, it's a skills based platform, right. And we help kind of companies, we help universities, we help you know, the public sector to develop the skills that are needed for, you know, the specific roles within the areas that they operate in. And we're always again, looking at opportunities where we can support the public sector, in this case, we'll continue to look at opportunities in terms of where we can support the NHS.

Rory

It's interesting when you're talking about liaising directly with the NHS, liaising directly with Imperial College to support skills and the specific needs of roles. Are upskilling courses generally better suited like this on a company by company basis, or on the whole are they better as sort of broad industry specific training, which can be accessed by the employees of many different companies?

Hadi

Yeah, no, I think it's a very good question. And overall, I would say we see some of the same gaps across companies, right? And across the public sector. If you look at, again, many of the research that has been done, the World Economic Forum for example has done a lot of research on this, if you look at kind of the top 10 jobs where there is increasing demand, and so the key skills that are required it is typically things like data scientist, machine learning specialists, digital marketing. We consistently see the need for these types of skills across many of the companies. And so as a result, that is what our platform can help provide in this case, it's the skills specifically for those jobs. Now, we can deliver that across companies, but some companies will also have some very specific needs for roles within their enterprises. And in that case, they would develop effectively a programme that incorporates some of the content that we provide to help develop those skills with, you know, training that is much more specific to those companies. And so we do we see companies that you know, adapt a hybrid model where they can effectively use this content that applies across the board, but then complement it with, you know, skills that may be much more specific to their needs?

Jane

Hadi, is it worth companies investing in young employees who are newly qualified? So I don't mean people who are coming into apprenticeships, or just people who have finished their A-Levels coming in. I'm thinking more of, say, graduates who have literally just left university, whether that's coming into really any kind of job these people have just had a whole bunch of training, do they need new training on top of that? Or do they need to bed in for a bit before getting underway with some kind of CPD.

Hadi

I think we do see kind of this need to start developing talent, even at a younger age. And I think specifically around the, bridging the gap in terms of the skills that are needed for your job, versus you know, what you are taught at uni right? And I think we do see that there is some gap that can be bridged, especially as part of your onboarding to a new company, by getting access to more of the practical skills, or the specific skills that you need for that job. We're actually also seeing many universities adopt a model where they integrate into their curriculum, some of the industry content, for example that we have on the platform, or content from other universities, as well as a way to really help prepare and have those graduates going into specific jobs. But we do see a need from companies to really invest in the skills that are needed for that specific job when they have new talent and young talent that joins their company.

Rory

So with the cost of living crisis happening right now, a lot of companies are reevaluating their strategies, they're looking at ways of increasing retention on staff or looking at cost cutting measures. How does upskilling factor into this industry wide reevaluation of spending?

Hadi

Yeah, it is a very important factor, I would say what we are seeing, you know, with a lot of the companies that we work with, they are very focused on retention in the current environment. And as a result, they see providing a learning upskilling solution, and helping people and their employees to continue to develop their skills as a key part of that retention proposition. Because, you know, effectively employees will see it as the company really investing in them, helping create opportunities for them. And also investing in their long term career as well. And many companies would also look to tie it into how they can help them progress, even within the company too. And so we are seeing a really big focus, and I guess, in this kind of environment an increasing focus on retention, and using upskilling and helping the employees develop their skills as a key part of that retention proposition.

Jane

And I guess following on from that, there are some companies who are very invested in continuous professional development, they believe in upskilling their employees as part of a retention thing, and just, you know, it can benefit the company as well. The more knowledgeable your employees are, the more they have to offer effectively. But other companies are far more hesitant. They're worried that they're going to upskill these employees, and then the employees are going to leave with all that information. What would you say to the second category of companies who have these fears?

Hadi

Yeah, I mean in general what we see around retention is your talent leaves due to lack of career development, right? And that is kind of a problem that we see, you know, across across the board. And that's something that many of our customers and, you know, our clients share with us. So if that is kind of one of the fundamental reason why you lose some of the talent that you have, I think investing in skills, and then investing in their career development is really the best way to be able to retain that talent. It's a little bit of a circular argument to some extent. So if you don't kind of invest in your talent, there is a sure way of losing that talent to, you know, your competition, to other industries, etc. But if you really fundamentally believe that people are going to drive your business, the best way to retain them is to help them build the skills, and then create the right career development opportunities for them. And that's what many of our customers again, and clients we see, are adopting this at this point and more significantly investing in upskilling and in general learning and development for their people.

Rory

And do you find that most upskilling courses that companies are signing up to are more on the technical side? Is that dominating courses right now? Or is there quite a lot of focus on the social, maybe environmental and governance, EDI courses?

Hadi

Yeah, I think we see a combination. So again, if you go back to some of the key skills that are in demand and where we expect, you know, that demand to continue, it is very much around those technical areas, especially around data analysis, machine learning, these are areas that we are seeing companies across all industries effectively, require those types of skills and are investing very heavily in data and digital skills. Same thing, you know, with the general trend towards more remote working and making sure that, you know, the workforce is digitally literate as well, that again applies across all industries. And we see, you know, companies investing those skills. But you know, at the same time I think there is a big focus, especially in this type of environment where things are changing quickly, it is sometimes difficult to manage in this type of environment, where company, there are also a lot of changes within companies. We see a lot of investment in leadership, for example, and our leadership academy and courses within that is another big area of investment that we see today. And then the other area is what you mentioned around D&I, and I think diversity and inclusion has absolutely become top of the agenda for many companies. And as a result, that's another area where we are seeing significant investment. And a lot of these really apply across different industries. And you know, our priorities for very different types of clients at this point.

Jane

I read this morning that we are entering into, or possibly are already in, a recession that is going to be shallow, but long. So coming out of it roughly 2024. How is this going to impact the level of investment in technical and other skills that businesses, and indeed the public sector, are willing to put in to their employees?

Hadi

It's a very good question, and one actually that we have discussed also with many of the private and public sector customers that we work with. I think we are heartened to hear that in many cases, you know, most of them would really want to continue to invest in upskilling, in developing the skills in learning and development. For many of the reasons that we mentioned earlier, some of the long term trends that are really having an impact on businesses in the public sector. So I do believe that they will maintain that investment. There is also, if you look at the UK government for example, one of the commitments from the Prime Minister during the campaign was making the UK a technology superpower. And I think it is hard to see how that can be achieved without a significant investment in in upskilling. Because at the end of the of the day, the UK has many of the components to become that technology superpower right? There is, when you look at the research infrastructure that exists, when you think that there are four out of the top 10 universities based here in the UK, when you see how the tech ecosystem in general is expanding, and the level of funding that many of the startups in the UK are attracting at this point, and then even the number of unicorns that are being created in the country. So there are many of the components. But I think it still lacks a really key and very important component here. And that is the skills, right? If you look at kind of the UK technology skills proficiency, it is still underdeveloped. We have something called the Coursera Global Skills Report that effectively ranks learner competency of 100 countries across different sets of skills like business technology, data science. And we've actually found in our 2022 report, which we released recently, that the UK actually lags behind most of Europe, and it only places 42nd globally, when it comes to technology proficiency. Even in the strongest category, which was data science for the UK, it's still placed at number 28. Right. That kind of shows, I guess, that one of the key components that is really required for the UK to become a technology superpower is around skills. And that is why we believe that there is this need to continue investing in skills, even in this type of environment, to be able to drive the outcomes that both the private sector and the public sector are looking for in this case.

Rory

Hadi, thanks so much for your time and for being on the show.

Hadi

Thank you for having me.

Jane

As always, you can find links to all of the topics we've spoken about today in the show notes and even more on our website at itpro.co.uk.

Rory

You can also follow us on social media, as well as subscribe to our daily newsletter. Don't forget to subscribe to the IT Pro Podcast wherever you find podcasts. And if you're enjoying the show, leave us a rating and a review.

Jane

We'll be back next week with more from the world of IT. But until then, goodbye.

Rory

Goodbye

This article originally appeared in issue 33 of IT Pro 20/20, available here. To sign up to receive each new issue in your inbox, click here

It’s widely understood that workplaces benefit hugely from having a diverse workforce. A range of different approaches to everyday work is healthy and positive, and being open to the widest workforce possible can help employers face up to the skills shortage, which the technology sector is only too familiar with.

But formulating and implementing a diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy is not a simple matter that takes just a few weeks. This should be an ongoing lived experience – embedded deep in the core of an organisation – to be truly effective. While there are plenty of shortcuts available, any organisation that doesn’t invest the energy, time and resources needed will encounter pitfalls that will backfire.

Building a workforce of all the talents

Understanding the complexity of diversity can be an important first step, and firms may find it most beneficial to seek external expertise to help them process this. Doing so means any policy, the strategies through which it will be implemented, and the ongoing embedding of D&I in everyday working practices is both broad and deep.

“Organisations need to construct policies with an intersectional lens,” says the head of growth at leadership training programme provider Circl, Meenal Patel, tells IT Pro.

“People from underrepresented backgrounds often fall into multiple categories of diversity. A policy which focuses on gender one year, race another, and neurodivergence another will fail before it even begins. We cannot segment diversity in this way. The best diversity policies put intersectionality at the heart of their approach.”

Getting started on D&I

Becoming a more inclusive workplace can manifest as a decision to transform an entire workplace culture. Taking standardised D&I policies “off the shelf” – rather than working from the ground up to develop policies which fit with specific needs – is far from ideal.

“Before starting a D&I strategy, companies must assess where the gaps are in their business,” says Chelsea Slater, CEO and co-founder of InnovateHer. Armed with this information, organisations can start to work to increase diversity in a meaningful way.

For Holly Foxcroft, head of neurodiversity research in cyber consulting at Stott and May, the biggest mistake firms make is to implement change policy without training employees or giving guidance on the change. “This means employees may not understand why the change is needed, and may not understand the policy and its practices, which can lead to resistance,” she adds.

Sitting alongside this is the question of where responsibility for D&I is located. Slater sees a lot of companies give this work to people who are not in a D&I role, but are passionate and vocal about it. “This is the first “no” when looking at D&I in the workplace,” she adds. “When this happens, colleagues get stressed out as they are doubling their workload almost immediately. D&I is a full-time role.”

The better approach, says Slater, is to either employ someone into this role internally or get a consultant or company to help create a strategy and then implement it.

Strategies must be embedded, not siloed

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that, having recruited diverse candidates, the job is done. In fact, supporting every team member should be embedded in the culture.

“Organisations need to take a fresh look at how they deploy career development,” Patel says. “Equality is giving diverse candidates an opportunity in the organisation. Equity is giving them the resources to succeed once you have hired them.”

Another trap is placing too much emphasis on metrics. Setting a target of changing the makeup of the workforce, by having a statistical goal can be helpful, but it shouldn’t be seen as the only, or even the main, prize.

“The one thing organisations should avoid is to overly focus on the numbers and metrics,” says Bev White, CEO of Nash Squared. She is very clear on this point, adding: “Numbers are very important about telling you where you are, but the engine of diversity is in culture change. You can’t change the temperature by tapping a thermometer, and you can’t change diversity simply by measuring it.”

Bringing everyone on the D&I journey

Vitally, implementing a D&I strategy is a matter for the whole organisation. It’s about cultural change, and this isn’t achieved overnight.

Slater offers sage words, telling IT Pro that implementing a diversity strategy means undergoing a huge organisational culture shift “because you’ve recognised that you are not diverse, or people aren’t being treated fairly within the workplace”.

“Culture can take a long time to change, and you must be willing to have tough conversations with colleagues, and face pushback from colleagues, to create a culture that supports inclusive behaviours,” she concludes.

Finally, it’s centrally important to avoid a culture of blame – making those who have not understood D&I in the past feel somehow that they have done wrong. That way lies the road to building resentment and losing support for the changes that need to happen. When D&I is seen as a lived experience across the whole organisation, everyone is involved and the positives are accentuated.

So, you want to upskill in the new year? Maybe you’re looking for a new role, a different challenge, or you just want to build on your solid foundational skill set? Whatever your motivation, it can be difficult to decide where to start.

According to hiring platform Indeed, some of the most sought after IT certifications include qualifications provided or accredited by Amazon, Cisco, and Microsoft. That’s not the end of the story, though, and recruiters in the IT industry are increasingly clear that expanding your knowledge base goes beyond a few courses.

Not Just About Coding

Orla Daly, chief information officer at international cloud-learning platform Skillsoft, says that there is a high level of need when it comes to areas like cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. While she suggests certifications like AWS Certified Solutions Architect and Certified Information Systems Security Professional or CISSP training as possible routes to expanding your career, she also points to so-called power skills as another way of bolstering your CV.

“With digital transformation … IT has an ability to have a larger influence on the business strategy. But with that also comes the expectation that some of our technical resources can move out and can engage in those business conversations and really help drive the overall company strategy,” she says

Daly gives the example of being able to take a large data set and pull conclusions out that fit within more of a governance framework, allowing IT workers to have a say in how companies are “making sure that we stay within the lines or we don’t get ourselves into trouble.” This heavy focus on soft skills is echoed by Melissa McElroy of SPR. She says that once they’ve built their communication talents through channels like books and video content, IT workers can play a “translator” role; helping the technical side of the business speak to marketing, sales, and other business areas.

“Sometimes the business desires and the technology desires can be in conflict,” she says. “So I think being able to navigate those waters, have clear lines of communication, and being able to collaborate to come up with that solution is hugely important.”

Where to Learn These Skills

But how much time do IT workers have to make that change? Kristen Tronsky, chief people officer at cloud reseller DoiT’s, says that part of her workforce spends a considerable amount of its work time just focussing on keeping up with the breakneck speed of the industry.

“If you join our cloud engineering team, you get 30% of your time to just keep pace with the innovation of everything that is evolving so quickly across the multi cloud ecosystem. So we look very specifically for people who have certifications that we know are going to come in heavy use and kind of validate the experience that on a day to day basis they're going to be using.”

She points to certifications and roles like GCP cloud architects, AWS certified solutions cloud architect, Certified Kubernetes Administrator as part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), and Google’s Cloud Digital Leader as learning opportunities that IT workers can use to set themselves apart. Tronsky also says that her company has a keen interest in using tools that are less tied to certifications like Udemy, A Cloud Guru, Coursera, Whizlabs, and industry white papers to augment their staff’s knowledge base. For her, these training opportunities are even more important as DoIt is a remote-first company.

It’s not just your current role that the kind of training you do can affect, however. Aileen Allkins, former corporate VP of global customer service and support at Microsoft who is currently the chief customer officer at technology talent and customer service solutions company Tek Experts, says that beyond courses and certifications, IT staffers should be looking at how they fit within their company and whether their place of work is actively supporting skill development.

“While there are great courses and resources available, my suggestion to individuals would be to look at working at organisations that will invest in their growth and provide learning opportunities for them to grow their skills in alignment with their career goals. This is also an important message for companies – investing in your employees’ growth and building a culture of learning will be the way you thrive in this new digital world.”

McElroy says that at the interview stage is another place where being able to bridge the gap between soft and hard skills can really benefit your career trajectory.

“If someone asks you a scenario question, layering in the approach that you take with the client, layering in how you would communicate, layering in issues that you might see arise from your experience and your background and how you tackle them – I think that you have to answer those questions differently to show off soft skills.”

Where Does That Leave You?

Whether you’re looking to update your resume to get a pay bump, take on new responsibilities at work, or find a new job, it’s clear that both hard and soft or power skills are essential to that upward mobility. Daly says that no matter what training and certifications you choose, ultimately it’s important to keep their origins in mind.

“There is a lot of content out there that isn't necessarily the same level of quality. So, I think it is important to understand where you're getting your certifications and content from.”

Since the pandemic, many companies have embraced hybrid working policies as their employees have come to enjoy this way of work, and prove how productive they can be. However, this remote working practice has caused challenges for IT security teams as they work towards securing multiple devices outside of the organisation’s firewall.

This whitepaper looks at the cyber security hazards facing businesses today and the vulnerabilities they may not realise they have, including a lack of security knowledge amongst their workforce, with recommendations on how to enhance their security profile.

Download now to discover:

• How you can secure peripherals
• The technology enabling secure connections for remote workers
• The business solutions from Logitech offering unrivalled, secure, performance for all workflow needs

Provided by

If you’re looking to enter the technology industry or pivot to a new career within it, then machine learning should be high on your list of skills to learn.

Demand for machine learning professionals is soaring with more and more enterprises, businesses and organisations looking to embed and scale it, as they move away from legacy systems and work through on-going digital transformation programmes.

Compared to five years ago, experts suggest there are now more realistic expectations for what machine learning can deliver. This means the field is increasingly focused on solving specific problems, with new systems making it easier for people to understand.

There are several routes into a machine learning career, from university degrees to short-term machine learning courses. The remuneration is good too, with Indeed suggesting the average annual salary for a machine learning engineer is around £56,000. If you’re considering taking this path, there are several reasons why it could be a good career move.

Asking questions and finding wrong answers

If you’re inquisitive, then machine learning is a great career for the intellectually open and curious, says Janani Ravi, Pluralsight author and one of the original Google Docs engineers.

“The process of building a machine learning model that works is inherently about going deep into the use case,” Ravi says. “Correctly framing the problem is half the battle, asking the right questions and not only focusing on finding the right answer.

“Machine learning professionals are increasingly expected to pull their weight in all aspects of the technical development process. It’s no longer acceptable to specialise too narrowly or be standoffish about participating in the process of data cleaning, labelling and doing all the detail work that is so critical in making machine learning work well.”

A wealth of different opportunities

There are many roads into machine learning, says Paul Clough, professor of search and analytics at the University of Sheffield (UoS) and head of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science at Peak Indicators. “This could be as part of any job role that may utilise more advanced analytics or modelling methods for making the most of the data available in that role,” he explains.

“Additionally, machine learning is a key tool in the toolbox of any data scientist or analyst, especially if the job involves predictive modelling.”

Clough adds machine learning may also feature in the job specs for data engineers as well as more specific roles such as machine learning engineer, machine learning (research) scientist, MLOps engineer and algorithm machine learning engineer. “We’ve seen a rise in new roles like data translators and machine learning analysts, both related to explaining the benefits of data science projects to business leaders,” he adds.

Choosing between academia and industry

There are two distinct pathways to choose from, Andrew Patel, senior researcher at WithSecure Intelligence, tells IT Pro. “From the careers side, the most obvious thing to note from reading discussions between machine learning experts is there’s a clear divide between career paths. One side is in academia and the other is in industry.

“I get the feeling the academic side is seen as more interesting – you get to work on more experimental projects and likely use more cutting-edge techniques – whereas on the industry side, you’re forced into solving very defined problems and productising machine learning solutions.

“From the salary point of view, the industry pays better. I believe there is high demand for machine learning experts in all fields currently.”

IT’s a rapidly maturing jobs market

Machine learning has evolved significantly as a career over the past decade, says Heather Dawe, UK head of data at digital transformation company UST. This is because its models are no longer developed and used in isolation.

“The machine learning industry is burgeoning in the sense that a significant proportion of enterprises are still grappling with the work required to get their data ready for machine learning. As enterprises mature, the demand for ML talent within the industry will increase even more and at a pace,” she explains.

“There is currently more demand than supply. This demand will increase as businesses mature with their data and wish to leverage it further. Machine learning is a fascinating area to work in. Ultimately, it’s a way of predicting the future and affects decision-making accordingly. Machine learning underpins AI, which is increasingly a part of our futures.”

Machine learning is accessible to the masses

New technology is making a career in machine learning far easier to consider, suggests Eleanor Watson, IEEE AI ethics engineer and AI faculty at Singularity University. Large statistical models can solve thousands of different problems just with a simple natural language request.

She explains: “With this new technology, machine learning is finally accessible to the masses, as we no longer require much skill beyond asking a simple question to obtain quick and reasonable assistance with almost any digital office task one can imagine.

“The latest models are even generating computer code, video, 3D models, virtual personalities and music on-demand from nothing more than a description of the desired output. One might think machine learning skills will be less needed as a result. However, by making the power of state-of-the-art machine learning clear to the public, the desire for improved capabilities to optimise almost any problem will be greatly increased.”

More routes into machine learning are opening up

A few years ago, the path to entering the data science field was academic and highly technical, according to Elliott Young, CTO Dell Technologies UK. Now, a lack of a degree in applied maths is no longer a barrier, he suggests.

“These days, the outlook is very different, with tools available to make data preparation and the creation of machine learning models more straightforward and automated to get results faster,” he says. “The existence of these tools helps to expand the nature of roles within the field of data science.

“A career in machine learning has become more about the value you can extract from data than writing programmes in R or building models from scratch,” he continues. “Machine learning can be a fascinating area in which to work. There is more opportunity for people to create truly novel models and approaches that didn’t exist before and make an important difference to the future.”

Self-training isn’t frowned upon

For those who were unable to take the classical route of a university education, a career in machine learning can still be within reach. Dr Huseyin Atakan Varol, department chair of robotics at Nazarbayev University SEDS and founding director of the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) says: “There is also a growing number of self-trained machine learning specialists without formal education on this topic.”

Dr Varol suggests rather than big data and supercomputing, companies are now looking for workers who can create Tiny AI, machine learning models that can run on small microcomputers on Internet of Things (IoT) devices or wearables.

“It’s a great area to work for individuals who are keen on self-development and learning,” he adds. “Machine learning might be the fastest-evolving field in the world. Therefore, without learning new things, a person will become obsolete very quickly. It has high starting salaries compared to other technical fields.”

It was only until recently that, for many, software development seemed like an out-of-reach career reserved only for the most intelligent whizzkids everyone knew at school. But with the proliferation of self-paced online courses, free tutorials, and software development bootcamps – plus wildly contentious government promotion – a career in programming has become less intimidating to a wider pool of individuals.

Bootcamps have arguably become the most popular route for prospective programmers to reskill themselves towards a high-paying, secure career path. However, that popularity has given rise to organisations, of varying degrees of trustworthiness, selling the dream of becoming job-ready in often unrealistically short time frames. The harsh reality is that many come across as little more than grifters trying to spin a quick profit.

Indeed, it can be difficult to wade through – and verify – the scores of organisations claiming to deliver a new career within weeks. It can also be equally difficult to understand which one will equip students with the most employable skills. Not all programming bootcamps are the same, though, and there are some gems out there, with hallmarks including large numbers of positive reviews and commendations from well-known companies.

The debate between hiring programmers who’ve undertaken three or four-year computer science degrees, against those who’ve completed a 12-week development bootcamp, has been simmering away for years. Senior engineers and IT recruiters, who are the only ones standing in the way of prospective developers and their dream jobs, reveal what bootcamps really offer and whether they're worth the money in today's job market.

What are the differences between computer science graduates and bootcamp graduates?

It’s the age-old argument: academic knowledge vs hands-on experience – two hugely valuable qualities in any profession but ones rarely taught together. As far as coding bootcamps versus computer science degrees go, experts echo this sentiment. They agree a computer science degree offers a holistic understanding of programming, but can’t offer students the same level of hands-on experience as a bootcamp can.

Among them is Mark Chaffey, CEO at hackajob – a platform for companies to hire software developers and assess them based on their overall competency. He adds, however, that going down a self-taught, or bootcamp route, doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t learn the theory at a later date. Some even raise the prospect of those at university potentially ‘wasting time’ by learning material in the first year of a degree that’s later irrelevant towards the end of the programme.

“A computer science graduate will learn more of the theory required to be a software engineer, whereas a bootcamp graduate will have more hands-on experience,” he says. “We’d always suggest that bootcamp engineers study computer science theory in their spare time, as this will really help them to upskill overall.”

Sam Rowlands, co-founder and community director at Distributed – a company that manages flexible teams of software and web developers – tells IT Pro that unless you have a degree from a top university, graduates will face the same struggles as those coming from bootcamps. Experience reigns supreme, and without a solid portfolio of work, aspiring developers will need to undertake internships and other schemes to get the experience they need.

“Graduates can, of course, tick the ‘I have a degree box,” he says. “Although the saturation of degrees means each one is becoming less impactful to prospective employers, [the university courses] should guarantee that students will leave with a relatively good understanding of coding fundamentals.

“Through bootcamps, attendees should leave knowing syntax and the basics of writing code, with some portfolio pieces too. They should also know how to ask the right questions to find the answers they need.”

Do employers hold different perceptions of coding bootcamp graduates?

From an employer’s perspective, there are drawbacks to both routes and both types of graduates will have to spend their own time developing the key employable skills needed to be successful in the job market. But there can be a lingering doubt over how a degree-less candidate will be seen among the stack of applicants for any given development job.

For some, a candidate’s mettle is only really tested in the interview when the stakes are high. A good application can be clad with all the degrees under the sun, but how they perform on the day, and how well they can demonstrate their suitability for the role, will be the ultimate determining factor.

On the flip side, some corners of the industry accept software development bootcamps can produce highly skilled programmers, depending on the quality of the course, and providing the individual has internalised its content. As Nick Sewell, UK head of software development at Expleo says, bootcamps are still relatively new and, as such, there's a lot of misinformation around them, and the programmers they produce. Often, it’s thought that bootcamp graduates lack the same approach to problem-solving and programming as computer science graduates, for example.

“Coding bootcamps can be perceived in different ways,” he says. “However, as they become more popular, businesses are starting to recognise that job candidates coming through coding bootcamps successfully often show a practical approach to solving problems in a fast-moving environment. This can mirror a real work environment.”

Smaller companies and startups are more likely to be receptive to hiring those from alternative backgrounds, whereas large companies often still prefer those with CS degrees, he adds. The bootcamp route will also naturally be more favourable for junior roles rather than more senior positions where experience will really be the key differentiator between candidates.

Do coding bootcamps offer a sufficient earning potential?

Higher than average salaries in tech, against many other industries, naturally leads us to question whether a short-term coding bootcamp can really offer the same financial prospects as a dedicated multi-year degree. While it’s one of the most marketable aspects of bootcamp programmes, the financial prospects of these graduates are slightly worse – at least in the early stages of their careers.

Computer science graduates can expect better salaries, assuming the level of experience is broadly similar, Sewell says. “They have the practical skills that can be applied immediately to the job rather than needing training to get up to speed – which comes at a cost to the employer.”

This conclusion, of course, will depend on the bootcamp, the employer, the specific position, and each role’s requirements. Experts tell IT Pro, for instance, they’ve seen some bootcamp graduates secure better offers than their counterparts with degrees, although it’s certainly a rarity.

The prevailing advice is that prospective programmers should focus less on the total compensation, especially when looking for their first job. Instead, they should find a company with which they can develop their skills in a way that sets their career up for life. The money will come, but having the right first job can make a huge difference in the long term.

Are coding bootcamps selling a false dream?

The phrase ‘if something looks too good to be true, it probably is’ rings true in most scenarios in life. When aspiring developers are served, for example, a targeted advert through social media promising a high-paying career in as little as 12 weeks – or even eight weeks – that same scepticism can take hold.

The truth is bootcamp graduates can expect to be job-ready, at least for a junior developer position, and that employers certainly are open to hiring them. What might not be communicated well enough, though, is how much additional learning they will need to do on the job compared to their university-graduated peers.

It’s likely that if a company hires two junior developers, one from a bootcamp and another plucked straight from university, the latter will progress quicker thanks to their existing theoretical understanding, experts say. Similarly, if it’s a case of the same two candidates vying for the same junior role, then a computer science graduate with a robust GitHub portfolio will – in most cases – be seen as the safer choice. However, that doesn’t mean bootcamp-trained developers are at a significant disadvantage. There are plenty of employers that realise the value such individuals can add, and, as bootcamps become more popular, the quality of their graduates may be perceived more favourably in time.

The importance of retraining your staff can’t be understated. Not only does doing so ensure that employees are able to learn in-demand skills and develop their capabilities, but it can also lead to greater job satisfaction, and ensures organisations don’t fall foul of the widespread digital skills shortage.

Indeed, according to the Open University, almost 69% of IT employers are struggling to recruit new staff members with adequate digital skills, and 77% say they are currently facing a digital skills gap in their organisation. At the same time, a recent poll from software company EDP found 54% of tech workers are open to new opportunities. They also found that one in three employees would move for greater training and certification opportunities – so it’s crucial companies offer training if they want to attract the best talent.

In the UK, employers invest roughly £42 billion in training each year, with an average spend of £1,530 per employee, according to 2020 government figures. This means, although crucial, retraining staff can also be a costly exercise for businesses, with many already feeling the pinch of the current economic storm. The worsening conditions have already forced even the biggest organisations within the tech industry to make cuts, and instigate sweeping layoffs.

Dr Alex Young, the founder of Virti, an NHS Innovation Accelerator, tells IT Pro retraining staff has traditionally been an expensive endeavour that can be tough to scale. Businesses, however, with the right strategy in place and a willingness to embrace cutting-edge technology can deliver high-quality staff training on a budget. “My best advice to small, medium and large organisations is to explore how you might best harness the emerging potential of new immersive technologies,” he says.

Immerse yourself in opportunities

On the face of it, adopting new technologies in order to retain staff might not sound particularly cost-effective. Immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), however, may hold the key to the future of training – and help save money in the process. Not only has the cost of VR hardware significantly reduced over the past few years, but it can also allow employees to be retrained no matter where they are – which is ideal for organisations embracing hybrid working.

VR can also be easily updated to adapt to in-demand skills needs or changing working practices, which gives your training programme longevity and lowers long-term redevelopment costs.

Looking for off-the-shelf solutions, rather than forking out on bespoke hardware, can also help organisations to increase their return on investment. As Young tells IT Pro, while VR is typically associated with futuristic-looking headwear and expensive PC hardware, immersive training simulations can now be accessed on existing devices, such as smartphones and laptops, thanks to the growing number of cloud-based platforms.

“As well as providing a low-pressure, effective, scalable, consistent way to upskill, immersive training has a higher engagement rate that reduces the total number of sessions that each learner needs – and time investment,” he says. “The only costs involved for the employer are the licences for the platform and an investment in the creation of the personalised training content itself.”

Embracing peer-to-peer learning

Depending on the size of your business, the thought of digitally retraining your entire workforce might seem like a daunting – and expensive – task.

One simple way to overcome this is to embrace peer-to-peer learning, whereby if an employee attends a training session or seminar, they share their key learnings with other members of the team. This is something Aiona, a Newcastle-based marketing agency, has embraced; learnings are shared in a Slack channel, and then other employees can decide whether they’d be interested to attend the same course.

Aiona, which also records all training sessions to be used at a later date, also uses co-mentoring, which sees teams swap their expertise on various topics in one-to-one sessions. Similarly, rather than making use of the services of external experts, the company makes use of staff that already have digital skills in certain areas. If somebody wants to learn a new skill that exists within the company, it asks them to have a session with that team member to establish whether they want to learn before they embark on any training programme.

This could be particularly useful for cyber security training. Regular awareness training is critical to ensure that employees are clued-up on the latest risks. If you have an in-house cyber expert, therefore, who can show employees how to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) and how to spot phishing emails, it could prove much more effective than hiring an external provider.

Looking for freebies

If you know where to look, it might even be possible to retrain your staff in digital skills at no cost whatsoever. Not only do some organisations offer free professional development seminars on platforms such as LinkedIn, but there are also a number of online tools that you can employ.

Google’s Digital Garage, for example, offers personalised digital training in a number of areas, such as digital advertising and speaking in public, that can help your staff to upskill for free. Similarly, the government’s National Careers Service offers a number of no-cost digital courses, from beginner courses such as how to use Word and PowerPoint to expert-level courses in data science and coding.

Of course, before adopting any of the above, it’s crucial that your business first assesses its needs and goals. Look at what you want to accomplish by training your employees, and figure out which digital skills your business needs the most. It’s important to prioritise. Once you’re aware of those gaps, you can explore your training options and figure out which pathway is the best and most cost-effective method for you.

When it comes to growing the economy – and surviving the predicted recession – all companies must have access to the right skills and knowledge. Recruiting talent, though, is currently one of the biggest hurdles facing small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

From cloud computing to the edge, and from cyber security to DevOps, smaller organisations are regularly outmanoeuvred by larger enterprises offering better pay and benefits. It’s a critical challenge, and it’s now focusing SMBs’ minds on how they can upskill existing workforces, rather than being bound to external hiring and competing with industry giants.

“The clock is ticking for organisations to recession-proof their business,” says Kevin O’Regan, SVP international at software firm Seismic. “There’s never been a greater urgency to address skills at both a team and individual level.”

He believes companies should refocus internal learning and training to ensure it begins at the onboarding stage, all the way through to on-the-job learning and continuous coaching. This should also include filtering down knowledge from above.

Granting workers access to apprenticeships

“Businesses can’t afford to waste resources upskilling new team members inefficiently,” he adds. “This puts the focus on incremental development through dynamic, agile, and engaging learning, rather than traditional ‘static’ passive training programmes. With the right enablement platform in place, businesses can clone their A-players by feeding employees with the necessary tools, content, training, and insights needed to be effective, based on tried-and-proven experiences.”

At British engineering company Fundamentals, for example, granting existing workers access to apprenticeships has been one route towards ensuring the right people have the right skills. Sarah Balchin, head of people and community, explains how these deliver practical skills and commercial acumen “really quickly”.

The firm structures its apprenticeships with secondments in different departments before the apprentice decides on their preferred area. The academic element is completed around their day job, and it can extend to achieving a full degree in engineering and technology.

Balchin adds: “Crucially, for a technical industry, which remains in the grips of a skills shortage, combining practical qualifications with a range of experience excites people about technical careers and helps them see the variety of opportunities available for future career development.”

Promoting a diverse range of talent and skills

Lauryn Bailey, one of Fundamentals’ apprentice engineers, explains how the best aspect of the programme was realising how many different jobs were open. “I’ve gained valuable experience and knowledge from rotating through various engineering departments including operations, design, automated voltage control site installs, the workshop and product engineering,” she says.

“It’s given me an opportunity to learn what each department does, supported my personal development, and evolved my skill set to help further my career now and in the future.”

Elsewhere, with the UK cyber security job market being very competitive, global cyber security company CyberCX has launched its own apprenticeship scheme after being faced with a limited talent pool. It aims to help young people from diverse backgrounds to break into the space.

“The apprenticeship scheme not only offers a unique opportunity for candidates but further complements our ability to secure the future,” explains the firm’s UK chief executive officer (CEO) Charlie O'Connell.

Other companies take a different path. Business management software specialists Total Enterprise Solutions (TES) has invested £200,000 into creating TES Certified. This provides every member of its 60-strong workforce with a dedicated progression pathway. A minimum of ten days internal and external training is offered per year, along with mentoring from senior staff and online learning.

This decision stemmed from the need to “differentiate” the business as an employer of choice, according to Paul Faulkner, chief executive of TES. “We’re in the middle of one of the biggest recruitment challenges the IT sector has ever faced and we need to come up with creative solutions that give us the skills we need to grow,” he explains. “Growing our own people is the best way for us to have the skills, talent, and appreciation of the TES culture we need. It’s a long-term investment, but one that is already starting to pay off.”

Founders, execs and the c-suite need upskilling too

It’s not just frontline and back office employees who need upskilling – their leaders do too. Research by Oracle Netsuite, focused on 502 UK SMB founders, discovered nine in ten have had to develop new skills since starting their businesses.

Half (49%) upskilled in marketing and communication while 45% chose professional development in finance and accounting processes.

There’s also a clear desire among workforces for their bosses to invest in training and upskilling for employees. CV Library found 42% of people questioned for its research recommended their employers focus on this to prevent losing staff in 2022.

Such programmes are becoming especially crucial given the demand for workers with the right technology skills continues to outpace supply.

According to the latest KPMG and Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s Report on Jobs, covering July 2022, the long list of in-demand IT and computing roles includes analysts, business intelligence (BI), computer-aided design (CAD), cloud engineers, data professionals, software engineers, and technical sales.

Lisa Heneghan, chief digital officer at KPMG UK, says: “For SMBs, building skills from within is not only a cost-effective way to acquire talent, but also creates a culture of agility and growth, which in itself will help with attraction and retention.”

However, sometimes it also pays for companies to think outside of the norm. Wayne Palmer, chief experience officer (CXO) at digital consultancy Tecknuovo, has taken learning and professional growth out of the traditional human resources (HR) function.

The company now “supports and empowers” professional development at every level of the business, while offering employees the chance to re-establish their relationship with what learning means.

“The challenge is that people can forget about the joy that comes from learning, and the process you need to go through to acquire new skills; the adoption of a growth mindset,” Palmer says.

Tecknuovo provides an annual learning budget of £1,000 and actively encourages and funds employees to learn a new skill, which could be anything from a new language to glass-blowing, according to Palmer.

“We then come together and discuss what and how they learned, all designed to encourage that spark of curiosity and creativity,” he adds. “When a company truly values curiosity and acquiring knowledge, it becomes a powerful and resilient entity set up for success.”

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.

Cyber security professional association (ISC)2 has announced that it will be offering its entry-level cyber security certification for free to 1 million people.

The initiative is an extension of the ‘100k in the UK scheme’ announced earlier this year and aims to tackle the cyber security skills gap which (ISC)2 said stands at 2.7 million.

The certification on offer is the (ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity qualification which was originally introduced at the start of the year as a pilot program.

Included in the package is the certification exam itself, plus the self-paced training course too.

At least 500,000 of the individuals receiving the free certification will be from “a range of diverse backgrounds and circumstances,” the organisation said.

Specifically, the organisation will be approaching historically black colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, tribal organisations, and women’s organisations across the US and the globe.

Current university students, recent graduates, those seeking a career change, and other professionals are all encouraged to participate in the initiative, especially those currently employed by, or looking to be employed by, SMBs.

Registration for the certification will begin in September, shortly after the current pilot program ends in August and once qualified, students will become members of (ISC)2.

Membership to (ISC)2 gives students access to additional development resources, it said, and the certification provides a starting platform to go and attain further certifications like the CISSP and CCSP.

The Certified in Cybersecurity certification will cover five main domains deemed essential to understanding the foundations of cyber security:

• Security principles
• Business continuity, disaster recovery, and incident response concepts
• Access controls concepts
• Network security
• Security operations

“It is a resounding call to action for organisations serious about expanding the cybersecurity workforce to make the necessary investments now to break down barriers and clear obstacles for anyone interested in a cyber security career,” said Clar Rosso, CEO at (ISC)2.

“We support the aims of the Biden Administration, the US National Cyber Director and administrations around the world focused on this critical issue. We are proud to announce this initiative alongside so many others who share a strong commitment to addressing our cybersecurity workforce challenges and look forward to building the public-private partnerships needed to accomplish our goal of ‘One Million Certified in Cybersecurity’.”

The cruise line operator Carnival Corporation was fined $5 million last Friday over violating New York’s cyber security laws.

The company will pay the penalty to New York State for violations of the Cybersecurity Regulation which caused the exposure of a substantial amount of sensitive, non-public, personal data belonging to its customers, said New York State’s Department of Financial Services (DFS). Carnival’s brands include Seabourn, Princess, and Holland America.

The department’s investigation found evidence that Carnival had been subject to four cyber security events between 2019 and 2021, including two ransomware attacks. They involved the unauthorised access of the companies’ information systems, leading to the exposure of customers’ sensitive personal data.

The investigation also found that Carnival violated the DFS Cybersecurity Regulation by failing to implement multi-factor authentication (MFA), failing to report the first event to the department as required promptly, and failing to conduct adequate cyber security training for personnel.

“A data breach exposing personal data allows bad actors to, among other things, commit identity theft, which can have significant repercussions on an individual’s financial health. It is critical that companies take appropriate action to protect consumers’ personal information,” said Adrienne A. Harris, Superintendent of the DFS. “DFS will continue diligently enforcing its first-in-the-nation Cybersecurity Regulation to ensure that consumers’ personal, non-public, and sensitive data are protected.”

As a result of these failures, the DFS said that Carnival’s cyber security compliance certification between 2018 and 2020 was improper. The delay in MFA implementation, together with the training and reporting failures, left Carnival’s systems and their consumers’ Non-Personal Information (NPI) extremely vulnerable to bad actors.

Additionally, Carnival’s companies were licensed insurance producers in New York State at the time of the incidents. They sold several insurance products and were subject to DFS’s Cybersecurity Regulation. As part of the settlement, Carnival surrendered the insurance producer licence and ceased selling insurance in the state.

IT Pro has contacted Carnival for comment.

Last week, Carnival also reached a $1.25 million settlement with 45 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia stemming from its 2019 data breach, according to Compliance Week. The breach involved the personal information of 180,000 employees and customers nationwide.

In March 2020, the company reported the breach which exposed information like names, addresses, passport numbers, driver's licenses, payment card information, and Social Security numbers. However, it stated it first became aware of suspicious email activity in May 2019, 10 months before publicly declaring the incident. As a result, a multistate probe was launched, focusing on the company's email security practices.

What is the New York State Cybersecurity Regulation?

The Cybersecurity Regulation rules were released in March 2017 before they became fully effective in March 2019. It was drafted with industry input, with the DFS surveying around 200 regulated banking institutions and insurance companies. It also met with a cross-section of respondents and cyber security experts during the drafting period and facilitated two rounds of notice and comment. The regulation became fully effective in March 2019.

The Cybersecurity Regulation imposes cyber security rules on covered organisations, including installing a detailed cyber security plan, designating a Chief Information Security Officer, and maintaining a reporting system for cyber security events.

Individuals and entities required to comply with it include partnerships and organisations that operate under a licence or similar authorisation under the banking law, insurance law, or the financial services law in the state of New York.

Google is offering any US business more than $100,000 worth of online courses free of charge.

The offer comes through the tech giant's Career Certificates program, which was launched in 2018.

Google has designed the courses and sells them through the online education service Coursera. Each course typically costs students around $39 per month and typically takes between three and six months to finish. Google is offering to cover the cost for up to 500 workers at an American business, valuing it is grant at more than $100,000 as students tend to finish courses in six months.

More than 70,000 people in the US, plus around 205,000 around the world, have earned at least one certificate with Google. What's more, 75% have received a benefit in the form of a new job or a higher salary within six months of completion, according to Google.

Grow with Google, which oversees the certificates, with courses in IT support, project management, e-commerce and digital marketing. This includes a new Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate which is endorsed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

"It's no secret that businesses of all sizes are struggling to acquire and retain talent," said Lisa Gevelber, the founder of Grow with Google. "Those who create growth opportunities for their employees have a much better shot at retaining them.

"No experience is required, and employees can earn an industry-recognised credential in three to six months of part-time study. For every scholarship we give, a business will be gaining capabilities and, at the same time, an employee will be growing new skills."

The need for digital skills has been highlighted by the pandemic and several high profile tech firms have offered various discounts on cloud-based training. In September Oracle gave free access to training and certificates for its Cloud Infrastructure. Similarly, AWS pledged to train 29 million people around the world to use cloud computing.

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.

Virgin Media O2 has announced plans for a “comprehensive package of support” for transgender and non-binary employees that will include the company funding gender transition treatment, estimated to cost around £20,000.

The company already provides Bupa private healthcare for its staff, as well as access to Healthy Minds, a 24/7 psychological helpline.

The latest commitment is part of the telecom’s first joint diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) strategy since the two companies officially merged in 2021.

Known as All In, the DE&I strategy sets ​​four goals that are to be achieved by 2027. This includes equal gender representation in Virgin Media O2’s senior leadership team, out of which 15% need to constitute ethnic minority employees. According to recent findings from the Tech London Advocates network, three-quarters of London’s tech companies have almost no BIPOC representation on their senior leadership teams, with the lack of diversity potentially costing the UK tech sector its world-leading position.

Virgin Media O2’s DE&I strategy also aims to ensure that minority ethnic groups will make up a quarter of the company’s wider organisation, which in turn will also reflect “all gender identities and expressions” as part of “progress for gender parity”.

Commenting on the announcement, Virgin Media O2 chief people officer Philipp Wohland said that the All In strategy will see the creation of a “more inclusive and equitable company” for employees and customers alike.

“Virgin Media O2’s purpose is to upgrade the UK; that’s not just through our leading products and services, it’s also by the type of company we want to be and the role we play in society,” he added.

To facilitate a more inclusive work environment, the telecom is also rolling out a two-hour employee training session led by Equity Sequence.

This is despite warnings from experts that anti-bias training, especially in such a brief session, is ineffective in increasing diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

“The idea that somebody can come into a company, spend two hours with an organisation, and change everybody's actions is just bizarre. It does not happen,” London School of Economics professor Dr Grace Lordan told attendees of the Tech for D&Iversity event on 31 March 2022.

Businesses should avoid investing in training sessions aiming to overcome unconscious bias among employees, a London professor has warned.

London School of Economics (LSE) professor Dr Grace Lordan described unconscious bias training, which cost organisations around £6 billion a year, as entirely ineffective.

“Unconscious bias training doesn't work,” she said, speaking at the Tech for D&Iversity event, held on Thursday evening. “Your unconscious bias is based on your background, it's based on the way that you've been brought up. The idea that somebody can come into a company, spend two hours with an organisation, and change everybody's actions is just bizarre. It does not happen.”

The ineffectiveness of anti-bias training has been known since the 1930s, with numerous academic papers from top universities backing the claim. Despite this, public and private sector organisations alike have poured resources into the practice, which has become a lucrative market – especially since 2020, when companies including tech giants were urged to address systemic racism following the murder of George Floyd on 25 May.

However, anti-bias training has since been criticised as simply a bureaucratic practice that doesn’t implement real change, nor does it lead to increased diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

In October 2020, the UK government was criticised for spending more than £400,000 on unconscious bias training sessions, according to a Freedom of Information request by the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

Lordan, who founded LSE’s The Inclusion Initiative (TII) in November 2020, told attendees that, instead of spending money on ineffective training, team leaders should “put structures in place” to prevent employees from falling into the traps of unconscious bias.

This includes providing equal opportunities across team members and auditing pay gaps, she added.

“We encourage people to write down whether or not somebody disagrees with their idea and encourage dissent. And then to look back and see: Are you ignoring the women? Are you ignoring people from a particular country or even people who follow a particular football team?”

Lordan’s advice comes as the latest TLA research found that three quarters of London’s tech companies have almost no BIPOC representation on their senior leadership teams, with the lack of diversity potentially costing the UK tech sector its world-leading position.

Red Hat has announced it will be opening its Training and Certification courses to its partners for no extra cost.

The open source software vendor said it recognises the need for hybrid cloud skills at the partner level so will be offering its self-paced online courses for free to help build knowledge around technologies such as cloud computing, containers, virtualisation, and automation.

The curriculum consists of 17 courses that are available in eight languages and can provide the foundational knowledge needed to develop skills in hybrid cloud computing. These can then be used to pursue further accreditation and certification away from Red Hat.

Courses cover areas including Red Hat system administration, Red Hat OpenShift administration, Red Hat Enterprise Linux automation with Ansible, and cloud-native microservices development with Quarkus.

Red Hat said it previously commissioned an IDC study that found the company’s training courses led to a three-year return on investment of 365%.

The IBM-owned company also plans to release additional courses throughout the year. Partners can also purchase instructor-led training alongside the self-paced courses should they wish.

“Partners play a critical role in Red Hat’s open hybrid cloud vision and customer success,” said Ken Goetz, vice president of enterprise customer success and business management at Red Hat.

“By expanding partner enablement offerings and Red Hat Training opportunities, we are empowering partners to deepen their abilities in delivering impactful customer solutions to unlock the open hybrid cloud with Red Hat technologies.”

Leaders at some of the biggest companies in the world have said the cloud skills shortage still affects them today. CISOs at TikTok and Euromoney, for example, detailed the difficulties they both faced when trying to recruit top talent in cloud technology, which ultimately led them to realise upskilling existing employees was the best method of filling their skills gaps.

Speaking at CPX360 last month, Martyn Booth, CISO at Euromoney, said the key to developing talent from within was having eager staff wanting to expand their skillset.

“We took the decision to train people internally, and those people now will probably consider themselves, and I would consider them as, cloud security experts,” he said. “Before, we had a very limited ability to manage that internally.”

Maya Horowitz, VP of research at Check Point, previously told IT Pro that veritable cloud experts are particularly rare in the market, and the ones that are experts often go to work for the cloud platforms themselves, leaving little talent available for other companies, such as IT service providers.

More than 6,000 new jobs were added to the UK’s cyber security workforce in 2021 – a 13% rise in cyber jobs since 2020.

The workforce grew from 46,700 to 52,700 over 12 months, according to the latest Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) annual cyber sector report, released on Thursday.

As of last year, 1,838 cyber security firms were active across the UK, of which more than half are based outside of London and the South East.

The cyber security sector experienced significant growth in the North East and East Midlands – a trend largely credited to increased regional opportunities due to the shift to remote working.

These firms generated a total revenue of £10.1 billion – a 14% increase since the previous financial year, while the UK’s cyber security sector as a whole contributed around £5.3 billion to the UK economy in 2021, compared to £4 billion in the previous year. At 32.5%, this was found to be the largest increase since the annual DCMS report began in 2018.

Commenting on the findings, digital secretary Nadine Dorries described cyber security firms as “major contributors to the UK's incredible tech success story”.

“Hundreds of British firms from Edinburgh to Bristol are developing and selling cutting-edge cyber tools around the world that make it safer for people to live and work online,” she said, adding that the government is “investing in skills training and business initiatives to help the UK go from strength to strength as a global cyber power and open up the sector to people from all walks of life”.

This includes the £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy as well as the addition of nine new Institutes of Technology in Blackpool, Cheshire, Chichester, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Southampton, Derby, Salford, and South Essex. Announced in December 2021, the institutes aim to tackle regional skills gaps and level up local economies by providing skills training for understaffed industries, including STEM and healthcare.

However, despite 2021 being a record-breaking year of investment for the UK's tech sector, IT vacancies across England and Wales saw an increase of 105%.

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.

The UK government has unveiled nine new Institutes of Technology to provide skills training for understaffed industries, including STEM and healthcare, in an effort to tackle regional skills gaps and level up local economies.

First announced in 2017, the institutes aim to close the UK’s skills gap by unifying businesses and educators to help teach people the skills that are desperately in demand, such as advanced manufacturing, digital and cyber security, aerospace, and healthcare.

Offering an alternative to studying a traditional three-year degree, the courses last between six weeks to a year, allowing students to space out their studies and learn at a pace that works for them.

The nine new Institutes of Technology are to be based in Blackpool, Cheshire, Chichester, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Southampton, Derby, Salford, and South Essex, the Department for Education announced today.

Scheduled to open in September 2022, the nine new institutes join the existing 12 that were opened in 2019, bringing the total to 21 institutes across the country.

The Department for Education also confirmed that students studying courses including T Levels will benefit from an extra £615 million investment in the 2022-23 financial year, allowing students to access an additional 40 hours of education to help them catch up on lost learning due to the pandemic.

Commenting on the news, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said that the nine new Institutes of Technology “will boost access to more high-quality and flexible education and training – giving people the chance to learn at a pace that is right for them, while ensuring we have the skilled workforce needed to boost our economy”.

“Ensuring everyone is given the opportunity to reach their full potential, no matter their age or life stage, is a vital part of our mission to level up this country,” he added.

The new institutes are part of the Autumn 2021 Budget that pledged an additional £1.6 billion to be invested in education for ages between 16 and 19, and training by 2024-25, compared with 2021-22 financial year.

Earlier this week, the Cabinet Office unveiled its approach to “protecting and promoting” the country’s interests in the cyber space as part of the £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy which called for businesses to "play their part" in expanding talent pools in order to improve diversity across teams.

While businesses continue to lament the threat of a widening digital skills gap, the pandemic has also shown how vulnerable organisations are to shifting recruitment patterns. All companies, large and small, are considering how to grow beyond COVID-19 by asking how to effectively recruit the talent they need to meet customer demands and innovate in their marketplaces.

Often dubbed the “great resignation”, ADP’s People at Work 2021 study found nearly a third (28%) of respondents had changed their role due to labour market shifts, with this figure increasing to 36% for Generation Z workers. Combined with changes across the workforce, and the need for enterprises to embrace technology to help them navigate the post-pandemic business landscape, it's critical that organisations create an engaging environment in which people with the required talent can thrive.

For small businesses, however, it might be far more difficult to stay competitive within a labour market that’s already transformed radically. This is especially true given larger corporations have more pulling power, with beefier salaries and shinier perks. Less well-resourced companies, therefore, will need to tap into their own strengths to stand a chance of competing on the same footing as their larger counterparts.

Fostering the right culture

“Small businesses definitely have a card to play if they invest in their employer branding,” says Aude Barral, co-founder and CCO of developer recruitment platform CodinGame, who explains smaller enterprises have a lot to offer future tech talent. “We found a lot of developers prefer to work for a smaller company whose values they are aligned with than to work for a larger group that offers many perks but a much more impersonal career path.”

Creating an inclusive culture, supporting wellbeing, and encouraging collaboration, even when working at a distance, are practical ways smaller companies can develop a good foundation for future tech recruitment. That way, these organisations can stand a chance of competing for the limited tech talent available.

In its report into diversity in tech, mthree concluded more than half (59%) of people aged 18 to 24 working in tech had either left or wanted to leave a role because the company culture made them feel uncomfortable. Indeed, according to the data, 71% of young tech workers had previously felt uncomfortable in a job because of their gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background, or neurodevelopmental condition. This figure rose to 74% of female respondents, 77% of Black respondents, 83% of mixed-race respondents, 85% of bisexual respondents, and 87% of homosexual respondents.

“Company culture is so important when it comes to not only attracting, but also retaining talent, and a truly inclusive environment can be hard to achieve,” says mthree’s senior director of global emerging talent and reskill operations, Becs Roycroft. “Businesses need to ensure they’re really listening to their young employees across all departments and responding to their needs, otherwise they’re going to struggle to maintain and improve the diversity on their teams in the long term.”

These findings are reinforced with Accenture research, which found that while employees expect more from their employers, leaders are, too, taking more responsibility for workers’ holistic wellbeing. “Emotional, relational, and purposeful dimensions are the strongest drivers of positive employee behaviour; playing a major role in whether workers seek to join or leave an organisation,” managing director of Accenture Interactive, Liz Barnsdale, tells IT Pro. “There is no doubt that businesses with happy employees will see increased profitability.”

Tech talent futures

"We find that employees want to feel valued, and that money is not everything,” says Russel Collins, learning and development manager with digital marketing firm Add People. He points out the value a business places on its staff is critical to hold onto these people over the long term. “If you are willing to take the time to understand the values that drive each of your employees and what their picture of success looks like, you will retain your talent for longer. It's naive to think that you can retain everyone, but generally, valued employees value the businesses they work for.”

Nick Thompson, CEO of software firm DCSL GuideSmiths, adds a new approach to recruitment is needed. “As remote working becomes almost second nature for many employees in the UK, businesses are desperately trying to solve their talent crisis, many of whom have begun to transition towards ‘borderless’ jobs,” he tells IT Pro. “Research shows that the global tech sector is likely to benefit the most from the trend of borderless jobs, and in an industry that remains essential for business growth and sustainability, this could look to change the game completely.”

While traditional forms of recruitment might cost up to £50,000, with an average of 63 days to fill a position, he continues, the ‘borderless shift’ ensures positions are filled with efficiency while maintaining low costs.

This approach is supported by the hybrid work report from the Adecco Group, which found 63% of UK respondents want to spend at least 40% of their time working remotely. A comprehensive and flexible remote working strategy, therefore, is an essential prerequisite for smaller businesses hoping to secure the tech talent they need to recover and innovate post-pandemic.

Small businesses also have the advantage of being agile and able to redraw their companies to reflect the changing priorities of their existing staff and, critically, the new employees they wish to recruit. The re-imagining of work can also be an advantage, with legacy working practices being swept away and replaced with dynamic searches for tech talent that’s worldwide.

Retraining existing staff, and the rise of the citizen developer, are also part of the post-pandemic recruitment arsenal. Small business leaders still have competition from much larger businesses, but with the ability to create an exciting working environment, support diversity, and demonstrate their company pays attention to the values of its staff, a small organisation can demonstrate to potential candidates why it might be, on balance, the best place to work.

As the UK economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, companies throughout the tech sector are banking on apprenticeships to address their talent gaps. With apprenticeship schemes now backed by a wide range of government incentives, the industry is increasingly battling the widening skills gap with on-the-job training. Apprenticeships also boost the employability of school and college leavers, university graduates, as well as the unemployed and those seeking a career change in later life.

Virgin Media O2 recently announced plans to recruit 100 more apprentices, and for one participant, the process was life-changing. When Karan Kaul completed his GCSEs and A-Levels early, he was unable to go to university immediately, so, instead, he joined the telecoms firm as a network engineering apprentice. “Though initially not my plan, my experience over the last few years has shown that going down the apprenticeship route really was the best choice for me,” Kaul, now a fully-fledged network engineer, tells IT Pro.

“Despite having no previous professional experience in tech, through a combination of on-the-job training and theoretical learning, I finished my scheme at Virgin Media with invaluable experience that’s enabling me to thrive. Not only has my scheme put me in an advantageous position for my future career, but through it, I was able to earn a great salary and gain several industry-known qualifications along the way.”

Apprenticeships aren't just for the young

Kaul's path could prove inspirational for many youngsters. Research by UK digital and tech skills organisation QA highlights how one in five 16 to 24-year-olds don’t think they could afford the training required for a career in tech. The research also uncovered several other misconceptions, such as 77% believing an aptitude for maths and science was essential. Four in ten, meanwhile, feel not having studied computing at school or college puts them at a competitive disadvantage.

While apprenticeships conventionally target school or college leavers, today's schemes are wider in scope than many might realise. For example, Amazon's announcement, in February, that it was creating 1,000 full-time apprenticeships in 2021 included 100 degree-level apprenticeships and more than 500 among its own employees who wanted to gain new skills. In June, the company also launched a £2.5 million Apprenticeship Fund to help small businesses who sell on Amazon, alongside Amazon Web Services (AWS) customers and smaller creative industry partners, upskill their own workforces by taking on apprentices.

Nicola Drury, Amazon UK's apprenticeships manager, explains such a route into the tech industry is for people of all backgrounds. "It’s important businesses communicate apprenticeship opportunities so we can not only attract young recruits to the industry, but also upskill and develop our existing talent,” she says. “Many people view apprenticeships exclusively as an option for school leavers when in fact it can be a great way for those of any age to upskill or change careers."

Richard Turner, senior HR manager for apprenticeships at BT, adds these schemes are crucial for the future of the industry, with the ongoing employment crisis proving the need for more career pipelines. “Coincidentally,” he says, “the timing has never been better either. Reputable apprenticeship schemes are being increasingly accepted as meaningful entry-routes into tech careers, offering candidates valuable experience and an understanding of concepts like stakeholder management, dealing with uncertainty, and operating under tight profit margins, that their graduate counterparts don't receive. They also offer a more financially viable route for young candidates, unlocking greater social mobility and diversity."

Turner also believes apprenticeships would be massively improved if tech companies worked together to offer them. "We need to bring a degree of daring boldness to the challenge. Instead of competing for talent, we need to take a shared approach,” he continues. “The government's new flexi-job apprenticeship involves doing just this. One apprentice could work across multiple tech companies, building an ever-increasing knowledge and talent pool at very little risk to any single employer."

Delivering openings for more women in tech

Another young person who’s benefitted from an apprenticeship in the tech industry is Lucy Bracken, now a FastDesk team leader at cloud host UKFast, where apprentices make up 15% of the business. She joined its apprenticeship scheme after finishing college, and while admitting women often don’t think tech’s for them, believes apprenticeships represent a brilliant way in.

“I didn't have a technical background, but technology had always fascinated me,” she tells IT Pro. “The programme at UKFast has helped me develop a clear career path in technology and given me the qualifications I need. I've received training, mentoring and guidance from some of the industry's leading experts, on network, security, operating systems, and coding. I can't think of a better place for a woman in tech to develop my career."

Looking more closely at the entry requirements, Sarah Gray, head of HR at network infrastructure firm Exponential-e, suggests potential candidates could benefit from changes to the education system. "Some tech apprenticeship applicants often lack strategic understanding and commercial awareness,” she says. “These are both skills that can be taught throughout the apprenticeship itself, but some basic business acumen is very helpful for applicants to have from the get-go. There’s a lot of work to be done by the education system to ensure these skills are taught from an earlier age, and this might involve working with businesses to provide some hands-on experience."

Sean Farrington, EVP EMEA of Pluralsight, a technology workforce development company, also believes the tech industry must take a wider view of apprenticeships. "The current approach to apprenticeships needs modernising for the 21st century; we are missing an opportunity,” he explains. “The tech sector should be using apprenticeships as a means for identifying and developing the skills and talent of individuals, regardless of their academic achievement."

Farrington cites those who've taken alternative routes to technology professions, such as using online learning platforms to learn specific skills. He also believes there’s an opportunity for the tech sector to “unearth talented individuals” through apprenticeship programmes. "With technology developing at such a rapid pace, the skills learnt in school or at university – in cloud skills, programming or AI, for example - quickly become outdated,” he adds. “An apprenticeship not only builds on these skills within the context of the workplace to ensure employees have the cutting-edge expertise needed to excel, but it also enables employers to play a more active role in shaping the talent they need while also building a culture of ongoing learning and innovation.”

The UK technology sector will be trained to block cyber vulnerabilities as part of the Digital Security by Design (DSbD) programme’s new £2 million education scheme.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced that tech businesses will be able to learn about the benefits of DSbD technologies through a series of events, workshops, and hands-on experience organised by Digital Catapult.

The non-profit organisation has been awarded £2 million to fund the scheme and will use technologies prototyped by ARM’s Morello project.

The new training programme is based on year-long research into market needs, according to Digital Catapult CEO Jeremy Silver, who said that “this national programme will enable innovators to lead on solutions that are developed with digital security in mind from the start”.

"There are interesting challenges in getting this approach to security right, and we hope that this program will help address and overcome them,” he added.

IT Pro has reached out to UKRI and Digital Catapult for more information as to when the events and workshops will become available.

DSbD challenge director John Goodacre said that he is “pleased to support the DSbD Technology Access Programme to give businesses the opportunity to understand how their products and services can benefit, blocking vulnerabilities so that their operations and customers can be better protected against the growing costs and harm of a cyber attack”.

“There is a continuous escalation in cyber crime and the cyber security response. DSbD aims to stimulate a fundamental change in technology so that the digital world can be secure by design with data protected by default,” he added.

The £70 million DSbD programme was first announced in 2019, when the UK government set out ambitions for the country to become a world leader in 'designing out' cyber threats.

Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Julia Lopez said that “the need for cutting-edge secure technology has never been greater”.

“This significant development will help keep people and businesses secure online so we can build back safer from the pandemic,” she added.

The news comes six months after it was announced that the proposed ‘Security by Design’ law will now also include smartphones. The legislation was initially expected to only cover Internet of Things (IoT) devices due to the widespread lack of security controls associated with the internet-connected gadgets.

TechUK has called on the government to offer tax credits to incentivise companies to invest in digital skills training as a way to boost the country's productivity.

The proposals follow Boris Johnson's speech at the Conservative Conference this week, where he pledged to 'drive up wages'.

Exactly how this would be achieved wasn't made clear and there are reports that other Tory ministers, including chancellor Rishi Sunak, are concerned about its effect on productivity.

TechUK, however, is mostly worried that small businesses across the country will be at risk unless they have access to the digital skills they need to transform their businesses. The lobby group suggests a tightening labour market will see SMBs struggle to recruit the talent they need, and with the PM's proposed rise in wage costs, many will see investing in training a luxury they can't afford.

"UK SMBs risk becoming the victims of a digital skills gap without the support of a Digital Skills Tax Credit," Antony Walker, the deputy CEO of techUK, said.

"Driving up wages without driving up productivity through digital skills is a recipe for high inflation. Many SMBs faced with a rising wage bill will feel they have less room to invest in skills when those skills are most needed.

"The only sustainable route to the prime minister's vision towards a high wage, high skill, high productivity economy is through a rapid upskilling of the UK workforce," added Walker. "A Digital Skills Tax Credit targeted at SMBs would turn a skills crunch into a skills opportunity - boosting productivity and growth."

Sunak is understood to be "privately concerned" that wage increases driven by labour shortages will risk putting the UK in an inflation spiral which could see earnings growth wiped out by higher prices, inews reports. It's suggested that the chancellor also believes wage increases need to be tied to productivity growth.

"The lack of digital skills in the UK has led to intensifying competition for talent and upwards pressure on tech salaries," Walker added. "Without help, SMBs will find it increasingly difficult to compete with big businesses for digital talent, making them less competitive at a time when employment costs are going up.

"The chancellor must help SMBs to boost their productivity through a Digital Skills Tax Credit," he added. "This would help SMBs invest in their own skills base at a time when wage costs are going up."

Seeking out developers is increasingly difficult for many businesses, especially considering the widening digital skills gap. Evolving the technical skills within your own workforce, therefore, could resolve an immediate need while delivering technical resources that could transform how your enterprise innovates. The low-code or no-code citizen developer is here – and could be hidden within your company. The ideal candidates are people who embrace change and might be the first to try new digital applications or services; they don’t shy away when new business tools are introduced. With most developers suffering from burnout, too, cultivating citizen developers is a timely ambition.

In its Technology Vision 2020 report, Accenture highlights a trend it calls “post-digital people”, with the research stressing the need for technologies to become more humanised as businesses change the way they use them. “Digital technology is evolving from an advantage to a basic expectation – and yesterday’s best practices are turning into today’s shortcomings,” the report says. The research concludes 76% of business leaders believe they need to re-engineer how people and technologies are bought together. In the context of businesses redrawing digital transformation roadmaps following COVID-19, boosting technical skills across the existing workforce has powerful potential.

“Across our global membership network, we’ve seen businesses from all sectors turn to the citizen developer movement as a solution to address the ongoing digital skills gap,” says Ashwini Bakshi, Project Management Institute (PMI) Managing Director for Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. “The uptake of digital transformation has accelerated at a rapid rate as a result of the pandemic and, unfortunately, many organisations are struggling to keep up. Citizen development can help bridge this skills gap by encouraging employees to take an active role by embracing no-code or low-code platforms.”

Build your own

Waiting for IT teams to build the tools and digital services a business needs is no longer as viable as it once was, given how thinly they’re being stretched. If expanding an IT department through traditional recruitment isn’t possible, then business leaders must look elsewhere and, more specifically, inwardly.

Indeed, a variety of coding tools that have become available recently allow anyone to create bespoke applications, according to a spokesperson from software firm Mendix. “Low-code platforms provide companies with a visual, drag-and-drop approach that empowers non-technical staff to design these critical applications, in collaboration with and under the supervision of IT,” the spokesperson tells IT Pro. “This allows businesses to quickly deliver digital solutions that immediately support their strategic needs while enabling the IT department and other divisions to work in a more agile and collaborative manner.”

Founder and CEO of Supermums, Heather Black, is using the citizen developer model to evolve how organisations and individuals innovate and push their entrepreneurial ambitions. “Supermums has helped create thousands of citizen developers and relaunched and reimagined the same number of careers,” she claims. “One such career-changing mum is London-based Divya, who used to be a secondary school Spanish and Chemistry teacher until COVID-19 hit and she harnessed the power of digital to relaunch her career. She now works as a Salesforce administrator at Advice UK, the largest support network for independent advice-giving organisations, providing products, services and networking opportunities, as well as seeking to influence government to improve policies, legislation and funding.”

There’s no denying that businesses are struggling to fill the developer roles they need. Citizen developers, however, shouldn’t be considered like-for-like replacements for what are, in fact, specialist positions. Rather, this model serves as a means for companies to use the untapped talent they have at their disposal to augment the existing pool of developers in their IT departments. Encouraging innovation within teams that are fully supported, moreover, can deliver the agility many enterprises have struggled to unlock.

Becoming a disruptor

Creating a culture of innovation within your company could lead to dramatic changes and disruptive innovation. According to a historic KPMG report, being taught new skills, feeling valued and being invited to share creatively and contribute ideas builds ownership, satisfaction, and loyalty. Business leaders, therefore, must ask themselves how they can transform their organisations into ideal host organisms to foster innovation.

This culture of innovation should guide how citizen developers approach the tasks they’ve been set, with a traditional, siloed approach to IT detrimental to businesses aiming to innovate at pace. Such an approach doesn’t dictate but empowers and facilities ideas, feeding into concrete projects that may, or may not, lead to the disruptive services and products that businesses seek. The enterprises that will thrive in the future are those that foster environments in which teams have the tools and skills to pursue all kinds of ideas.

Making this transition to include more citizen developers within a business, however, demands a change of attitude to innovation, as well as how innovation happens. Decentralising application development, for instance, will come more easily to some companies than others, and, of course, this method of innovation won't suit all enterprises across all sectors.

PMI’s Bakshi concludes that businesses embracing their citizen developers are those most likely to become the enterprises that will shape the post-pandemic future. “Ultimately, it’s about active training and delivering outcomes,” he says. “Reaping the benefits and innovations of citizen development can create real positive change for your organisation during a time of constant change and adaption, but doing it right is important. To utilise citizen development in a risk-free environment means investing in training and development, building performance feedback loops, along with an understanding of global standards of practice.”

Given the new commercial realities of the post-pandemic era, empowering a workforce to use its untapped technical skills to bring ideas to life is a powerful way for businesses to innovate. The rise of the citizen developer, of course, will be more transformational for some organisations than others. Those companies, however, that can unlock the technical expertise that’s previously been hidden beneath the surface might be able to take advantage of a new era of development.

Demand for cyber security and IT specialists has never been greater and although graduate numbers in these subjects have increased, 70% of tech companies are experiencing difficulties in recruiting and retaining IT capable employees. Indeed, across many functional areas including technology, science, engineering and mathematics, there’s a huge technical skills gap and organisations are struggling to find talent.

According to the government’s Quantifying the UK Data Skills Gap report, around a quarter of businesses said that, of graduates who work with data, 18% needed to develop their basic skills whilst 23% needed to develop their communication skills. Even more concerning, one in three IT employees failed to complete their six-month probationary period. This skills crunch has led more employers and recruitment agents to rethink their usual talent pipelines.

Each year, around 15, 000 people leave the armed forces, including cyber engineers and information warriors from the Army’s Royal Signal Corps, the RAF, and the Navy’s Joint Cyber Unit. While many go on to work at GCHQ in Cheltenham and the Corsham Computer Centre Ministry of Defence base, some instead decide to move into civilian employment.

James Murphy, director of TechVets, a not-for-profit cyber employment charity, says his organisation alone “supports a community of 3,000-plus service veterans who are all enthusiastic about technology and cyber security careers”.

The combination of high demand and a supply crunch among traditional candidates for IT roles has led an increasing number of cyber employers and specialist recruitment agencies to fish in the constantly replenishing pool of IT specialists leaving the military.

There’s a wide range of experience on offer, too. George Patterson, MD of Oxford based cyber veterans recruitment agency Arrowforth, says potential recruits include “those finishing minimum engagements (three to four years), those midway through their careers, to those who served 20-plus years and have come to the end of their time in the military. The average length of service is nine years”.

A different set of skills

These military personnel have received rigorous and high-level technical training in cyber security and IT work. Many veterans have also honed their specialised skills during one of the most complex and operationally challenging postings in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military leavers are self-motivated problem solvers with multiple transferable skills.

According to Veterans Work, Recognising the potential of ex-service personnel, a study conducted by Deloitte, many of these potential recruits also have the kind of ‘soft’ skills that are often said to be lacking in more traditional IT candidates. For example, according to the report, they may be better at initiative-taking, teamwork, time management, and communication.

“[Veterans] are the best of breed and have had a considerable investment in their technical skills to degree level and beyond,” says Murphy.

Military recruits with proven skills may also reduce employers’ recruitment costs. According to Patterson: “One in three civilian job candidates will not see out their six-month probation (at an average £24,000 cost) whilst a service leaver stays on average for 24 months.”

By way of explanation, he adds: “Service veterans tend to be loyal to employers, are looking for job stability and new challenges. They have a terrific opportunity to leverage their skills in making a successful second career to complement their first.”

Who is employing military veterans?

The demand for cyber and IT skills, and the annual stream of available service personnel, has encouraged startup recruitment firms to focus exclusively on supplying ex-service personnel to civilian employers. The bulk of the recruitment sector has yet to tap into the service leaver segment, since it is still an immature sector of the recruiting market, outside of the defence sector.

Major firms that are now focussing on recruiting military veterans include Amazon, Barclays Bank, FDM Group, Leidos, Network Rail and Vodafone. In fact, veterans can be found on a range of complex projects including HS2, Crossrail and NHS digitisation work.

Former members of the armed forces are now to be found in a wide range of roles, including network specialists, IT help desk technicians, cyber security, the cloud and DevOps. It can be a lucrative change of career as well. According to Murphy, TechVets “is currently supporting veterans into cyber security or technology roles every month with an average salary of between £40,000 and £50,000.”

Recruitment challenges in civvy street

Unfortunately for military veterans seeking work in the civilian labour market, their core competence, skills, experience, and personal qualities are rarely accompanied by the standard qualifications demanded by most civilian HR departments.

Coupled with the contemporary lack of knowledge and familiarity with the military sector in this country, this is a major bar to post-service civilian employment. Even when veterans are taken on by civilian employers, they often receive less than the market rate due to their perceived lack of industry experience. Yet, as Murphy states, “many veterans have a decade or more professional experience focused entirely on operational delivery.”

It’s a problem that TechVets, among others, hopes to address, both by raising awareness of the IT and soft skills that military-leavers possess, and by offering peer-to-peer support to the veterans themselves.

This, Murphy says, “can help veterans recognise where their transferable skills lie and … translate them into a non-Military context, helping them maximise their chances of being successful in the recruitment process”.

Demand for cyber security and tech skills is expected to increase year-on-year. Likewise experienced and highly skilled tech veterans are becoming available and interested in civilian employment. As the corporate and public sector’s experience with employing ex-military personnel widens and deepens, future ex-military personnel should find it easier to start a second career.

Amazon has offered to pay college tuition fees for 750,000 employees in the US through an investment of $1.2 billion by 2025, with the money also destined for education and upskilling programmes.

The tech giant has said that through its Career Choice programme it will fund full college tuition, high school diplomas, GEDs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency certifications for its front-line employees at “hundreds of education partners across the country”.

The company said that it would pay employees’ tuition and fees in advance instead of offering reimbursement after coursework completion, to ensure employees “don’t need existing funds to start accessing the education options they want”. Front-line employees will also have access to annual funds for education as long as they remain at the company, with no limit to the number of years they can benefit.

Only those employees that have been working at Amazon for at least three months will qualify for financial support, although this includes both full and part-time workers.

The company's FAQ on the announcement states that there will be a maximum amount of financial support on offer to each employee, but has yet to specify what this will be. It's also unclear at this stage which institutions will be supported.

“Amazon is now the largest job creator in the US, and we know that investing in free skills training for our teams can have a huge impact for hundreds of thousands of families across the country,” said Dave Clark, CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon. "We launched Career Choice almost 10 years ago to help remove the biggest barriers to continuing education—time and money—and we are now expanding it even further to pay full tuition and add several new fields of study.”

“Today, over 50,000 Amazon employees around the world have already participated in Career Choice and we’ve seen first-hand how it can transform their lives,” added Clark.

Amazon will also add three new education programmes to provide employees with the opportunity to learn skills within data centre maintenance and technology, IT, and user experience and research design.

The first is AWS Grow Our Own Talent where employees can pursue roles within AWS data centres, like data centre technicians and operations technicians, and complete in-person, on-the-job training for up to six months. The second is Surge2IT, designed for entry-level IT employees to pursue careers in higher-paying technical roles through “self-paced learning resources”, which could see them earn an extra $10,000 a year. The third is the User Experience Design and Research (UXDR) Apprenticeship, a one year programme for employees to learn and develop skills in research and design on teams across the company.

Amazon also said through the new investment it would increase the amount of employees who can benefit from free skills training as part of its Upskilling 2025 programme from 100,000 to 300,000 employees.

Since the start of the pandemic it has reported a “surge in applications” to participate in education programmes, revealing that Amazon Technical Academy, a programme that helps employees become software engineers in nine months, had applications increase by 460% in the last 18 months.

Employer-led training firm, TechSkills, has announced an extension of its Tech Industry Gold accreditation to help tackle the tech industry's digital skills shortage.

The training body is a subsidiary of lobby group techUK and its Gold certificates acknowledge intensive digital training programmes that offer "high-quality" pathways into the digital industry.

The credentials make it easy for employers to understand the skillsets of individuals and match them to job vacancies, according to TechSkills.

Learners themselves can choose Tech Industry Gold accredited programmes and be confident in the relevance of their training for their next career move. It includes an award (Tech Industry Gold Digital Credentials) which proves job-ready skills in a form that is easy to understand and portable across companies, sectors and geographies.

"As the chair of the Tech Industry Gold Steering Group, and on behalf of the TechSkills Employer Board, I am delighted with the extension of Tech Industry Gold accreditation into intensive training programmes," said Colin Bannister, VP of solution engineering at VMware EMEA.

"This will make it easier for individuals to choose high-quality pathways into tech, and Tech Industry Gold Credentials will make it easier to secure employment and progress careers. I believe this will make a real contribution to strengthening the talent pipeline and helping individuals realise their potential in our fast-growing digital economy."

Professional services organisation FDM Group is the first company to achieve 'Training Programme accreditation'. The company's Business Analysis training programme has been recognised for its quality and relevance in preparing learners for employment in entry level Business Analysis roles.

"We are very proud to join the Tech Industry Gold community as the first company to achieve industry accreditation for training programmes," said Rod Flavell, CEO, FDM Group.

"Our people come from all walks of life and all backgrounds, and we want to give each person the best possible start to their career. Ensuring our programmes are independently reviewed and approved helps us to continually deliver the very highest standards of training, focused on job readiness for our employees and value for our clients.

"These are exciting times for FDM Group. We have big ambitions to increase our new hires this year and help build the tech careers for a whole new generation of candidates."

LinkedIn is launching a pilot programme in Singapore in partnership with the National Jobs Council that will encouraging employers to hire new talent based on their skills rather than their past experience or traditional qualifications.

The programme, named Skills Path, is set to help workers strengthen their skills through LinkedIn Learning courses, take assessments to showcase their new skills to recruiters, and help companies evaluate candidates “in a more equitable way”.

Hiring managers can identify core skills for a role through Skills Path. Candidates can then get a "fairer shot” at a new role by closing any skill gaps with LinkedIn Learning courses, demonstrating their skills by passing a multiple-choice LinkedIn Skill Assessment and a video or written assessment, and then secure a “recruiter conversation” if they pass.

There are currently six types of roles available through the programme which are in customer service, data analyst, project manager, recruiter, supply chain coordinator, and sales development.

“Taking this skills-based approach to opportunity will not only allow displaced workers new opportunities in different industries - regardless of past experience or education - but also help employers to expand their talent pool and find the best candidates for open roles,” said Feon Ang, LinkedIn’s APAC managing director.

She added that an overall workforce transformation towards a skills-based future “is not a task that can be solely undertaken by a single entity” underlining that cooperation is needed between governments, educational institutions, companies, “and job seekers themselves” to make this happen.

LinkedIn will also be offering a series of virtual workshops between August and October where attendees can learn how to set up a LinkedIn profile, “leverage their professional community through LinkedIn”, and “glean insights” on how companies hire.

In July, Singapore pledged to add 20,000 digital roles to its Infocomm media sector following committed investments from the Economic Development Board that were secured in 2019 and 2020. Josephine Tao, minister for Communications and Information, said that the economy-wide demand for digital tech talent was “set to increase significantly”.