Following a survey of over 1,600 IT and Telco professionals from around the world, Networkers can reveal in their first survey - Technology: Voice of the Workforce – that tech professionals do not believe their organisation is prepared for the biggest disruptors, such as; cyber security threats, political policy change, the internet of things and big data, regardless of the size of company they work for. Despite these threats, a quarter of the tech professionals (25%) say that they do not believe their company will be recruiting in the next 12 months, even though 32% of technology professionals see the war for talent and the increasing skills shortage as one of the biggest disruptors to the industry within the next 5 years.
Added to this, tech professionals predict even more change within their own role, with 27% saying their role will change substantially in the next 5 years.
James Smith, Managing Director of Networkers, said: “The digital revolution only really began 30 years ago, and a number of jobs today, such as IT Security Analysts and Cyber Architects, didn’t exist 10 years ago. There is a limit to how many people have learnt security skills within that time. To win the war on cyber security, we must continue to invest in defences and recognise the opportunities for securing talent for the future. Businesses are often unsure what they actually need with regards to cyber security & big data due to a lack of time, budget and knowledge about what the future looks like. It is therefore imperative that they take heed of the advice of their workforce and ensure they are best prepared for the challenges ahead.”
The economic outlook, reducing budgets and a lack of a government strategy are also seen as a threat to the industry across financial, IT, telecoms and the public sector. However, while budget cuts are cited as a potential threat, 48% are confident they will receive a pay increase in the next 12 months compared with 29% who are not. Over the last 12 months, 61% stated that they had received a pay increase.
James Smith continued: “CIOs and CTOs are faced with the challenge of convincing the board that investment needs to be made now to combat cyber security threats. Prof. Richard Benham, Chairman of the National Cyber Management Centre, gave a worrying warning: "A major bank will fail as a result of a cyber-attack in 2017”; however, banks are not the only institutions under threat as 2016’s data hacks showed. How many of these threats need to become reality before the industry seriously invests in cyber security talent?”
IT and Telco professionals in the Public Sector display the lowest confidence, with only 44% believing there is an opportunity for sector growth, compared with 70% in banking, finance and insurance and 70% within IT. It is also the sector where the extent of the skills shortage is most prevalent with 63% of those working within the public sector saying they believe there is a skills shortage, compared to 57% of all tech professionals.
James Smith explains: “The issue of attracting and retaining talent in the public sector is concerning. Despite some exciting up and coming projects in organisations like the NHS, such as the ‘Diabetes Digital Coach’ and ‘Technology Integrated Health Management (TIHM)’. A high level of bureaucracy, slow decisions and ambiguity around the IR35 legislation for UK contractors is making the public sector less attractive to many technology professionals. More should be done to promote the public sector as an area where technology professionals can make a real difference to services that affect everyone in the UK.”
The tech industry has been criticised for being an industry which lacks diversity. The demographics of this survey show an imbalance in line with these claims, with only 11% of respondents being female. However the majority (54%) do believe gender diversity is improving. Technology professionals also believe a collaborative approach is necessary and that everyone within the industry has a responsibility to change their attitudes and behaviours (32%).
In terms of solutions, the tech workforce believes the best way to address gender diversity is by providing better flexible working practices (46%) and tackling unconscious bias in management and leadership teams (34%).
