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6 challenges that businesses currently face when hiring talent

By Simon Hayton

Hiring tech talent has a range of different challenges.

Whenever you say hiring challenges, people always assume that we just mean a skills shortage but this is not necessarily the case. Yes, it is one of the bigger obstacles but it is not the only one.

The upheaval within the UK over the last 4 years has been unprecedented; Brexit, IR35, Covid-19, the list seems to grow with each passing year.

What this has meant for companies is that the there are many more obstacles when they make the decision to hire their tech talent.

Here are the top 6 challenges:

Challenge 1: Skills shortage

Despite the increase in tech roles over the past 10 years, 65% of companies have admitted that they see a digital skills shortfall as one of the most significant challenges facing their company in 2021.

In tech we all know there is a shortage of skills, I discuss it at length in my last blog post ‘Do tech companies need to rethink their recruitment strategies?’

If companies do not have the necessary talent to fill their job openings then businesses will naturally struggle.

“It is scary to think that companies know there is skills shortage but they do not know how to address the issues” adds Head of Operations for Workforce Digital, Tom Whiteside.

Challenge 2: IR35

IR35 was first introduced in 2000 but a recent reform has meant that companies will now be held responsible for any contractors who do not abide by the newer piece of legislation. Despite this knowledge, companies still admit that they are not ready for the changes that are associated with it.

Traditionally the tech industry has employed a lot of contractors but the introduction of IR35 will mean that companies could now be held liable for tax avoidance.

Naturally, companies will not want to lose any money, but many do not have the knowledge of the legislation to be confident that they are not doing anything wrong.

Challenge 3: Brexit

The drop in immigration as a result of Brexit has led to Salesforce now reporting that half of UK businesses fear a post-Brexit tech skills shortage. Less and less people are now moving to the UK from overseas. As more digital jobs become available, these vacancies will need to be filled.

The demand for skilled Tech & IT candidates has not ended now the UK has left the EU. If anything, the demand has increased because it has become harder to access talent.

Challenge 4: D&I

The lack of diversity within the digital sector has never been a secret. From age to gender and ethnicity to religion, the digital sector needs reform. However, very few companies have a strategy in place designed to solve the issue.

Addressing the challenges associated with D&I requires a concerted strategy but, many companies do not have the necessary resource for this.

Challenge 5: Immigration

Due to the fall in immigration, there is a lot of concern that this could spark an even bigger skills shortage. According to a recent article by PersonnelToday, National Insurance number registrations for non-EU nationals has decreased by 65%.

“It’s certainly going to be harder for companies to find the Tech & IT talent they need. There is going to be more procedures that companies will need to go through to access candidates”, suggests Whiteside.

Challenge 6: Cost and Competition

Because there is such a high demand for Tech & IT talent naturally, companies are going to be willing to pay more for them. This may be good for the candidates but it is bad for companies who cannot compete when it comes to surging salaries.

It’s a simple case of supply and demand.

With rising salaries there is a risk that more positions will go unfilled and more companies will struggle to source the talent they need to run effectively.

What does this mean for companies?

All of this can sound frightening but it isn’t all doom and gloom. Workforce Digital have a robust business model to ensure that companies not only recruit the best talent but also retain them. We have a dedicated retention team who are passionate about staying in touch with candidates.

Workforce was founded in 2006 and has placed over 15,000 people into jobs, with around 90% of these skilled candidates coming from overseas.

To find out more about how Workforce Digital can help you rethink your recruitment strategy, get in touch here: https://www.workforcedigital.co.uk/

To find out more about the challenges that companies are facing when it comes to hiring tech talent read my previous article; Do tech companies need to rethink their recruitment strategy?