After a turbulent 2023 marked by job cuts by large tech companies, 2024 may see a extra optimistic outlook for IT professionals within the U.Ok. Tech staff searching for new roles might discover there’s explicit demand for synthetic intelligence and cloud experience, in addition to a necessity for softer abilities round communications and managing groups.
Is there a scarcity of IT abilities within the UK?
There has been a long-term IT abilities scarcity within the U.Ok. About two million individuals within the U.Ok. work in tech, however there’s nonetheless demand for extra.
According to U.Ok. authorities figures, the extent of “skills-shortage vacancies,” which is the place a job can’t be stuffed resulting from a scarcity of abilities, {qualifications} or expertise amongst candidates, could be very excessive within the data and communications sector; it climbed from an already excessive 25% in 2017 to 43% in 2022, the final 12 months for which information is obtainable. And there’s loads of proof that the IT abilities shortages proceed. Even if the depth of the scarcity varies from 12 months to 12 months, there’s a transparent long-term want for extra tech employees within the U.Ok.
Research by Amazon Web Services in 2023 discovered that greater than two thirds (68%) of UK companies discovered it difficult to rent the digital staff they want, and 45% stated this was resulting from a scarcity of certified candidates. A separate latest survey by Gigged.AI discovered that 91% of respondents to its UK survey had been grappling with a tech abilities scarcity to some extent; roughly a 3rd (34%) stated they confronted large-to-very-large tech abilities shortages.
What are probably the most in-demand tech jobs and abilities within the UK for 2024?
Most in-demand tech jobs within the UK
Six tech jobs made LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2024 record of the highest 25 jobs within the U.Ok. which can be most in demand.
- Artificial intelligence engineer (#7 on LinkedIn’s record).
- Security operations middle analyst (#10).
- Cyber safety supervisor (#11).
- Cyber safety architect (#15).
- Data governance supervisor (#16).
- Data engineer (#25).
Other jobs on the highest 25 record additionally had some involvement with tech, resembling sustainability supervisor at #1, chief income officer at #4 and demand technology supervisor at #8.
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According to the 2024 Salary Guide analysis from recruitment firm Robert Half, probably the most in-demand everlasting tech jobs within the U.Ok. are:
- Full-stack developer.
- ERP/CRM engineer.
- Head of IT.
- Cloud infrastructure engineer.
- Cyber safety analyst.
The most in-demand contract tech jobs within the U.Ok., in response to Robert Half, are:
- ERP/CRM implementation venture supervisor.
- Infrastructure supervisor.
- Network engineer.
- First-line help.
- Second-line help.
Most in-demand tech abilities within the UK
Robert Half analysis stated probably the most in-demand technical abilities for 2024 within the U.Ok. are:
- Cloud computing, together with Amazon Web Services, Azure and Google Cloud.
- Microsoft Dynamics.
- Netsuite.
- SAP.
- Python.
- SQL.
Kris Harris, regional director of U.Ok. expertise options at Robert Half, informed TechRepublic in an e mail that there was additionally a number of curiosity in cybersecurity, machine studying and AI, information dealing with and storytelling, which incorporates manipulation and visualization. In addition, person expertise design and cloud information are nonetheless in style abilities with employers. He stated there had been a slight decline in on-premise infrastructure and community abilities, that are largely being changed by cloud information.
“The uptick in cloud-based resources is also reducing some of the need for data centre operatives as well as those with physical machine management capabilities. Looking ahead, it’s likely that we will also see a decline in traditional network engineering/system admin demands as we move towards more data, cyber and cloud requirements,” Harris stated.
What is the very best paying IT job within the UK?
Chief Information Officer tops the record of highest paying IT jobs within the U.Ok., with many salaries ranging between £105,000 and £176,000; nonetheless, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Information Security Officers and Chief Architect roles all have related pay ranges relying on the dimensions of the organisation. For comparability, a front-end developer can count on to earn someplace between £44,000 and £76,000, stated the Robert Half information.
What’s the outlook for IT jobs within the UK in 2024 and past?
Harris stated there’ll nonetheless be a excessive demand for expert expertise assets, largely pushed by SME companies.
“Enterprise platform enhancements, optimisation of data and the continued requirement for business technology progression will remain. We are currently seeing sectors such as SaaS, education, healthcare, financial services and retail, as well as the government, all investing in tech development, and we don’t expect this to change any time soon,” he stated.
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Recruitment firm Nash Squared stated one rising pattern which will turn out to be more and more frequent in future years is fractional working. This is actually the place a person works on a contract or contractor foundation however has a portfolio of part-time assignments concurrently.
“It’s an established mode for certain senior roles — such as a fractional CISO or CIO — but is beginning to spread further down the layers of the workforce to include more junior positions,” stated Andy Heyes, managing director UK&I and Central Europe at Harvey Nash, a part of Nash Squared.
“By engaging a fractional executive, businesses can more surgically apply their professional capabilities, driving up efficiency and pushing down resource costs. For many companies, it’s simply having access to a highly experienced professional who has the scars and bruises of having done it before, knows where the pitfalls are, and the tactics that have proven results, and that in and of itself can save a great deal of time, money, and reduce risk,” he informed TechRepublic in an e mail. While that is nonetheless comparatively uncommon within the UK, he stated, it’s extra frequent in Europe.
What tech abilities must you study in 2024?
Tech is a fast-moving business, which implies that what’s sizzling proper now won’t be so thrilling to employers in a couple of years time. However, it’s possible that AI, cloud computing and cybersecurity will proceed to create regular demand over the subsequent few years. It’s additionally price keeping track of the record of prime programming languages: presently, Python, C, C++, Java and C# are the preferred languages with builders, in response to the TIOBE Index.
It’s additionally key to do not forget that softer abilities are very important when altering jobs, and constructing on these will assist to future-proof your CV. According to Robert Half, probably the most in-demand tender abilities for tech staff are communication abilities, stakeholder administration and folks administration. In addition, IT leaders stated it’s arduous to seek out candidates with strategic considering and enterprise abilities, so that is probably an space the place you possibly can stand out.