Develop & diversify: new thinking to tackle tech talent challenges

Featured article by Andy Wadsworth, IT & Tech director, Morson Group

The mainstream media is fond of headlines about the unpredictability of future skills requirements, stating that anywhere between 65% and 85% of today’s children’s jobs do not yet exist.

Who knows where those finger-in-the-air statements originate, but one thing’s certain: demand for an ever-evolving range of tech skills not only creates a constantly changing recruitment landscape, it also creates challenges across both tech and conventional sectors, as competition for talent increases exponentially. 

At Morson Group, we believe responding to those tech talent challenges requires more than fishing in the same limited ponds for the right people and skills. There is an acute imperative to identify, develop and deploy talent from a much wider demographic, and engage with employers on a strategic level to help them plan their talent pipeline for current and future needs.

As an international recruitment company, the fierce demand for tech talent and the fast-paced evolution of the skills those people need are trends we’re seeing played out across the UK and around the world. But the tech talent supply/demand dynamic in the Greater Manchester city region is specific and severe.

With a £5bn digital ecosystem, Greater Manchester is the UK’s top digital tech city outside London, with a huge variety of business models and tech disciplines across the city region’s 10,000-plus digital and tech businesses. A recent study – appropriately enough conducted by AI – found that Manchester is recognised as a leading location for tech businesses in fields as diverse as AI, data, cybersecurity, ecommerce, IoT, and fintech.

It’s a fantastic story of success and transformation. The epicentre of the UK’s industrial revolution is now a powerful force in Industry 4.0, but success comes with challenges. Tech employers are vulnerable to skills shortages, remuneration inflation, and rapidly changing talent needs as both technology and the ways in which we utilise it expand exponentially. 

Addressing a challenge on this scale requires robust training and HR strategies that consider talent pipelines and current recruitment goals. As recruiters, we not only need to think creatively about how we support our clients, but we also must engage with potential candidates and develop end-to-end solutions that will deliver both skills for employers and opportunities for people from all demographics.

Plugging skills gaps and creating career opportunities

At a time when there is an urgent and wide-ranging need for tech talent, it is perhaps our Pathfinders Tech Academy that most closely reflects how Morson is working as the interface between skills shortages on the one hand, and the need to acquire the skills for a fulfilling tech career on the other.

Head of Morson Pathfinders Academy, Cat Mawdsley, explains:

Some tech businesses have very specific tech talent requirements, others are recruiting for the unknown, so they need workplace-ready people with core skills, or transferrable skills, that can be developed and nurtured. What we do with the Pathfinders Academy is make sure that we understand the client’s current and emerging talent requirements, taking a consultative approach to developing their talent acquisition strategy.

We then source candidates through a variety of channels, including our specialist tech recruiters, community partners, networks, and diversity channels, ensuring we identify people from a diverse range of backgrounds with the aptitude, attitude and ambition to succeed. We develop those candidates, giving them the skills they need to be deployed in clients’ businesses, and we continue to support both the business and the candidate as they travel on the deployment, retention and talent realisation journey.

New thinking for a new era of talent

The Morson Pathfinders Academy is a new and first-of-a-kind approach to tech talent acquisition, development and retention, with the goal of plugging into a power bank of readily available skills for current needs, while developing future tech leaders. 

Candidates are drawn from all backgrounds and communities, including:

• Work returners
• Career changers
• Ex-services personnel
• Back-to-work mums

Our model gives people opportunities to thrive and companies the resources to drive forward their ESG goals, while addressing the tech skills crisis.

The jobs, challenges and competition for skills are very different in the tech space now than it has been in the recruitment market in the past. We have to think differently to support those changing needs, which will not only benefit the tech ecosystem but has the potential to deliver genuine social value amongst groups that are often overlooked along the way too. 

Is your business trying to define the skills you need and struggling to find them? The Pathfinders Tech Academy could be the solution.

Get in touch with the Morson team to find out how this unique initiative could bring new tech talent into your business, email cat.mawdsley@morson.com