Are you surprised by the current UK technology jobs market? Advertising plus wider recruitment activities returning very few applicants?
Challenging jobs market (Spring 2021).
For those tech companies on a mission to find top software engineers, developers, data scientists or Board level executives right now, a lot of factors are in play that are making this extremely tough (to put it mildly).
The Internet of Things is connecting more devices every day. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US released a report which found that 25 billion objects are already connected online worldwide, gathering information using sensors and communicating with each other over the internet.
Demand is growing for candidates with advanced digital skills, with 60% of employers expecting demand to continue rising in the next 5 years.
Research by the Learning and Work Institute (LWI) found that over one in three employers say they face a skills gap within their current workforce for advanced digital skills, while 41% have struggled to recruit workers with the advanced digital skills that they need.
The LWI is an independent policy research organisation that conducted research exploring digital skills and the future of the labour market in the UK.
Energy Networks Association (ENA) is developing an in-depth digital system map of the UK’s energy system to support a pathway to net zero. Network data will be pulled from Britain’s electricity and gas network operators and integrated into the digital map.
The proof-of-concept project will allow the association to test the model it is developing for a full National Energy System Map, which is set to include network assets, generators and energy intensive users.
The recruitment process is focused on speed, using metrics such as ‘time to hire’, timed technical tests and job descriptions littered with phrases including fast-paced, fast-moving, urgent requirement and deadline for applications.
So, a couple of months after the momentous public and private sector commitments involving billionaire movers and shakers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, Reid Hoffman, Jeff Bezosh and other high-profile entrepreneurs to pledge to spark a “new economic revolution” based around clean energy through launching a new investment drive for renewables…..it’s instructive to look back and reflect on the issues - and exactly what was agreed.
As the push to diversify the IT sector picks up speed, so too has awareness of unconscious bias. Can technology-enabled ‘blind’ recruitment do a better job of identifying talent? In these more enlightened times, companies have strategies to beat a kneejerk reaction to an unfamiliar name, the “wrong” gender, or the suspect “gut feeling”.
Fossil fuel generation has more than halved over the last decade, hitting a new record low in 2020. Just 102.7TWh was produced by coal and gas-fired plants combined last year, compared with 230.5TWh in 2011, according to analysis from EnAppSys.
Freedom of Movement ended on 31 December 2020. EU, EEA (Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) and Swiss citizens living in the UK before this date need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to retain the right to live and work here.
The deadline for applying is 30th June 2021. Only those who have been granted indefinite leave to remain or have Irish Citizenship are exempt.
Applicants will either be given Pre-Settled or Settled status depending on how long they’ve been living in the UK.
Reaching net zero in the energy network will cost the UK £3 trillion, according to a new cost analysis from National Grid ESO.
The costing applies to the four scenarios laid out by the operator in its Future Energy Scenarios, which was released in July. This outlined two scenarios – Consumer Transformation and System Transformation – where net zero was hit by 2050, one – Leading the Way – where net zero was hit by 2048, and finally one – Steady Progression – where the deadline was missed, and the UK still emitting 258 MtCO2e in 2050.