Jobhop Jobhop's blog : The Pain of Brexit for our Digital and Tech Talent
Brexit has thrown us all into a state of panic!
We have had a huge challenge keeping our digital and tech talent here in the UK already, but now it will be even more of a challenge as tech cities like Dublin and Berlin start to make attractive offers, we could have a mass migration from Silicon Roundabout to overseas!
Berlin Senator Cordelia Yzer has already invited young, remain voting, tech talent to go and live and pursue their dreams in Berlin. The Irish government has now laid out a plan to spend 2million euros to attract tech talent; they’re hoping 3,000 people will relocate to there!
Digital and tech talent are by default collaborative, but the UK doesn’t feel collaborative anymore.
Tech companies want to connect; they want to do international business, they want investment, if that isn’t going to happen in the UK anymore then it’s easy for them to get up, move out and relocate. By nature tech businesses and digital talent adapt quickly, they work agile, it’s what they do, they will have no hesitation about relocating. If it’s somewhere they like, has a tech community to be part of, attracts investment and talent, then it becomes a consideration.
We have a digital skills crisis already which is costing the UK economy £63bn a year, and before Brexit, it was predicted that by 2017, (that's next year) we would need to fill 1.1m digital job positions, but we haven’t got the people. A survey conducted by techUK found that 93% of tech companies said a skills gap was having a negative impact on their business.
What the hell is the UK going to do?
With all the current uncertainty, we don’t know who is going to be the PM's successor and how they will negotiate the exit, so realistically it’s at least the year 2018 before the UK makes its break-away. That gives us a bit of time, but we can’t just sit around talking, we need to act now! WE have to grow digital talent here on our doorstep, and we have to get cracking immediately!
Businesses that stay put in the UK will have to get their act together, so not to lose digital talent businesses will have to become places where employees are excited to go to every day. Now is the time for every business to focus on having a great company culture, it will help to attract and retain the best digital talent. The whole recruitment process has to be a lot faster, and the whole candidate experience has to be a lot better than it currently is.
Tech clusters in the UK now need ambassadors shouting from the rooftops. These clusters have to show that they’re open, they’re fun, they’re driven, and colour, religion, gender or sexual preference never get in the way, they’re there to live and work together to accomplish the mission. No-one can be silent; we can’t let anyone have the perception that we want to keep ourselves to ourselves and we are unwelcoming here in the UK.
Whatever happens, we can’t let’s just see how it pans out; we have to be pragmatic, we have to work harder, we have to grow and keep our digital and tech talent here in the UK!
We have to take action now!
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Julie Bishop Founder Jobhop.co.uk
- Digital