UK Faces Shortfall of 33,300 IT and Tech Workers by 2050

LONDON, ENGLAND, February 01, 2013 (Press-News.org) The United Kingdom faces a shortfall of 33,300 IT and tech workers by 2050 due to skills shortages, an ageing workforce and restrictive migration policy, according to Randstad Technologies, the specialist IT recruiter.

The UK's workforce will have a 3.1m person shortfall by 2050 if skills shortages are not addressed
- IT in top five of those disciplines most likely to be impacted
- Work related emigration has risen 16% since 2007 while work related immigration has fallen 24%
- IT and tech salaries rise in an attempt to prevent a brain drain from the UK

The UK workforce as a whole will have a deficit of 3.1m by 2050, a figure which represents 9% of the required workforce. Using employment rates from the most recent European population analysis from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, as a measure of demand, Randstad analysed the projected changes in UK population and working age rate for 2050 to establish the gap between employment demand and workforce supply.

The analysis showed that with a total population of 74.5m in 2050 the UK will require a working population of 35.4m to meet demand. However, will a pool of just 45.1m people (60.5% of the population) forecast to the eligible to work in 2050, even if the employment rate matches pre-downturn levels of 71.6%, an ageing population will leave the UK with only 32.3m people in employment - 3.1m short of the 35.4m required to meet demand.

IT and tech sectors fare better than others

Randstad Technologies also forecast the workforce shortfall across some key professions. IT and tech workers represent 1% of the UK workforce, assuming this proportion remains constant, by 2050, the UK will have a deficit of 33,300 IT and tech staff.

The education sector will be the worst affected with a projected shortfall of 128,000 teachers while the health care sector faces a deficit of 61,200 nurses. The UK also faces the prospect of a 66,800 shortfall in the number of construction staff available to work by 2050.

Profession Projected Shortfall
Teachers - 128,000
Construction - 66,800
Nurses - 61,200
Qualified Engineers - 36,800
IT and Tech - 33,300
Social Workers - 10,600
Qualified Accountants - 10, 200
Solicitors/Lawyers - 9,500

Mike Beresford, managing director of Randstad Technologies, said: "The IT and tech sectors are vital for the overall health of the UK economy - the countries who leads the digital evolution are the ones who will recover fastest . With the growth of technology hubs such as Silicon Roundabout in London over the last few years we have proved the UK can be at the forefront of digital and IT progression and it's vital we continue this trend.

"Our projections for the size of the IT and technology workforce are conservative, yet they paint a very grim picture for the UK's economic prospects. Unless we can plug the employment gap, we'll be unable to capitalise on the advance and growth we've achieved over the last few years and this will have serious consequences for the overall prosperity of the country."

The IT and tech sectors are suffering shortages across many skill areas and migration is one of the key reasons for the deficiency. Since 2007, overall work related emigration from the UK has risen 16% while work related immigration has fallen 24% over the same period (see chart). The combination of poor economic performance and changes to immigration policy have made the UK a less attractive place to work among the world's most talented professionals.

Salaries rising
In order to try and prevent talented staff from moving abroad, salaries in the IT and tech industry have begun to rise. In the next 12 months, Randstad forecast that employees with skills in IT systems and infrastructure will see the largest pay rises. According to Randstad Technologies' latest Salary Survey, pay for IT systems roles in London is forecast to rise by 20.4% next year, while pay for those working in IT infrastructure and IT change management will see the second and third largest rises, climbing by 11.1% and 10.3% respectively in 2013.

Forecast of IT Pay Rises in 2013 by specialism
IT Development (programmation) - 9.4%
IT Technical Support - 4.0%
IT Business Intelligence & Business Analysis - 10.0%
IT Architecture - 9.1%
IT Change Management - 10.3%
IT Infrastructure - 11.1%
IT Data Management - -1.0%
IT Project Management - 2.2%
ERPs - 3.2%
Software - -6.9%

Mike Beresford, said: "If the UK economy is to grow and overcome the difficulties of the last few years then it requires a strong workforce capable of meeting demand. However, we also need to compete with other countries who are also keen to boost their IT and technological capabilities.

"Unfortunately, with a stagnant economy and crippling migration policy, the UK represents a much less attractive option for both domestic and overseas talent. A growing economy will not only help prevent home-grown skilled IT and technology workers from moving overseas, but combined with a sensible migration policy, it will also encourage foreign talent to consider a career in the UK. Without foreign skills bolstering the IT and tech workforce the sector will have to deal with a large black hole over the coming years."

About Randstad:

The Randstad group is one of the leading recruitment & HR services providers in the world with a top five position in the UK and a top three position in fifteen countries including the US, France and Germany.

In the UK, Randstad's business lines serve the public and private sectors across Accounting and Financial services; Business Support; Construction, Property and Engineering; Education; Health and Social Care; Interim Management and Search; Human Resources; IT; Legal; Retail; Sales, Marketing and Creative; Student and Worker Support and In-House and Managed Services.

At the end of 2011, Randstad had 1,930 corporate employees in the UK, working in 255 locations. UK revenue in 2011 was EUR789 million. Randstad was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands. Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. For more information see www.randstad.co.uk and www.randstad.co.uk/technologies/

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