coded by apprentices closing the Developer skills gap in the uk

Transcription

1 coded by apprentices closing the Developer skills gap in the uk

2 The hunt for new developers Why DOES the UK need developers? Of 113,000 permanent IT job roles advertised - over 60% were developer Average developer salary has gone up by 6% Shortage has reached the government s UK Shortage Occupation List It s no secret that the IT sector is a significant contributor to the UK s total GDP. As the country slowly moves out of recession, disciplines such as software development are expected to play a major role in the continuing recovery 1. While this news is encouraging, there are challenges to overcome if the ever-increasing demand for IT services and software developers is to be met. The growth of the sector is bringing into focus the looming skills gap which has been a concern for some time especially in software development, which has now been placed on the government s Shortage Occupation List 2. In particular, companies are finding it difficult to recruit sufficient software and web developers who can build tools for managing and analysing big data and create mobile platforms and apps; increasingly, employers say finding people with the necessary skills is their primary difficulty when it comes to the hard-to-fill vacancies in these areas. Though not only a UK challenge there is a pressing need for skilled software developers across Europe and in the US UK organisations from small Silicon Roundabout start-ups to data-crunching public-sector companies are in need of developers. Unless they can be found, fast, the UK s economic recovery could be at stake 3. Companies have traditionally looked to close the skills gap by offshoring (read more on page 6) their software development needs, or by hiring graduates (read more on page 6). But as we will see, neither of these approaches sustainably solves the problem. At QA Apprenticeships we are working with hundreds of employers who believe they have found the answer by taking on and training apprentice software developers. Apprentices represent a sustainable, long-term solution to the skills crisis and have the potential to add 3.4 billion in net productivity gains to the UK economy 4. Apprentice developers become a conduit for expertise to be passed down from older and more experienced employees, and have the drive to build on that knowledge and combine it with their own raw talent. They create a legacy of skills and expertise within your business that will continue to provide benefits for years to come. We have already seen many organisations flourish with the injection of energy and talent that apprentice developers bring with them. In this paper we will show why apprentices are the solution to the UK developer skills crisis. 1: Sophie Christopher, Could the tech sector drive an economic recovery in the UK? (London: Techradar, 2014) 2: Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List Government-approved version valid from 6 April 2014 (London, UK Government, 2014) 3: Ron Schneiderman, The War For Talent Continues For Engineers In Europe (New York, IEEE) 4: Lyn Gambin, Review of Apprenticeships Research, Final Report: An updated review (Warwick, Institute for Employment Research, 2013) qa.com/apprenticeships qa.com/apprenticeships

3 Invigorate, inspire, impress What apprentice developers can do for your team Many UK companies are facing the issue of an ageing workforce, with a marked increase over the last decade of employees aged 40 and over. Apprenticeships, typified by on the job learning, are a viable method of retaining vital developer skills that would otherwise be lost through retirement. This is exactly what happened at the Valuation Office Agency (VOA): the average age was 52, and the addition of apprentice developers allowed it to keep existing IT skills within the agency. But apprentices are more than empty vessels waiting to be filled up with your knowledge; they quickly become valued members of their workforce. IT consultancy Northdoor says: The commitment of dedicated staff to mentoring and training apprentices will pay itself back many times over within six months, as highly technical work can be delegated to apprentices. Most apprentice developers are highly motivated and passionate about coding: many begin their careers as bedroom coders in their spare time. They possess raw talent, and their eagerness to learn from an employer is hard to find anywhere else. What s more, government subsidies and support for apprenticeships enables all this development to take place at an affordable cost to the business. Many organisations also report that having apprentices on board improves the motivation and drive of the teams around them. As the VOA puts it: Having an apprentice around is exhilarating. They don t see a problem; they just deliver, and their optimism inspires the rest of the workforce. Naturally, investment is required to get the most out of an apprentice, but the increases in capacity, motivation and output that can be seen across the whole team make it worthwhile. Furthermore, over 90% of apprentices are offered full-time jobs with their employer after completing their apprenticeship. Plainly, investing in an apprentice will continue to boost your business a long way into the future. Case study: Northdoor apprentices produce chargeable work within six months With over 20 years experience in providing IT services and solutions to the insurance, banking, media and other industries in more than 20 countries, Northdoor has been an advocate of apprentice developers for a number of years. Apprentices have reinvigorated our workforce, says Darrin Morgan, Development Manager at Northdoor. The workplace now has a much needed injection of youthful optimism! Alex Small Apprenticeship Software Apprentice at Penman IT and Microsoft s Apprentice of the Year 2014 With the right investment in training and supervision, Northdoor finds that its apprentices produce chargeable work within just six months, with support from their apprenticeship provider in ASP and.net training. Our apprentices enthusiasm and natural talent for development means that, with training, they re a great investment for Northdoor. qa.com/apprenticeships qa.com/apprenticeships

4 offshoring Dangerous water to sail? Offshoring may appeal to some companies as being a cheaper way to find the software developer skills they need. However, the delays involved in working across time zones, combined with cultural or language barriers, can limit productivity and ultimately increase costs. More importantly perhaps, offshore developers are and will remain a third-party resource. By not bringing developer talent in-house, you may face a shortage of skilled developers within your own business when it comes to succession planning. In addition, offshoring means that many young software developers in the UK are denied the chance to get started in their careers a problem that industry bodies such as The Corporate IT Forum is already debating 5. Apprentice developers, on the other hand, provide a business with in-house talent, guarantee developer availability and increase business efficiency. Over time, they ll combine their developer skills with an understanding of your business, making them ready to progress to more senior roles and create a legacy of sustainable talent-sourcing. hiring graduates A tradition to break with? The other option many companies turn to when looking for developer talent is the graduate pool. However, interest in computer science degrees is at an all-time low, with a drop of 17,000 applicants between 2002 and To further complicate the issue, computer science graduates often don t take up IT roles. This trend can be at least partially explained by the lack of emphasis in many computer science degrees on the vital coding and software development skills the UK IT industry needs 7. What s more, many employers say that graduates often lack basic capabilities such as self-management and problem-solving: in short, many graduates don t have the right skills to be a valuable addition to developer teams 8. In contrast, apprentice developers tend to be disciplined and self-starting, and hungrier for opportunities. They re prepared to work their way up through the ranks to become skilled members of your workforce who deliver an impressive Return On Investment. With training in life and technical skills to bolster their raw talent, apprentice developers are now the logical choice when looking for rounded, grounded and ready for work software developers. APPRENTICES Case study: The Valuation Office Agency apprentice developers boost business capability The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an executive agency of HMRC, with approximately 3,500 staff. The Agency s core purpose is to provide the valuations and property advice required to support taxation and benefits. Having had difficulties in recruiting new developers to pass existing skills on to, the VOA turned to apprenticeships to help it expand and modernise its IT Department. The results speak for themselves. In just two years, three full-time developers have been recruited from the apprentices intake. Gail Ramsden, IT skills and capabilities manager for the VOA, says Our apprentices have shown they are enthusiastic and happy to be here and are already making a useful contribution to our business goals. A force to be reckoned with It is clear that apprentice software developers are a viable and sustainable way for the UK IT sector to retain and develop skills, increase productivity, and support the country s economic recovery. Apprenticeships are already gaining traction 24,000 people started an IT apprenticeship during the past two years, and this included companies such as Atos and Capgemini 9 But many organisations have yet to discover how an apprentice developer can boost their business, and many are surprised by how productive apprentice developers become in just a short period of time. Northdoor s Development Manager reports: I had a project where a number of key staff had to drop out at short notice, and three apprentices stepped up to fill the gap. It amazed me just how much they could do, with the support of the rest of the team. It s true that apprentices are not the same as regular employees; they require training and support to develop their skills, refine their native talent and learn how to use the tools at their disposal. But employers who do take apprentices on board will soon experience benefits in business productivity and group motivation. Apprentice developers will become part of a lasting legacy of software development excellence, ultimately boosting economic recovery in the UK. Contact us on to boost your team s performance by recruiting an award-winning software QA Apprentice. 5: Nick Heath, Offshoring has fuelled IT skills crisis, say UK firms (London, TechRepublic, 2013) 6: New figures reveal crash in Computer Science degrees (London, Next Gen Skills, 2012) 7: Karl Flinders, Computer science graduates struggle to find work despite the IT skills shortage (London, Computer Weekly, 2013) 8: Changing the pace; CBI/Pearson education and skills survey 2013 (London, CBI, 2013) 9: Steve Ranger, Can tech apprenticeships bridge the IT skills gap? (London, TechRepublic, 2014) 6 qa.com/apprenticeships qa.com/apprenticeships

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