As the UK tech industry continues to flourish, new research from CWJobs has revealed that the impact of Brexit is the biggest concern for IT professionals.
In its new CWJobs Confidence Index report, the company behind the UK tech job board looked into the current state of the industry to find that despite 89 percent of respondents having a positive outlook, over a third (38%) list today's political landscape as their biggest concern for the industry, ahead of the economy (27%) and losing talent abroad (26%).
Despite these concerns, IT professionals in the UK are currently in a strong position as a result of the skill set the industry has on hand (35%), the technology being produced (34%) and the country's status as an IT leader (29%).
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Confidence in the UK's tech industry among respondents was also reflected in their salary expectations with 74 percent expecting an increase in pay during the next five years.
Brexit concerns
Confidence in the development of the tech industry going forward is a bit lower with one in five respondents (18%) revealing they are not confident about the years ahead, compared to just over one in 10 (11%) who have reservations about the current state of the tech industry in the UK.
Director at CWJobs, Dominic Harvey explained that organizations need to do more to attract and retain talent amid growing political uncertainty, saying:
“The UK’s tech workforce is clearly in a good place, with confidence high in the skills it has at its disposal and the technology it’s producing. However, that confidence is at risk from external factors, be that political or economic. While some things are out of the industry’s control, losing talent isn’t. This should act as a wake-up call for businesses to make themselves an attractive proposition that retains talent and keeps them competitive in the future.”
When it came to the skills needed to succeed in the tech industry today, CWJobs found that cyber security (42%), general IT (33%) and cloud skills (31%) were seen as the most useful. Looking forward though, IT professionals believe that cybersecurity (44%) and AI (42%) will be necessary to succeed in the future.
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