The tech sector is accelerating faster than ever, but the tech skills gap remains a major barrier to entry. With this comes a great opportunity to build even more diverse, innovative, future‑ready tech teams – and to rethink how skills are accessed, talent is identified, and pathways into the industry are opened.
But first, let’s look at why the tech skills gap exists and keeps growing.
Tech Skills Gaps... and the Opportunity for Businesses
The tech skills gap isn’t just about missing expertise. It’s about untapped talent.
Across the UK, early-careers talent and career switchers are eager to step into tech, but the pathways aren’t always clear. At the same time, employers are searching for people who can bring fresh thinking, adaptability, and creativity into their teams.
A number of factors contribute to this disconnect:
- Technology moves faster than education, so skills can quickly become outdated.
- Access to digital learning isn’t always equal, leaving some underrepresented communities behind.
- Mis-aligned in-house training during onboarding, leaving some tech newcomers without the practical experience employers expect.
- Growing demand for experienced hires, so organisations recruit from the same small pool instead of developing new entrants.
The result is a huge opportunity: new open roles and thousands of early careers talent ready to thrive in them, once the pathways are known and become easier to navigate.
Embrace Hiring for Potential
Even when people gain the right skills, they often struggle to secure their first tech role. Employers may ask for experience that entry-level candidates might not have had the opportunity to develop yet. Meanwhile, hiring processes can unintentionally exclude university graduates, career-changers, returners, or those without traditional qualifications.
To truly bridge the gap, employers need to rethink how they identify and nurture potential. This includes:
- Hiring for potential, not just experience, using skills-based assessments.
- Investing in internal upskilling to grow talent from within.
- Partnering with training providers and wider tech communities to shape future talent pipelines.
This shift benefits everyone. Companies gain loyal, diverse teams, and individuals gain even more access to meaningful careers.
Creating Accessible Opportunities
Through our Academy, we’ve identified that the most successful tech ecosystems are those where education providers, employers, local authorities, and community organisations work together.
When these groups collaborate, they create clear, supported pathways that help people move confidently from learning into employment. This means:
- Making training more visible and accessible
- Helping tech newcomers understand the full range of tech careers
- Giving employers a voice in shaping future of tech talent with new, skills-first hiring approaches, including Recruit Train Deploy
- Creating spaces where people can meet, network, and learn from other industry professionals
And that’s exactly why events that bring these groups together are so important.
Leading the Change
For those passionate about creating a change and strengthening the tech talent pipeline – whether you’re a hiring manager, a C-level executive, or looking to enhance staff development or hire new talent – there’s a fantastic new opportunity to join the conversation in Leeds.
Join us at our upcoming event on April 21st, in partnership with Leeds Digital Mini-Fest.
Hear key takeaways from James Taylor (Managing Director at Corecom Tech Academy), plus other education providers and training innovators from across Leeds, exploring how companies can better connect people with opportunities in tech.
Find out more about this upcoming event here.
Ready to drive real business results?
Contact Corecom Tech Academy today to explore our tailored training programmes!
