Where are you going to find the tech skills you need to deliver in 2024?

This is a figure that presents an urgent and growing problem for hiring managers reliant on the next generation of digital workers to deliver in the coming years.

Talent scarcity isn’t the only challenge when it comes to hiring at the entry level. Employers often cite high turnover of junior employees, along with confidence around on the job performance as some of the biggest barriers to confidently hiring stand out early careers candidates.

But we need junior talent to grow and scale. 

At the same time, we know there are people out there who want to break into the industry. There are over 1 million unemployed people in the UK- and unemployment is not spread equally. Some groups face distinctly more barriers to employment, at a time when the cost of living is soaring and social mobility has stagnated for years. The tech industry, despite increased focus in recent years, still struggles to hire at scale in a diverse and socially mobile way.

So we need to get more people into tech with the right skills, and there are large groups of people who want to work but don’t have the opportunity.

Why not work with organisations that have a proven answer to these challenges?

Here at Applause IT, that's exactly what we’ve decided to do!

It’s with real excitement that we are partnering with award-winning non- profit Generation UK to offer our clients access to their pool of diverse, ready- to- hire entry level talent.

Generation is a social mobility charity with a mission to transform education-to-employment systems, supporting people into life-changing jobs that would otherwise be inaccessible. Their tailored tech bootcamps connect employers with a pipeline of screened and trained junior candidates from under-represented and diverse groups.

Here at Applause IT, we know hiring for the entry level can be time consuming and costly. That’s why, in working with Generation, we’re proactively helping our customers and clients access great junior talent from communities you might not typically know how to reach.

Generation has placed over 1,200 people in the UK into skilled jobs, working with over 600 hiring employers to get them the junior talent they need in IT Support, Cloud Engineering, Data Engineering and Data Analytics.

And the impact is BIG, both for candidates...

• 66% of Generation candidates are from an ethnic minority
• Over 40% are women
• 42% are living in postcodes in the bottom 2 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) deciles.

And for employers…

• 84% of employers say Generation candidates outperform their peers on the job
• 95% retention rate after six months and 90% retention after 1 year in the role.

So yes, whilst entry level hiring can be difficult, it doesn't have to be. In fact, it can be a cost effective way to get the skills you need in a competitive market and be away of driving change for the better. 

Here at Applause IT we are looking forward to continuing the conversation with our networks around this. If you’re looking to hire in a more diverse way, unsure about how to find the best junior candidates or simply want to tell us more about your approach, get in touch!