An expanding field: how routes into tech are changing

Pathways are opening beyond the traditional graduate route

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There are multiple pathways into a tech career

The Harvey Nash Tech Talent & Salary Report, based on a survey of 2,700 tech professionals globally, including almost 850 in the UK, finds that only 46% of tech professionals in the UK went directly into a technology role from a university or college degree.

With organisations increasingly relying on tech solutions to power their businesses and transform how they operate, the demand for tech talent is only growing. Lloyds Bank, for example, reported recently that software services and technology equipment manufacturing are two of the fastest expanding UK sectors in terms of headcount.

At the same time, technology has moved right to the heart of executive priorities – particularly with the explosion of interest in AI. You could say that, over the last couple of decades, it has moved from the basement, to front of office, to the boardroom – and this only adds to the imperative to bring the necessary talent in.

Entry routes changing

Perhaps then it is no surprise that routes into technology are opening up beyond the traditional graduate path. The Harvey Nash Tech Talent & Salary Report, based on a survey of 2,700 tech professionals globally, including almost 850 in the UK, finds that only 46% of tech professionals in the UK went directly into a technology role from a university or college degree.

While the university pathway is still a very popular route, it doesn’t dominate as it once did. According to our data, almost half of tech professionals in the UK transitioned into tech from an alternative career. Growing numbers are coming in by taking an industry certification (20%). Others are entering through an apprenticeship or a more recent phenomena such as bootcamps or hire-train-deploy programmes. Data insights from LinkedIn, which partnered with Harvey Nash for the publication of the report, find that around 10-15% of non-STEM degree holders have ventured into STEM employment.

This is a question of both pull and push. The demand amongst employers for technology talent is causing them to scour the market and pull in candidates from outside the graduate cohort – creating a more blended recruitment model. In parallel, more people are attracted to the idea of working in technology and so are pushing themselves forward through the new pathways available.

Helping the skills and diversity agendas

In my view, this is very positive for the industry. We all know that technology skills shortages have been affecting companies for many years, particularly in the areas of data and software engineering – so anything that businesses can do to create new talent streams is a welcome step.

It also helps to create a more diverse industry. Technology has long battled against a diversity deficit, being overwhelmingly male and short of talent from ethnic minority and other diverse backgrounds. Another factor that has been helping to address diversity is hybrid working, or ‘work from anywhere’, which our survey shows remains important to tech professionals across the industry.

However, our findings reveal that there remains further to go. Women are much more likely to transition to technology from an alternative career rather than going straight in (62% of women compared to 45% of men) – suggesting that young women are not being sufficiently attracted to technology at an early age; it’s only later that they see all that a career in tech has to offer.

There are other interesting variations. The UK and the US have the highest proportion of technologists beginning their career in a non-tech role. This poses a question about whether tech jobs in these regions are positioned more favourably to people outside the sector than in other global locations. In my view, it is most likely a reflection that there is simply high demand that is proving hard to meet. In the UK, this challenge is exacerbated by the fact that there aren’t sufficient STEM graduates given that degrees in the arts and humanities still attract high numbers of students (compared, for example, to Asia where around 80% of graduates take a STEM degree) and by government restrictions around immigration, making it harder to bring qualified talent in from overseas.

How employers can take action

The challenge for businesses is how quickly they adapt their hiring processes to be inclusive of these alternative learning paths. Increasing numbers of organisations are moving towards skills-based hiring in which they focus more on the skills and experience an individual has, rather than just their qualifications. Is it therefore time to stop putting formal qualification requirements on tech job descriptions?

Another valuable approach is to build relationships with different groups in the community, such as organisations linked to specific diversity characteristics (Black heritage groups, for example), so that recruitment campaigns gain more traction and result in greater diversity of applications.

Employers should consider a host of routes and talent pools, including:

Our survey reveals how much is changing, and how quickly. One thing is clear: thinking differently about how people acquire tech skills in the absence of a degree could be a way for organisations to tap into new talent streams to meet their resourcing needs and support increased and much-needed diversity within the sector.

Andy Heyes is Managing Director, Harvey Nash UK, Ireland and Central Europe