The Digital Skills Gap is Widening. How Can Tech Recruiting in Europe Help?
The future of automation and artificial intelligence is here. But instead of increasing efficiency, production, and profits, new developments are posing more European tech industry recruitment issues than ever before. Why? Much of it comes down to a skills shortage. The digital skills needed to adopt and implement innovative, technology-driven solutions just aren’t there.
More than a third of decision-makers in France, Germany, and the UK cite a lack of digital skills as the key obstacle to digital transformation. And while the talent shortage is affecting organisations across every industry, the most significant impact is felt in tech recruiting, where the rise of smart technologies, AI, and cybersecurity threats have made finding and retaining workers more vital than ever.
The technology industry in Europe continued to grow through pandemic slowdowns. It now represents more than 8% of the region’s economic output, with annual sales of €1.5 trillion — figures that will only increase with the explosive growth of artificial intelligence. But recruiting and retaining workers with the necessary skills is vital to the industry’s continued expansion.
How can European tech firms bolster their workforces when they are already facing an unprecedented labour shortage?
1. Shift Your Focus to Soft Skills
Tech recruiting has historically focused heavily on hard skills and qualifications — degrees, certifications, and hands-on experience using specific tools or technologies. But the accelerating pace of development makes this strategy near-impossible to maintain. Those focused on recruiting in the tech industry should instead look for candidates with the appropriate soft skills — creativity, adaptability, or a willingness to learn or continue learning — to fill roles in the rapidly evolving industry.
2. Invest in Employee Upskilling
Hiring candidates with a willingness to learn only helps if you provide the opportunities to do so. Europe’s tech recruiting teams must invest heavily in retraining and upskilling programs to ensure workers have the skills to innovate — or at least keep pace with technological developments. A commitment to employee upskilling can make companies more attractive to both new recruits and current employees who might otherwise be lured away by competitors.
3. Rethink Your Recruitment Strategy
Is your tech industry recruitment team overlooking qualified candidates because of historical hiring practices? Expanding your candidate base and retraining recruiters to look beyond typical qualifications can increase your chances of identifying untapped pools of talent. Diversifying your workforce to include women, older workers, members of minority communities, people with disabilities, and other groups that don’t fit the stereotypical IT professional image can also boost your appeal to potential employees.
4. Modernise the Way You Post Jobs
It can be surprising to learn how many high-tech companies still rely on old-school job posting methods. Manually posting job listings on multiple platforms is expensive, slow, and ineffective. Consider leveraging the power of programmatic recruitment solutions that empower you to reach a broader pool of qualified candidates without increasing the cost per applicant. Programmatic platforms can post your ad across a vast network of sites and then optimise spend based on individual ads’ performance on each site.
Tackle the Digital Skills Gap with Hirematic
The Hirematic recruitment platform combines the power and reach of AI with the knowledge and experience of our human recruitment experts to help Europe’s tech recruiting teams address the shortage of labour. Our programmatic solution helped Amazon save nearly $1 million in recruitment costs while attracting over 16,000 applicants in just 16 weeks. Discover how our pay-per-application model could work for you. Contact us with your questions or to request a free demonstration.
