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A Narrowing Pipeline? What Changes in UK Tech Hiring Might Tell Us about Future Opportunities in the Sector

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Bibliographic Details
Title: A Narrowing Pipeline? What Changes in UK Tech Hiring Might Tell Us about Future Opportunities in the Sector
Language: English
Authors: Luke Bocock, Michael Scott, Sarah Tang, National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (United Kingdom)
Source: National Foundation for Educational Research. 2025.
Availability: National Foundation for Educational Research. The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 2DQ, UK. Tel: +44-1753-574123; Fax: +44-1753-637280; e-mail: enquiries@nfer.ac.uk; Web site: http://www.nfer.ac.uk
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: The Hg Foundation
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Employment Opportunities, Foreign Countries, Job Skills, Employment Qualifications, Advertising, Personnel Selection, Technology, Programming, Computer Software, Professional Personnel, Data Science, Information Technology, Design, Data Analysis, Technical Occupations, Engineering, Labor Market, Web Sites
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
ISBN: 978-1-916567-27-6
Abstract: In the UK, there has been significant growth in the number of workers in tech occupations. But the skills supply has lagged behind, leading to widespread employer-reported skills shortages. Some groups--especially women and girls, those from certain ethnic communities, and lower socioeconomic background--have less of a chance of accessing tech-related jobs. This is the first of a suite of reports published as part of a research programme into trends in tech hiring, educational pathways into tech, and diversity in the sector. This first report utilises job advertisement data from Adzuna between April 2016 and December 2024 to examine trends in the number and nature of online job adverts for tech roles in the UK. It looks at trends in the volume of job adverts by occupation, and changes in skills and qualification requirements within job adverts. It finds that the number of 'core tech' UK job adverts (e.g., adverts for roles like software developers, information technology [IT] managers and technicians) has declined sharply since early 2022, particularly for software developers and programmers. Skills requirements are also changing, and qualification mentions are becoming more prevalent.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED679710
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:In the UK, there has been significant growth in the number of workers in tech occupations. But the skills supply has lagged behind, leading to widespread employer-reported skills shortages. Some groups--especially women and girls, those from certain ethnic communities, and lower socioeconomic background--have less of a chance of accessing tech-related jobs. This is the first of a suite of reports published as part of a research programme into trends in tech hiring, educational pathways into tech, and diversity in the sector. This first report utilises job advertisement data from Adzuna between April 2016 and December 2024 to examine trends in the number and nature of online job adverts for tech roles in the UK. It looks at trends in the volume of job adverts by occupation, and changes in skills and qualification requirements within job adverts. It finds that the number of 'core tech' UK job adverts (e.g., adverts for roles like software developers, information technology [IT] managers and technicians) has declined sharply since early 2022, particularly for software developers and programmers. Skills requirements are also changing, and qualification mentions are becoming more prevalent.
ISBN:978-1-916567-27-6