The UK digital jobs market has witnessed a major surge in interest since the outbreak of Covid-19, with businesses facing fierce competition to sign the top talent to drive their data and digital operations.
It has been well documented that businesses across all sectors have had to adapt with speed and agility this year, as the way Brits work, socialise and shop has been turned on its head as a result of the pandemic.
At the beginning of the year, the Government had already outlined that the digital sector was worth more than £400m a day to the UK economy, a figure that will no doubt have increased over the course of 2020 as more and more people have turned to digital services and online shopping.
During the pandemic, retailers have been forced to increase their ecommerce roles to cope with demand, while a recent report from Barclays outlined that 15% of UK companies had created roles specifically to cater to an increase in digital sales.
And specialist recruitment agency Beringer Tame has seen a 100% increase in organisations looking to fill digital roles, compared to this time last year. The firm says the number of digital and ecommerce jobs being advertised has soared, while there has also been an increase in client enquiries, as organisations seek to strengthen their digital teams in order to keep up with consumer demand and competition.
Chief executive Patrick Tame said: “The user experience has become more important than ever before and shoppers are far less likely to forgive slow or unintuitive online services. Organisations have realised that if they are to stand out from the crowd they need to do more to satisfy consumer desire for speed and simplicity.
“The user experience was already seeing a heavy focus placed on digital prior to the pandemic, but this period has really caused all businesses to have a digital awakening.
“We’re therefore seeing a much higher demand for strong digital skills – which aren’t always easily available. When it comes to digital skills, it’s all in the detail and there’s a depth of understanding in exceptional individuals that can be hard to come by.
“Top digital talent is typically already in work or will certainly be snapped up very quickly over the coming months. It’s a great position for those with the right skillset because they’ll have their pick of bunch when it comes to which job to accept or which organisation to join.”
Tame says that demand for junior roles is considerably higher than for senior roles, which, he explains, is similar to the 2009 recession.
He reckons organisations that have been successful throughout the pandemic are those that have been agile to the changing situation and insists it is no surprise firms are creating more junior hires, whose jobs consist of executing tasks that ultimately drive sales.
Tame added: “It is likely that around Easter next year we will see an increase in organisations looking to hire senior digital leadership roles so that they are able to capitalise on the digital improvements made this year and ensure it is part of an ongoing digital transformation strategy.
“With competition for digital skills at an all-time high, organisations looking to bolster their digital offering and hire the best talent should act fast before the competition snaps up all the great candidates.”
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