Just over a third of UK business leaders plan to seek specialist technology talent from outside the UK, to effectively achieve their digital transformation strategies.
Almost 60% of organisations have committed to carrying out digital transformation over the next year and believe outside skills are vital to success.
On average the cost of skills to support businesses digital transformation processes is 31% higher than skills on other IT projects, according to a survey conducted by Interoute.
Many organisations plan to carry out digital transformation programmes in order to remain competitive in their respective industries and enable them to adapt and work effectively in the digital age. However, just under half of those surveyed believe there is a skills shortage problem that could hinder the process.
42% of workers don’t have a UK passport leaving a large skills gap post Brexit.
Over three quarters of businesses outline that restrictions on hiring workers would directly impact their projects, with just under half claiming restrictive hiring laws would push their projects back by sixth months.
Therefore, despite 96% of IT leaders agreeing the average pay for professionals with digital transformation expertise is significantly higher it would be worth it to carry out the project quickly and efficiently.
With Brexit on the horizon, many businesses worry that the skills shortage will be further enhanced as 42% of employees currently working on digital transformation projects don’t have a UK passport. As a result, it could lead to loss of skills in workplaces and restrict the talent businesses can recruit due to border restrictions.
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Mark Lewis, EVP Products & Development at Interoute, said: “Businesses are relying on digital transformation projects to deliver their long-term future success in a changing world. Faced with a short supply and higher cost base for digital skills, organisations are not just looking at ways to access more talent, but also looking to focus that talent on the specific technology that differentiates their business.”
As a result of potential Brexit implications, over 40% of businesses have set an objective to enhance employee experience across the workforce using social and digital techniques to allow employees to work better together and more efficiently.
Read More: UK CIOs face IT skills shortage as candidates fail to live up to expectations
Introducing these digital techniques will allow workers to connect with each other and share their skills and knowledge. Furthermore, 38% of employees are planning on expanding this idea further to a global network. This will allow businesses to use the skills of tech employees outside their physical location to develop digital transformation plans and gain that competitive edge.
By using digital techniques such as social and digital techniques will bring the skills to the UK to existing workers and hopefully close the skills gap.
Interoute’s survey was based on 120 IT leaders in the industry.
