From cybersecurity to videogames, the skills shortage in the UK is being felt across a range of technology sectors, including our own. Gartner expects that demand for tech talent will "greatly outstrip supply" until at least 2026 based on forecast IT spend, and a new report from Opengear featured in the news this issue has found that 74% of UK CIO's believe a shortfall in network engineers has led to an inability to manage networks. The Opengear research also highlights that it's not just a lack of young talent entering the industry causing the shortage, with 61% of UK-based CIOs expecting at least 25% of their network engineers to retire in the next five years.

One way to address the skills gap is to look for support from managed service providers, according to Mark Appleton, Chief Customer Officer at ALSO Cloud UK "The rising demand for highly skilled individuals in the technology sector has prompted a shift in how companies should find and work with talent. For the modern hiring landscape, the goal should be to find sustainable ways of filling gaps by strategically sourcing skilled talent. Collaboration with MSPs is one answer to overcoming the skills gap that currently not enough companies are capitalising upon. Utilising this existing relationship for access to talent allows small to large businesses to explore new avenues and revenue streams without risking their own operations.

"Additionally, trusting in the expertise of service providers who have retained and fought for the right skills and quality of talent means that partnered companies can avoid falling behind, gaining all of the benefits without fighting the battle against other competitors."

And of course technology solutions and strategies like the ones featured in this issue will themselves play an important role in alleviating the tech skills shortage challenge. We're not quite ready to ask Bing AI to fill in that particular gap just yet...

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