UK tech industry defies Brexit woes with growing job vacancies

More UK IT jobs advertised last year than ever before

More than 1.3 million IT jobs were advertised across the UK last year in spite of Brexit concerns, according to CompTIA.

CompTIA research, based on figures from the Office for National Statistics and Burning Glass Labour Insights, found that more IT job positions were on offer last year than ever before - up 10 per cent on 2015.

Kristian Wright, executive council member at CompTIA, said the figure demonstrates the strong state of the UK IT sector, but warned that the skills shortage is making it difficult for smaller organisations to source the right people.

"The extent to which technology skills underpin today's business environment comes as no surprise, with the ever-increasing demand for qualified IT staff endorsing CompTIA's focus on IT education and certification," she said.

"The flip side, however, is that given the wealth of job opportunities out there, SMBs in particular are finding it more difficult to retain skilled staff and attract the new people they need to deliver today's in-demand services - business continuity and security, for example.

Brexit

CompTIA said the high demand from overseas organisations for UK-based IT professionals indicates that foreign companies have not been put off by fears stemming from Brexit.

Of the top 10 companies advertising IT positions in Q4 last year over half were headquartered overseas.

Graham Hunter, vice president of certifications for EMEA at CompTIA, said the strong demand from foreign companies is proof of the UK's innovative tech industry.

"It is also positive to see that Brexit fears are not deterring organisations from the UK market," he said. "Recent announcements, such as Snapchat basing its international headquarters in the UK and Google saying it will create 3,000 new jobs and a new London headquarters, highlight that the UK is seen by companies as a place of technological excellence.

"This will ensure that demand for technology-focused staff continues and will help maintain this impressive growth span in jobs that we are seeing.

"We now need to ensure that the nation is producing enough talent with all the skills and capabilities to fill these rolls, in order to continue this trend and demonstrate the UK's stance as a tech leader."