David Tulip: 'Talent shortage has been real - but things are changing now'

We speak to a channel veteran about his opinion on the talent shortage, the challenges and opportunities it provides

A highly uncertain economic climate, the great resignation and vendor layoffs are changing the talent market in the channel, David Tulip, MD at Technology To Go argued.

"The talent shortage is real! Or it "has been real", perhaps I should say," he claimed.

"Things have changed - a highly uncertain economic climate, we have moved on from the great resignation and are of course now seeing significant tech layoffs, an office-first mandate over remote-first. The power has swung back towards the employer again, it would seem.

"So, the talent shortage may be fading a little, but the secret is still to retain and attract that right people and culture is crucial in all of this.

"As much as the pendulum may have swung back and forth in terms of dynamic, the talent pool is more discerning and looking for balance, many of us (employers and employees) are still trying to find that sweet spot."

Tulip has been working in the channel for over 20 years and at Technology To Go has climbed the ladder from group MSP specialist all the way to becoming managing director in 2019.

He said that the best way to tackle this issue is to start from retaining the good people in a company.

"Develop from within, build academies using apprenticeships or other available programmes. I've long extolled the need to ‘build your own'.

"Hire honestly, you cannot fake culture and by retaining, developing and building you should go a long way to protecting yourself in the current climate."

The talent shortage as an opportunity?

The talent shortage, exacerbated by a spike in AI development and hiring, is one of the most talked-about issues in the channel.

But this year, the picture is even more complicated, with vendor layoffs playing a role in the way that the channel is responding.

David Weeks, VP for partner experience at N-Able, for example, recently told CRN that the talent shortage is an opportunity for MSPs to focus their efforts on automation.

"Automation is integral to their business to drive more efficiencies and more profitability. And I think it's got to be a focus area," he said.

"I think MSPs need to bring on dedicated staff for this and create what I call this culture of automation in the business."

Westcon CEO David Grant, on the other hand, told us earlier this year that the vendor layoffs could be an opportunity to move this talent into the channel.

On this, Tulip said his opinion this isn't as straightforward as some may think.

"It will be for parts of the channel, for SMBs technology service providers/MSPs (our average company will be around £2m revenues and 16 staff) there will normally be a mismatch in terms of salary expectations and seats to fill.

"Without a doubt though, more talent is becoming available and will be able to fill gaps and as said probably shift power dynamic experienced during and since pandemic from employee to employer again."

David Tulip is joining us at as a speaker and advisory board member at Xchange MSP, live in London on 19 October. Click here to find out more.