Talent Shortages Blight Digital Sector

After lots of conversations with candidates and employers using Chinwag Jobs during 2007, it appeared that a dearth of high calibre candidates was causing headaches to many companies across the digital media sector. To get a fuller picture of the situation, the Chinwag Jobs Digital Skills Survey 2007 was undertaken in December 2007 and with over 200 respondents, a clearer view emerged.

Today, the full results of the survey are published on the Chinwag.com website and as a PDF (registration required, but it's free):

• Web version (handy for copying and pasting) - click here
• PDF version 2.5Mb (for downloading and easy printing) - click here

Some slightly ominous snippets to whet the appetite:

"97% of respondents found it either difficult or impossible to attract suitably qualified digital staff for their businesses, with three quarters (76%) reporting problems persuading staff to stick around once employed.

The most worrying finding, however, was that the dearth of candidates is hindering growth in 2008. Over half (57%) of respondents reported that the digital skills shortage had impeded the growth of their business in 2007, with 85% of companies expressing concern that the shortage would continue to have a negative impact on their business’ growth this year.

When it comes to remuneration, the research uncovered a climate ripe for ‘wage inflation’, as the law of supply and demand forces companies to pay for people with pedigree. Three quarters of businesses revealed plans to increase the salaries of digital staff in 2008, although the companies having the most difficulty attracting staff were also the least likely to raise wages."

 

The full details are available online. If you have comments, feel free to add them here, or over on the Chinwag Jobs blog. If you have any other enquiries, contact:

Sam Michel - sam-at-chinwag.com
Tel: +44 (0)870 730 7313.