Scotland’s digital economy has never been more vibrant. From the young high-growth start-up scene, to the digital transformation of the global financial institutions and the pioneering new companies emerging from the health care and energy sectors, digital skills are in growing demand.
This growth is compounded by the ongoing digital transformation of every industry. The recognition of data as a core asset of every business and the increasing capabilities of machine learning and artificial intelligence, are helping to drive the fourth industrial revolution.
The reality is that every sector is now a digital sector. The evolution of technology is only going to accelerate and, across the board, demand for digitally skilled people is increasing.
This presents companies in Scotland with a huge challenge and a unique opportunity. As demand for people with technical skills increases, new talent becomes increasingly expensive. One only has to look at Silicon Valley to see how the huge demand – from companies with incredibly deep pockets – can drive competition and salaries to heights unmanageable by any but the global tech giants.
While demand in Scotland has not reached such challenging levels, the need for programmers, data analysts and cyber security specialists (amongst many others) grows.
According to research from ScotlandIS, the trade body for Scotland’s digital industries, the country has almost 13,000 technical vacancies each year.
Supply through the traditional talent pipelines, including Scotland’s excellent universities and the increasingly popular modern apprenticeships programme, cannot fill even 50% of those roles. So where can an ambitious small country turn to find the people it needs to become a more digital society?
Scotland has a pioneer when it comes to helping people gain new digital skills and transform their careers. Established in 2015, CodeClan was created by Skills Development Scotland and ScotlandIS, specifically to help bridge the country’s digital skills gap.
The organisation offers a unique opportunity for people to rapidly gain a new range of digital skills, on top of their existing work experience and soft skills, creating an entirely new way for people to enter the digital industries and to access higher salaries.
Through intensive training programmes, which take only weeks rather than years, CodeClan produces fully-accredited, qualified programmers and data analysts, who can move straight into productive roles across every industry sector.
A growing number of businesses are also now sending existing employees through the CodeClan programmes, in order to retain staff and provide themselves with a more skilled workforce, without the time-consuming expense of recruiting.
With three campuses in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness, an increasingly diverse student body and over 750 employable graduates produced in only three years, CodeClan shows that innovation, agility and creative thinking can help to transform careers and innovate Scotland’s digital economy.
