IT sector experiences rapid growth in Midlands

Forecast to be the largest growth area in 2022, the IT sector is absolutely dominating the current hiring landscape in the Midlands.

According to the research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), IT vacancies surged to nearly 16,000 so far this year, with available jobs rising from 22.5% in 2019 to 23.5% in 2022 (so far).

The APSCo report, using data provided by Vacancysoft, states that this could be explained by the government’s plans to boost digital skills, particularly in regions outside of London, with an investment of £100 million going to West Midlands, Glasgow and Greater Manchester between 2022/23 and 2024/5.

The aim of this is to make these regions globally competitive centres for research and innovation.

The data also shows a surge in engineering vacancies – 2021 saw an increase of 258% resulting in the share of engineering roles growing from 3.96% in 2019 to 8.8% last year.

Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo, commented, “As the largest regional economy in the UK outside London, it’s encouraging to see that professional vacancies in IT and Engineering have surged across the Midlands. Despite this, we can’t ignore the fact that the UK’s labour market is reaching breaking point. In recent months, we’ve seen record-breaking vacancy numbers reported by the ONS and the first-ever instance where there are more jobs than people out of work.

“With this in mind, the region, alongside the rest of the UK, will only truly recover when the country’s policymakers implement an internationally viable approach to boosting the UK’s access to skills. This includes creating an attractive entry route into the country for highly skilled self-employed professionals and refocusing international trade deals on skills, the workforce and the mutual recognition of services and professional qualifications.”

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