</Getting a job in tech>
With ever increasing digitisation and new forms of technology popping up each day, this has created a massive new and continuingly evolving industry, with a variety of new roles. Tech employment counted for 6.3% of the UK’s workforce in 2021 with the UK expecting to see the creation of 14,959 technology roles over the next year.
With a growing industry that offers remote and flexible options and higher than average salaries, you can see why many are interested in figuring out how to get into tech.
What qualifications are needed to work in tech?
A common misconception is that you can only break into the tech industry if you have a degree. Yes, a degree in a tech subject can help increase your knowledge and understanding, but it’s not the only way. Below we’ve gone into some of the different ways you can help increase your chances of landing that dream job in tech.
How to get a job in tech:
Work out what the specific role or area of tech you’d like to focus on
First things first, you need to figure out whether you’re interested in becoming a Data Analyst, an AI Architect, or something completely different. Also, which industry it is that you’d like to work in, just because you want a tech role, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to work in the tech industry.
LinkedIn and other job boards are a great place to start, here you can easily see the differing jobs available.
Understand where you have knowledge or skills gaps
It’s important to understand where you have these gaps so you can work out what skills you could do with brushing up on. To help work this out, you could look at Job Descriptions and Role Specifications for jobs that you desire. You could also reach out to friends and family or seek advice from a career’s adviser or teacher.
Upskill or reskill
A variety of universities offer degrees in tech related courses on everything from UX, Computer Science, Machine Learning and so on. However, when it comes to upskilling and reskilling this doesn’t just mean hard skills such as qualifications or your coding ability. This could be soft skills such as teamwork, communication, and time management.
There’s also a number of courses you can do in a much shorter time, we offer a host of Skills Bootcamps that are 16 weeks or less, and are flexible so can be done alongside other commitments and many you can do from the comfort of your own home.
Do an internship to gain relevant experience
Another great way to both help you figure out which topics you’re most interested in, and also gain hands-on experience, is to look for an internship, or even a graduate scheme.
Lots of courses, including our Skills Bootcamps, connect learners to employers to help people take the first steps into their career in tech.
Build up a portfolio
A portfolio can be done in many ways, many people in tech build a website as a portfolio or simply create a presentation with their work in one place. Building a portfolio can be great for many reasons, it can help you in gaining real world practice and also to showcase your skills to potential employers.
Join networking groups
Meeting up with like-minded people is a great way to increase your knowledge and to find out about new opportunities in your area. From breakfast clubs to online meetups and forums, there’s so many ways you can network.
The IoC’s role in helping people get into tech
The Institute of Coding (IoC) is a collaborative national consortium of industry, educators and outreach providers that are working together to respond to the UK’s digital skills gap through the delivery of employer-led digital skills education. Through this collaborative approach, IoC partners have created more than 150 new courses that have engaged 900,000 diverse learners to date.
Take that first step today.