Survey highlights capital’s tech talent shortage

One in three London startups suffer from shortage in technology talent, according to a new survey.

Dubbed Europe’s ‘digital capital’, there are now more than 187,000 tech companies in London that employ 1.2 million people and have a combined turnover of £285 billion. The exponential growth of London’s tech sector has largely been driven by an influx of new startups – it is reported that a new tech business is formed every hour in the city.

Despite this, new research by Studio Graphene and City Road Communications has shown that a large proportion of London’s tech startups are now being held back by a lack of skilled technology workers in the capital.

The May 2018 survey among more than 100 founders of London tech start-ups found that a third of the founders believe there is a shortage of skilled tech workers in London and 30% also say their growth has been hampered as a result of them not being able to hire the right employees.

As well as there being a dearth of people with the right skills, struggles to find people who can embrace the startup culture was cited as another issue. Two fifths (39%) of founders of London tech businesses say it is hard to find people who have the right mind-set and work ethic to be employed in a startup. Furthermore, 35% state that it is hard for startups to lure the best talent away from larger companies

Elsewhere, 11% of London tech startups say UK immigration and visa laws have prevented them from hiring the individuals they wanted.

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