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Recruitment is a pain-point for the digital industry, but the IoT has the potential to solve this.
That’s the view of Tom Smith, chief executive of Blackpool digital marketing agency Complete, who believes businesses in Lancashire and Cumbria have a responsibility to help nurture the next generation.
He has become a member of the IoT’s digital employer advisory board, joining other businesses to advise the IoT on skills needs in his sector.
“I got involved with the IoT because I can see the value in helping change the landscape – the better the talent coming through, the easier it is for businesses like ours to recruit,” said Tom.
The advisory group meets once a month to discuss how it can shape the digital curriculum to ensure learners leave the IoT with the skills businesses need. One issue, says Tom, is that courses can be too broad, trying to cover too many topics so that learners don’t know enough about one area to work in it.
Another common complaint is that candidates often lack the softer skills needed for the workplace. This is why most IoT courses include training in work-ready skills such as how to behave around the workplace and communication skills. “It’s important that future employees come to businesses like ours with the confidence to put their hand up and ask questions, to be able to speak to clients and to communicate around the workplace,” he said.
Students also benefit from guest speakers from industry, who go in to share their wisdom and advice. Tom goes into the colleges to hold mock interviews to give learners experience before the real thing and he says the fact that he didn’t go to university resonates with many of them. “I got a D in my English GCSE so I retook it in the summer as I knew how vital it would be for my future,” he said. “I started A Levels but then I decided an apprenticeship was more suited to my style of learning. Everyone has a different story and it’s important for learners to hear from people in business to show them that there isn’t one size fits all.”
Working closely with education will ensure businesses like Complete get the future workers they need – and that they stay in the Lancashire and Cumbria area. Recruitment is already an issue, he says, with any vacancies his business posts getting inundated with unsuitable candidates. Nurturing a pool of quality talent within the IoT gives employers a direct route to the employees they need.
“The IoT has the potential to benefit the Lancashire and Cumbria region by bringing through better talent that are more informed about what they want to do,” Tom says. “I’m a doer rather than a thinker and if I can change something why would I not want to be part of it?”