Latest Blog entries in Startup Recruitment

Migration Advisory Committee Report Implications For Tech Talent

A recent report ‘EEA Migration in the UK’ published by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) recommended that there should be no preferential access to the UK for EU citizens post Brexit.

The report was commissioned to provide evidence for the design of a new migration system and found that there is evidence that immigration has, on average, a positive impact on productivity; some evidence that this impact is larger for high-skilled migrants than lower-skilled migrants and that high-skilled immigrants increase innovation.

London is Home to More Software Developers than any other European City

The UK is no longer the top European destination for foreign workers - results from the Decoding Global Talent 2018 report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network have shown. Germany has replaced it as the European country most job seekers would consider moving to and Germany is now the second most popular work destination worldwide, behind the US.

The report is based on a survey of 366,000 workers, in 197 countries, on job preferences and mobility. The report shows that in 2014 the UK was the second most attractive country for a global workforce (ranked by the percentage of respondents willing to move to each country for work). Since then there has been a decline and the 2018 survey shows that the UK has dropped to 5th place behind the US, Germany, Canada and Australia. Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy and Japan are in 6th to 10th place respectively.

The Future of Software Testing and Code Analysis

Today the role of software testers is changing and they are increasingly required to work more closely with developers and to learn more programming.

The future of software testing is using AI for automatic test generation. New software coding tools are being developed using AI, mathematical modelling and source code analysis techniques to automate software development and automatically generate unit tests. These tools will speed up the whole software development process and produce better quality code. The next generation of software testers will need to understand these new code analysis tools.

Let’s explore the future of code analysis itself.  Indeed, does it have a future at all? Perhaps programming languages will progress so far that code will unambiguously express the intentions of the programmer; components will be assembled on a trial-and-error basis; and fault-tolerance mechanisms will make up for any problems that arise at runtime due to errors in components or in their composition. 

AI Voice Assistants in the Smart Home and Office

The battle now raging between the big technology companies for consumer cash is focused on Smart Speakers with integrated AI voice assistants. Having already conquered the pocket with the ubiquitous smartphone, big tech has been struggling to come up with the next must-have gadget that will open up a potentially lucrative new market - the home.

A pilot light was lit when Amazon’s Echo launched in 2014 and became a sleeper hit. The Echo is first a wireless speaker but is capable of much more and is now in its second generation with several variations available. Using nothing but the sound of your voice, the assistant uses natural language processing to play music, search the web, create to-do and shopping lists, shop online, get weather reports and dim your lights —all while your smartphone stays in your pocket.

AI’s Impact on UK Jobs In The Future #2

The CBI is calling on the government to establish a joint commission tasked with examining the impact of AI on people and jobs across all sectors of the UK economy.

Based on research it conducted into the way that technology is changing the way we live and work, the CBI said recently that it had identified three technologies - AI, Blockchain and the Internet of Things - that are set to move from the fringes to the mainstream within the next five years.

However, it also found, that only a third of businesses currently have the skills and capabilities needed to adopt AI technologies, and that more needs to be done to help prepare those companies for the future.

UK Tech Start-up Landscape - Autumn 2017

Not only has the decision to leave the European Union not dented London’s start-up scene, it seems to have actually widened its lead as Europe’s leading fundraising destination.

According to a report from CB Insights, U.K. start-ups attracted $3.02 billion in venture capital in the third quarter. That’s a bit below the peak reached in Q4 2016, when U.K. start-ups attracted $3.5 billion.  But it’s more than triple the amount raised one year ago, and the third straight quarter-over-quarter increase.  The positive results were driven by six companies that raised rounds larger than $100 million in the quarter. 

Artificial Intelligence Startups Are Booming In The UK

AI is more than a trend in investment activity. Uniquely, AI is a sub-sector of technology which is set for a development surge as technologies associated with AI advance and the reliance on AI products for businesses across all sectors to stay competitive grows.

This is already happening according to Forbes.  A Narrative Science survey found last year that 38% of enterprises are already using AI, growing to 62% by 2018. Forrester Research predicted a greater than 300% increase in investment in artificial intelligence in 2017 compared with 2016. IDC estimated that the AI market will grow from $8 billion in 2016 to more than $47 billion in 2020.

2016 A Record Breaking Year for Europe’s Tech Startups

Europe is expected to hit $13.6 billion in tech investments in 2016, up from $12.6 billion in 2015, as newer technology hubs crop up outside traditional capital centres, according to a report produced by venture capital firm Atomico released at the Slush startup conference in Helsinki this week.

The report suggests Munich, Zurich, Lisbon, Madrid, and Copenhagen will be ones to watch over the coming years. Paris is starting to seriously challenge London and Berlin in terms of the number of VC-financed deals and deal volume.

Richard Wheeler Associates: Now is the Time to Partner with a Consultancy

RWA is open and is a firm with ideas - with new hiring options and tailored recruitment solutions to complement what you already do. 

Are your current recruitment strategies delivering the results your business needs? Or fast enough? We recognise that hiring post BREXIT is harder for tech businesses, especially those located outside London. Hiring has not been put on hold and job advertising activity has not reduced. 

M4 Corridor Digital Tech Clusters Lead The Way Outside London

According to the Tech Nation 2016 report, the Reading and Bracknell tech cluster is now the country’s largest cluster of digital businesses outside London. The area around these two towns is the home of digital businesses which contribute about £10bn in annual turnover to the British tech economy.

Start-Ups Want To Stay In The EU

The EU referendum date has been announced and will take place on Thursday 23rd June. So, for the next four months the debate over whether the UK should remain in, or leave, the European Union will dominate.

A survey published this week shows that the majority of UK start-ups want us to stay in the EU.

Startup Recruitment - Sponsorship

It is paramount for startups to hire talented people who want to work hard to build something from the ground up. However, the costs of sourcing and hiring a Developer or Software Engineer in the UK, especially in London, can be high, so many founders end up outsourcing the work to remote contractors based offshore.

Startups can look to India, Spain, China or many remote locations to get a job done but that doesn’t replace an in-house team of Permanent hires with a shared vision for the longer term.

Digital Business Growth - the Thames Valley vs London Tech Clusters

The digital economy in the UK is thriving. The UK-wide nature of the industry was supported by the Tech Nation research report from Tech City UK - the agency originally created by the government to promote the east London tech cluster but which now promotes tech business growth UK-wide.

Using data from fast-rising digital businesses like Duedil and Adzuna, the Tech Nation 2015 report predicts that digital job growth will outperform all other occupation categories by 2020 - with digital employment itself set to grow by 5.4% by 2020.

Women in IT Careers - The Gender Gap

The UK faces a worsening gender gap in its flourishing IT industry, according to a new study.

The Women in IT scorecard looked at gender trends from secondary education through to the work place.

It indicates women account for just 16% of the UK IT workforce.  And the problem starts early - despite consistently out-performing boys in computing A-level results, girls account for just 6.5% of those taking the exam.

Startups: Offline Networking vs Digital Marketing

Over the last five years Britain has succeeded in establishing itself as one of the world's leaders in tech innovation. Whether it's government support of small startups, or the huge array of brands emerging from Old Street and Silicon Roundabout; Britain is nurturing startups to become big successes.

10 Advantages of Working for a Tech Start-up

Start-ups are unable to compete with the tech giants on material benefits and need to emphasise their unique advantages to attract top talent.

There are many benefits for candidates to joining a tech start-up.  These are RWA’s top 10:

Investment and Skill Shortages Hinder Tech City Growth

Funding and skill shortages could halt the future development of London’s Tech City area in East London, a new report has warned.

Tech City is the name used to describe the Old Street roundabout area in East London, which – in recent years – has been called home by a growing number of tech giants and startups.

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