Just 22 percent of techies in UK aged 50 or older, says Chartered Institute for IT
- Reference: 1669887013
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/12/01/just_one_in_five_techies/
- Source link:
This is according to [1]research by the British Computer Society (BCS), which reckons just 22 percent (413,000) of the 1.9 million IT specialists in the local industry are at or past the half century mark.
To fall in line with the average number of 50 year olds or older across all other employment areas (561,000) in the UK, an additional 148,000 people in that grouping are needed in the tech sector, the BCS claimed, basing its finding on data provided by the Office for National Statistics.
[2]
'We can only achieve the government's ambition for the UK to be the 'next Silicon Valley' by closing the digital skills gap and making this vital profession attractive to a far broader range of people," said Rashik Parmar MBE, CEO of the BCS.
[3]
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For those not aware, the UK government's latest harebrained scheme, outlined in the Autumn statement by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, is to convert the island nation into "the next Silicon Valley". Sounds plausible? Oven-baked plan? No, we didn't think so either.
The age factor was most pronounced in the north-east of the UK where just one in eight programmers/developers was 50 or over, the research found – but didn't state why.
[5]
In 2021, there were an estimated 13,000 unemployed IT specialists that have reached the semi-century. This equated to an unemployment rate of 3.1 per cent compared to 1.5 percent aged 16 to 49, said the BCS. Older techies still in employment are more likely to be self-employed than their younger counterparts and also more likely to be working part time, it added.
[6]Bias toward office staff will cost you: Your WFH crew could walk, say execs
[7]Bad news, older tech workers: Job advert language works against you
[8]Apple exec sues over 'ageist' removal of $800k stock bonus
[9]Dinobabies latest: IBM settles with widow of exec who killed himself after layoff
[10]America's chip land has another potential shortage: Electronics engineers
[11]IBM ordered to hand over ex-CEO emails plotting cuts in older workers
In terms of qualifications, the older IT crowd is less likely to have higher education qualifications – 64 percent versus 84 percent among those aged 16 to 49. And nine percent are likely to have an IT degree compared to 12 percent among the more youthful grouping.
The median hourly wage for older techies is £25, which is 14 percent higher than for IT specialists as a whole.
"Information technology changes lives," said Parmar, "yet employers are struggling to find workers with the right digital skills. The figure for over 50s working in IT is significantly lower than in other sectors."
"This is clearly costing the economy and society, given how computing is woven into everyday life," he added. "The message must be that you can become an ethical, trusted and highly competent tech professional no matter what your background or age."
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As an aside, Parmar, who joined BCS in August, was formerly a fellow and vice president of technology at IBM – a company that has itself received some criticism in recent years for letting go a wave of mature, experienced techies. A number brought [13]age discrimination cases , some of which have been settled.
According to research in October, the cost of living crisis is [14]forcing retirees to come back to the office to top up their pension and manage household bills. Yet in tech, jobs are relatively well paid and so IT engineers that decided to retire are unlikely to return, global recruitment agency Robert Walters told us.
The agency added that getting back into tech wasn't necessarily an easy move to make, as retirees might have missed out on qualifications and exposure to evolving technology.
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.bcs.org/policy-and-influence/diversity-and-inclusion/bcs-diversity-report-2022-age/age-key-findings/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y4iJTQk5APCT3-xE9voc2QAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y4iJTQk5APCT3-xE9voc2QAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y4iJTQk5APCT3-xE9voc2QAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y4iJTQk5APCT3-xE9voc2QAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/21/proximity_bias_workforce_productivity/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/02/ageist_job_ads/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/29/apple_age_discrimination/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/16/ibm_dinobabies_case_settled/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/08/semiconductor_engineer_shortage/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/13/ibm_discrimination_email/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y4iJTQk5APCT3-xE9voc2QAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/04/ibm_settles_more_discrimination_claims/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/07/retirees_cost_of_living/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Got 3 here
How old are the other 1000 employees?
Re: Got 3 here
In the range 4...8 to keep the average at early mid twenties.
Blame the management
Who want to hire young folk who they know they can exploit and pay less. I asked in last place about getting developers in for the new software they had "Its fine, we'll just use interns" all because they know they can pay them peanuts. I don't know of any 50 year old intern.
And then you have:
"'We can only achieve the government's ambition for the UK to be the 'next Silicon Valley' by closing the digital skills gap and making this vital profession attractive to a far broader range of people," said Rashik Parmar MBE, CEO of the BCS."
Ironic that he came from IBM the company that has been repeatedly sued for getting rid of older employees. I'm not claiming he had anything to do with that but that its just ironic.
What I dislike about most articles in IT is there is always a CEO, Director blah blah spouting shit for self serving purposes. I never see comments from the local desktop engineer that happens to have a great idea but can't get to the director level due to not wanting to kiss arse.
hmmmm
The disparity in age profile might have something to do with an attitude in HR/Mahogany row that, apparently, "they can't adapt to new technology"
The 50somethings have grown up with the internet as it expanded from its Darpa beginnings through dial up modems, ADSL in all its forms right through to FTTP; often they cut their teeth self assembling a ZX80 or 81 (OK or Altair, or Acorn Atom or Acorn System 1 or a Reasearch Machines 380Z - you know what I mean!) from a kit of parts; they know the excitement involved in opening the back of a VAX 11/750 whilst it is running and not welding themselves to the exposed 48V(?) DC high current rails; they have coaxed Novell Netware into playing nicely with Windows. They have made Windows 3.11 use TCPIP over a dial up connction and probably have several old machines, in semi-working order, propping up books which describe the fundamentals of networking, programming and hardware design.
Startlingly - to Mahogany row/HR - oldies may also have any or all of a Chromebook, a Nintendo Switch, a PS3, 4 and 5, a smart phone (either Android or Apple or both), a gaming PC that melts the electricity meter when running at full chat, WiFi controlled light switches, remote door bells and networked CCTV and a car that pretends it can drive itself...
Oldies tend know how it all works behind the scenes and have spent a lifetime adapting to new technology - why should being 50+ suddenly mean you are incapable of learning new technology? often you have an advatage because you actually do know how the now hidden parts work - back in the day things never JustWorked(tm).
Anyway - cos its the 1st of December, and I seem to have been ranting, have a pint
Re: hmmmm
Two roots possibly showing from this post and the article.
1) The median hourly wage for older techies is £25, which is 14 percent higher than for IT specialists as a whole. and
2) As says 42656e.... says Oldies tend know how it all works behind the scenes
IOW older employees cost a bit more and can't be manipulated. I'd also hazard a guess that this== not being too ready to jump unquestioningly into the latest new fad. The last thing managements ( in any field or profession) want is the old hand who can say "Yes but.." and shoot down a dumb idea. Especially in areas like IT and education where promotion comes from launching something new then buggering off before the waste matter impacts on the air moving device.
Re: hmmmm
Where do you know me from? And how do you know my car pretends it can drive itself? And to update, I have now powered off most of my computer farm, leaving only the essentials, in order to give the electric meter some breathing chance...
The solar panels on the roof do help with this a bit...
Other factors may include
"can't earn more unless you become a manager syndrome".
No good post made available after the latest reorganisation - always tempting to eliminate senior posts rather than junior ones to save money
But in my own case I dipped out of full time in IT at the first reorganisation after early retirement came available. I thought I was burned out through stress, but on reflection I realise that a lot of the stress was from coming last in a corporate backstabbing competition I didn't know I had been entered in. Hard to win one if you're not holding a knife.
I think it's also the case that mature techies who have seen a lot of management fads come, fail to deliver and go may be regarded as not 'having a can do attitude' when it comes to the next fad.
I think it's also the case that mature techies who have seen a lot of management fads come, fail to deliver and go may be regarded as not 'having a can do attitude' when it comes to the next fad.
I think you're probably onto something there: I retired last week (aged 53) mostly due to the idiotic ideas of new CEO who knows exactly what he wants, but has no idea of what it actually means, or how it would work for the company. When the option of early retirement came up I jumped at it.
What do we expect?
I am not a statistician, but if the age range in employment is, say, twenty to sixty, then one might expect oh, a quarter in each ten year quartile, no? Probably with some lift at the younger end. So 22% instead of 25% in the top quartile is hardly headline figures...
Not that I'm in any way opposed to employing older engineers - after all, I am one (and the company I retired from asked me to continue working for them in retirement).
Tick-box recruitment not helping!
HNC qualified Electronics Engineer and licensed Radio Amateur Gen-Xer who hit 50 this year - and as previously commented, yes, played with ZX81, BBC B, DOS, Xenix, Win 3.11, Netware, Token Ring, NT 4.0, Linux, and on. Achieved CITP status back in 2007 and still having to explain it to companies and recruiters! Currently stuck in a horrid two-bit company on rubbish wages with rubbish hours (40/week) as it was the only place that would employ me after the lack of a job during lockdown (hence anon). I am desperately trying to find something better and losing the will to live doing so - and starting to suspect my age, and perfect face for radio is working against me! Too many tick boxes to check off with employers who are still trying to find Unicorns; and too many incorrect assumptions. Oh, you have Linux skills - here are 50 DevOps and coding jobs! You live next to the East Coast Mainline - here are 50 jobs paying peanuts that expect you in the office in London 5 days a week. We are looking for someone with MCSE/CCNA/VMware certification, and we are going to keep looking even if this role goes un-filled for a year!
I suspect many El Reg readers in the UK have experienced the same crap as I have. "It's a role in Cambridge." No, it is Waterbeach, or the Granta Business Park, which are no-where near. "This Cambridge company believes in everyone using public transport and cycling to work. You can get there on the train!" The train where I live gets to London quicker than it gets to Cambridge. "Must have 20 years experience of $CLOUD" because the bean-couters have decided to throw-away all of the on-prem kit that people like me have spent years perfecting. A first-line oik is capable of ticking some boxes in a browser. Why should we pay for a Senior SysAdmin? We just need a dumb router to issue DHCP and DNS!
If I could afford to retire, or drop out of IT back into my original skill of Electronics Engineering, I would!
Re: Tick-box recruitment not helping!
I was lucky last year as a local place was looking for a principal EE and they didn't mind the slightly older engineer (I cut my teeth on a beeb) and also with a face for radio. They wanted someone who they could point at a problem and say 'go do' and it would get done. The stars aligned at just the right time.
The situation in IT is pretty horrific and yes they would rather let a position sit empty due to the completely stupid job requirements than get someone who knows most of what they want.
Pray tell how they got this information
Really did they survey all the HR departments of all IT companies, me thinks this is a stick your finger in the air and guess job.
Got 3 here
mid 70s, low 60s, high 50s.
High 50s is the main developer for our current software.