Skills-first talent management: Driving equal access to opportunity in tech

In today’s rapidly evolving employment landscape, the necessity for equal representation in the workforce has never been more pressing. Studies demonstrate time and time again that top performing teams all have one thing in common – diversity of thought. And yet, the traditional hiring approach of the technology sector is hindering the UK’s efforts to combat its digital skills crisis and diversify the tech workforce.

For too long, we’ve placed enormous value on the CV, using what school someone went to and their most recent role as predictors for what they’re capable of. As a result, talented people who don’t fit the usual mould are being locked out of the tech workforce and existing employees are becoming trapped in siloed functions without opportunities to grow. Beyond the impact this has on individuals, it leads to a less diverse and inclusive digital economy and a workforce that doesn’t reflect the customer base it ultimately serves.

Whether it’s women who have stepped away from the workforce to raise children, neurodivergent individuals who struggle with high-pressure interview formats, veterans transitioning out of the military, or older people looking to make a career change, there are huge numbers of talented individuals who are being overlooked despite having a wealth of soft, technical and transferable skills that can greatly benefit any organisation.

What’s needed is a shift in the way we view talent, a rewriting of the recruitment rules, to see people valued based on their skills and potential, rather than their work history.

The growing trend towards skills-based employment has emerged as a scalable and impactful way for organisations in defence, government and private enterprise to expand the UK’s tech talent pool while enabling people to realise their full potential.

What does skills-based hiring mean?

Rather than relying on someone’s past roles, a skills-based hiring approach uses data to look at the whole person, evaluating their current competencies, aptitude for learning, and potential to acquire new skills. This enables organisations to place equal value on both technical skills and soft skills like problem-solving, effective communication and leadership, regardless of how or where they were learned. A skills-based approach also recognises that while soft skills can be hard to find, technical skills can be trained.

Hire on soft skills and train for technical gaps

Armed with insight into a candidate’s potential, organisations can shift their hiring mindset to focus on finding people with the soft skills needed to succeed in a role, then training them up on the technical side. With jobs distilled down to their core skill requirements, technical gaps are clearly defined and with the right training, easily addressed. Upskilling pathways for new hires and existing employees can be targeted at building specific digital skill sets or broader business capabilities, aligned with strategic goals.

By identifying, hiring and training workforces this way, organisations gain access to larger and more diverse talent pools, while making a valuable contribution to levelling up the nation’s tech workforce. Moreover, they demonstrate their ability to be agile and capable of rapidly building workforce capability to meet customer needs.

If implemented at scale across the public and private sector, a skills-based employment model can deliver resounding benefits for the UK’s digital economy, fostering increased equal access to opportunity and empowering individuals from all backgrounds to pursue fulfilling careers in tech.

As the sector evolves, it is important to reevaluate traditional practices and embrace innovative approaches that promote diversity and inclusion. If we don’t, we’ll be doing ourselves and society a disservice.