Affects of Brexit on UK IT job market

thehappyone

Any thoughts on the matter.

In my experience, I've seen a sizeable amount of Europeans in the IT field. A lot of the high skilled software jobs are done by southern Europeans (Portuguese/Spanish/Italian) and a lot of the networking/tellecommunications are done by East Europeans.

As it stands, the only IT job role that is a shortage in the UK and will qualify for a work visa is software engineer that specialises in 2D/3D animation.

I know it will all depend on what Mrs May agrees with the EU, but what do you think is likely to happen. More jobs for the locals, less, stays the same.

GSXR750K2

Tough to say. I'm in the U.S. but watched the referendum on BBC with interest. A couple of recent articles from The Guardian and Business Insider are painting some complicated and even conflicting pictures of things.

First, PM May has said she won't invoke Article 50 this year. So the earliest you'd be looking at an actual EU departure is January 2019. Second, there are some actions in the courts arguing that only Parliament can invoke the article and not the PM, so May might not have any actual weight behind the initiation of the measure, but Cameron's farewell speech indicated the exact opposite, so add the time it'll take to get through all of the legal challenges. Third, the vote wasn't legally binding anyway, so there is no mandate or requirement on the British government to actually leave the EU, which could make the whole deal tantamount to civil disobedience against Brussels.

When it happens, and if it actually ever happens, I don't see Britain favoring as well as they'd like in the short term. It has essentially quit a job with a group of powerful people to go out on its own but will still want the perks of the former job. In the long run, I think the absence of Britain as an area of employment will be noticed and amended agreements will take place that will allow Britain to have a reduced seat back at the table.

Sources:
Brexit: Bookmakers think Article 50 will never be triggered - Business Insider
Theresa May does not intend to trigger article 50 this year, court told | Politics | The Guardian

I'm not looking to debate...at this point it's all opinion and speculation, so no sense getting worked up about it.

beads

@thehappyone;

I think your asking the right question but one quarter too early to tell. Allow me to explain below.

Ironically I think its going to depend a bit on how nationalistic the UK exhibits toward foreign nationals and how much reliance on outsourcing occurs going forward. In other words a very complex sticky wicket. The first obstacle will be what the BoE does on Thursday's decision on interest rates and this next quarter's growth or contraction. Indications are for a very small, like .2, contraction. From there you'll be able to get a better handle as to where the economy is really going to be headed. Unfortunately, today, like everyone else we just don't have a good handle on what is happening with either the Euro zone nor UK economies for the time being. The US economy was held up by the American consumer last quarter but don't expect that to continue through the election season.

I'll avoid the politics of the conversation from there.

Sure the Economist has all the answers already, they always do but I haven't picked up an issue in two weeks. Still on my reading pile.

- b/eads

chickenlicken09

thehappyone wrote: »

Any thoughts on the matter.

In my experience, I've seen a sizeable amount of Europeans in the IT field. A lot of the high skilled software jobs are done by southern Europeans (Portuguese/Spanish/Italian) and a lot of the networking/tellecommunications are done by East Europeans.

As it stands, the only IT job role that is a shortage in the UK and will qualify for a work visa is software engineer that specialises in 2D/3D animation.

I know it will all depend on what Mrs May agrees with the EU, but what do you think is likely to happen. More jobs for the locals, less, stays the same.

what part of the UK are you in, I'm relocating to Edinburgh myself soon so just curious.

thehappyone

eddo1 wrote: »

what part of the UK are you in, I'm relocating to Edinburgh myself soon so just curious.

London. Good luck going beyond the wall.

Appreciate your thoughts guys.

UncleB

I had a long chat about just this subject with 2 agents this week, one from Michael Page (ie a big agency) and one from a more specialist public sector supplier.

Both agreed that jobs are a bit in short supply at this time of year anyway (still summer holiday season) but they have found a lot of their clients are cancelling or deferring projects because of the uncertainty.

I've certainly seen a big difference on Jobserve from when I was last looking 4 months ago - probably half as many jobs and most of those look like they are not actually jobs but a phone number harvesting exercise for PPI / accident claim calls.

I've just had a long extension to my contract so can sit this one out but I feel sorry for those looking for work now.

thanks
Iain

chickenlicken09

anyone working i.t in Edinburgh?

si20

I was a big advocate for leaving the EU and i'm glad we did. Personally, I strongly believe that in the long run (5, 10, 15+ years) we'll start seeing more young people learning about technology and our IT industry will continue to grow, creating more jobs in the country. I don't believe for one second that leaving the EU will have a negative impact on the IT industry. Like the NHS, we need to start building 'home grown' talent and stop importing it. We can't continually import talent because it's not sustainable. When does it stop? We need to develop our youth and ensure that they get the best start in life, along with a world class education and we can put their talent to good use.

UncleB

si20 wrote: »

I strongly believe that in the long run (5, 10, 15+ years) we'll start seeing more young people learning about technology and our IT industry will continue to grow.

I've been involved in recruiting and training IT apprentices for a couple of companies over the last few years as well as developing junior talent and it has been an eye opener.

It may just be a feature of tweenagers but I've found they suffer from a very millennial issue of an incredibly short attention span, a need for instant gratification and a belief that the company should be grateful to have them.

Interviewing 17-21 year olds is an interesting challenge - there is rarely a hunger for the job, technology the company uses or anything other than an expectation I will hire them, magically insert skills without them having to make any effort while they work 10am-4pm and treat them like the new messiahs. Some can barely speak at interview (stoned candidates are not uncommon), some freeze and can barely get an answer out and some just tell me their mum made them come to the interview.

Out of some 60 odd candidates I've worked with 8 and only 2 have shown promise, but they lack the attention span to do a training course (the mobile phone comes out every few mins).

To rely of this age group as the future of our industry is a bloody big leap of faith. I'm trying to make it but the results are not what I hoped to see.

I wonder if I was this rubbish when I was fresh out of university?

thanks
Iain

OctalDump

UncleB wrote: »

It may just be a feature of tweenagers but I've found they suffer from a very millennial issue of an incredibly short attention span, a need for instant gratification and a belief that the company should be grateful to have them.

It was ever thus.

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."

Socrates, 5th Century BC.

So, yeah, you (and me and most others) probably were 'this rubbish' when fresh out of university. I think this is why employers love "experienced" employees - someone else has endured the early years of shaping them into workers. But the longer I study/train/work, the more I am thinking that the apprenticeship like system (which was the norm for all trades for centuries), is probably the best way to train up people for work. The downside is that it's harder to get a well rounded education for life when you start work at 14 or 15, and focus narrowly on one area.

As for Brexit, the only certainty at the moment is uncertainty. I think that the likely outcome will actually be something not very much different from the present system. The UK will still have significant trade links to the EU - so will have to negotiate mostly on their terms. The will still want to stay relevant, and the City isn't going to want to lose its global position, so will insist on measures needed to keep them relevant.

And then there's other treaties like the TTIP which will contain their own set of compromises.

So in short, some period of uncertainty, a deal which looks like the status quo but with some minor window dressing, and then everything continues largely as is.