Written by Lesley Holt
It’s a little under a year since UKTIN launched its Talent programme with an effort to illuminate where the sector is at in terms of its talent pipeline, convene key players and collaborate to boost further diversity in engineering roles.
We uncovered impressive track records: the UK telecoms sector has attracted a wealth of talent over the past 20 years and today employs around 200,000 people of which approximately 10,000 are involved in R&D. And areas for improvement.
Not surprisingly, engineering roles are the backbone of the sector but there are challenges around an ageing workforce – around 60% of telecoms engineers are over the age of 50 – and low diversity – women make up only 19% of the entire UK telecoms workforce. In addition, the sector needs to recruit new skills with a particular focus on software, cyber security, cloud and AI as telcos evolve into ‘TechCos'.
The sector is undeniably committed to boosting diversity and attracting new talent but faces a number of barriers – starting with the lack of awareness amongst young people of opportunities in the sector and how to access them through degrees, training and/or apprenticeships.
So we set off to explore how we could help, plugging in across the sector from career beginners to those handing the ladder down. Through our work, we’ve gained a deep understanding of the challenges faced by employers, trainers, and educators across the ecosystem. And how we can surmount those difficulties together.
Over the past 11 months, UKTIN’s bright pink banners have been a regular fixture at careers fairs across the UK. We’ve met with more than 3,000 ambitious youngsters embarking on a new journey, and are supporting the Institute of Telecoms Professionals to develop a telecoms career framework — tracking roles and publishing information sheets to begin, for the first time, to map out what a career in telecoms really looks like. We are working closely with DSIT, Ofcom and techUK on a national Women in Telecoms initiative, and have sponsored this year’s National Careers Week, an initiative which, despite its name, will involve activities throughout the year, including a virtual careers fair where we’re providing school-age children with information on the impact of our sector, as well as opportunities, pathways, and testimonials from a diverse group of early-career individuals. Our bespoke toolkit of ambassador videos, information guides, and social media content — as well as the Telco Talent section on UKTIN’s website — help those on the frontlines to engage with the next generation of telecoms professionals.
We’re helping to raise awareness of the industry amongst young people — which was among the first challenges we identified back in our early discovery phase. For example a media partnership with The Guardian offered first-person accounts to address and overcome some common perceptions (and misconceptions) about our industry. More than 12,000 people visited the content on the Guardian site, with dwell times scoring significantly higher than average.
Underpinning everything has been our Talent Advisory Group, which numbers more than 100 engaged players from throughout the telecoms sector and beyond, each bringing their individual expertise and experience to bear on this common mission — and kickstarting conversations and connections that we’ve seen go on to bear fruit outside of the group’s immediate confines.
Each milestone along the way has come with its own epiphanies. We’re in the business of learning and development, after all. With this, the programme has developed iteratively; every conversation with an employer, trainer, or educator operating across or adjacent to the telecoms ecosystem has deepened our understanding of the challenges faced in attracting the best and brightest to our space.
While UKTIN’s Talent programme has focused on steering bright minds to our sector, UKTIN’s Clusters Forum has provided a gravitational grounding both for new talent and our ecosystem’s existing networks.
First rolled out in March 2023, the Clusters Forum provides a platform to facilitate communications between the wider UKTIN programme and organisations of any size that have a keen interest in the UK Telecoms Sector and the benefits advanced connectivity brings.
The Forum is open to all, and now includes more than 65 engaged individuals from 35 different organisations spanning the full length and breadth of both the UK and our telecoms ecosystem — bringing together voices from local authorities, SMEs, non-profits, and large enterprises alike.
This forum for telecoms excellence has allowed us to connect, highlight, and share learnings from work being done across the UK: from Connecting Cambridgeshire’s use of council assets for telecoms in the east of England, to developing a private network for public services in Liverpool, transforming a 5G testbed to a fully-fledged innovation ecosystem in Dorset, or sharing insights from the 5G Innovation Region projects.
By bringing together place-based organisations into one group, we’re shrinking not just geographical distances but best practices too and — crucially — creating real-life connections across our network which will continue long into the future, ensuring the long-term sustainability of our sector.
Highlighting this important work does more than simply celebrate it. In a fragmented industry, these efforts act like signposts and open up newcomers to UKTIN’s broad directory of other services. The Talent and Clusters programmes are just one part of the mix that feeds, symbiotically, into UKTIN’s Supplier Specialist Guidance Service and Innovation Platform, helping to forge new connections and bridge the gaps that threaten to hold our sector back.
As with everything UKTIN does, our outreach serves to convene and convey the diverse strengths (and plug the gaps) of the UK telecoms ecosystem — all under one big, pink banner.
Testimonial:
– Major Gahir, student at Joseph Chamberlain College, Birmingham
What’s coming next:
- Focus on identifying and building portfolio of young ambassadors and impact stories
- Continuation of our partnership with National Careers Week, including content throughout 2024 and features in their Download magazine
- The Clusters programme is growing — with more regions joining
Read more about UKTIN’s work to build skills and capabilities.
