By Claudia Harris, CEO, Makers, a leading coding provider

Covid-19 has done a lot to undermine economic growth. However it has also created some unexpected opportunities. One of these is a significant acceleration in the number of people changing careers, in particular into tech careers. Understood and engaged appropriately  ‘career switchers’ have the potential to fundamentally alter the growth trajectory of the British economy. They bring experience from diverse industries which reduces group-think and drives innovation. They are intrinsically motivated – they have actively chosen their new route. Their presence is an opportunity to drive the tech growth and transformation work underway in many leading financial organisations.

The global pandemic has impacted the economy across industries, leading to widespread job uncertainty and shocking levels of unemployment for millions of people around the world. But as was famously once said, “in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”

In the global digital economy, that opportunity could be the impact of a wave of career switching, bringing innovation, spillover and diversity benefits and in turn driving better economic performance.

The opportunity to harness this career switching is particularly powerful in tech. As jobs are destroyed across the UK, the digital skills gap continues to loom large, and employers across the financial services and fintech industries are looking for talent.

According to a recent report by re-skill training provider, mthree, most financial services businesses continued to hire throughout the pandemic in 2020 for entry-level and graduate tech roles – and will continue to do so this year.

Claudia Harris

In meeting this demand, the new wave of career switchers offers an opportunity not only to fill this pipeline but to do so with a unique talent pool. People switching into digital careers come from all walks of life and all industries. Some of the greatest talent from other industries are now looking for new opportunities in tech.

Research shows clearly that diverse backgrounds reduce groupthink, improve innovation and improve outcomes. A recent Boston Consulting Group study showed that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues.

Individuals who choose to retrain are also intrinsically motivated – they have made an active choice and they are entering their new roles with a sense of purpose and direction.

Digital training can now be offered in a flexible and accessible manner, so people from all locations throughout lockdown can take advantage of the opportunity to re-skill.  This is particularly true in the case of software engineering, the most sought after digital capability, which can be taught effectively at software engineering bootcamps.

These bootcamp providers have proven that people can retrain as software engineers and find work in the digital economy in as little time as four months before beginning work on an accelerated trajectory.

The opportunity presents a win for individuals, for organisations and for the wider economy.

The economic and employment challenges today present a unique opportunity for financial services to recruit the best talent from new industries, geographies and backgrounds.

Brave recruiting today will yield business results tomorrow.

About Makers

Makers  is the premier coding provider based in the UK. In 12 weeks the organisation will train students to become fully qualified software engineers. Makers has a successful track record for spotting and developing the talent of students from different backgrounds. Over 35% of its engineers have been women: two times higher than the industry average. In the past it has also developed its own fund to attract students from difficult backgrounds. To date, Makers has turned over 1,700 people into junior software engineers and placed them with leading global brands such as Deloitte Digital, Vodafone and Capgemini.

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