The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a further extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until April 2021. The government has confirmed that they will continue to pay 80% of the salary for hours not worked until the end of April. Therefore, employers will only be required to pay NICs and pensions for furloughed hours, and wages, NICs and pensions for any hours worked. Read more on gov.uk.  Under the new scheme, the cost for employers of retaining workers will be reduced compared to the previous scheme, that ended on the 31st of October. Businesses forced to close in England will receive grants worth up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant. £1.1bn is being given to Local Authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one-off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly. What the Government pays: 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 for the hours not worked by the employee. What employers pay: Hours worked in the normal way, National Insurance Contributions & Pension Contributions. Employers can also choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant at their own expense if they wish. Employers will not need to contribute to wages for the time an employee spends furloughed. Flexible furloughing will be allowed as well as full-time furloughing. Who's eligible? All employers with a UK bank account and UK PAYE schemes can claim the grant. Employers small or large, charitable or non-profit, are eligible for the extended Job Retention Scheme, which continues for another month. Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Employees must be on an employer's PAYE payroll by 23:59 30th of October 2020. A Real Time Information (RTI) submission notifying payment for that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before the 30th of October 2020.  Employees can be on any type of contract. When claiming the CJRS grant for furloughed hours, employers will need to report and claim for a minimum period of 7 consecutive calendar days. Employers will need to report hours worked and the usual hours an employee would be expected to work in a claim period. For worked hours, employees will be paid by their employer subject to their employment contract and employers will be responsible for paying the tax and NICs due on those amounts Businesses have the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part-time basis or furlough them full-time. Employers will only be asked to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions which, for the average claim, accounts for just 5% of total employment costs.  Business Grants  Businesses required to close in England due to local or national restrictions will be eligible for the following grants: For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks; For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks; For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks What else can businesses get? Up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant if their premises is forced to close £1,000 for every furloughed employee kept on until at least the end of January £1,500 for every out-of-work 16-24-year-old given a ''high quality'' six-month work placement £2,000 for every under-25 apprentice taken on until the end of January, or £1,500 for over-25s Payments The extended Job Retention Scheme will operate as the previous scheme did, with businesses being paid upfront to cover wages costs. For the short period when the government need to change the legal terms of the scheme and update the system, businesses will be paid in arrears.

Around three and a half years after the UK voted for Brexit, the clock is ticking towards 11 pm on 31st December 2020, the date upon which the United Kingdom will start a new trading relationship with the European Union. Despite being so close to the end of the transition period, there are still a number of things that Boris Johnson and his Cabinet must iron out. Having missed the original deadline of 15th October, the Prime Minister has very little time left to agree on a trade deal. If a deal isn’t struck, the UK will leave the EU without any trading agreements in place. So it goes without saying that whatever happens in the coming weeks, from 1st January 2021, things will be different, deal or no deal. Established businesses can expect to feel the effects of Brexit, be that positive or negative depending on which side of the fence you sit. The UK’s smallest companies, including freelancers and contractors, have also been told by the government to prepare for change. But what specifically do contractors need to know about Brexit? And what, if anything at all, can we be confident of as the transition period comes to an end?   No guarantees over EU working As part of the EU, UK citizens are granted freedom of movement thanks to access to the Single Market. However, things are set to change when the transition period ends on New Year’s Eve and there will be no guarantee that contractors can live, work or retire in EU countries going forward. This is at least something we can be certain of. It means contractors living in the UK but working with clients in the EU may well need a visa or work permit to continue doing so. Given the rules vary country to country it’s worth checking this page on the government website. Similarly, if you’re a contractor living and working in an EU country, you should check this page for the latest guidance on visas, work permits and residency.   Immigration changes beckon Most foreign nationals, including those from EU states, will need to apply online for a visa if they want to live and work in the UK next year. A ‘points-based’ immigration system will decide this, with the government aiming to encourage what they perceive to be ‘skilled-workers’ to settle on these shores. A score is awarded to an applicant, who is marked based on a job offer (typically with a wage of at least £25,600), their grasp of the English language and skill level in a desirable occupation. How tailored this system is towards overseas freelancers and contractors remains to be seen. If you’re an EU national already living in the UK, or move here before 31st December 2020, you do not need to go through this process. Instead, you’re required to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before 30th June 2021. It is worth noting that due to the Common Travel Area, Irish citizens retain the right to live and work in the UK and reciprocally UK nationals retain the right to live and work within Ireland post Brexit.   IR35 considerations With changes to the IR35 legislation on the horizon, many contractors working through personal service companies registered in the UK want to know if the changes will apply to contracts held overseas, whether in the EU or further afield. In other words, from 6th April 2021, will contractors be responsible for assessing their IR35 status when working with medium and large businesses based abroad? Or will businesses be tasked with this? It depends, but Brexit won’t have any bearing. If a business is based wholly overseas without a permanent establishment in the UK, such an office, factory or residence, then IR35 reform isn’t a consideration. This means contractors can carry on determining their IR35 status beyond April 6th 2021. If a client is based abroad but has ties here in the UK, then the reform will apply and the business - assuming it is medium or large - must abide by the new rules. Contractors working with small private sector businesses, whether in the UK or overseas, will maintain responsibility for IR35. While there are still many unknowns for contractors regarding Brexit, we at least know that the UK will certainly leave the EU at the end of this month. And given the post-Brexit landscape is changing all the time, be sure to pay close attention to the government’s Brexit webpage, where you can stay up to date with everything you need to know.

GitHub’s annual Octoverse report celebrates 365 days of achievements in the software community and we’ve got the highlights for you right here! 2020 was a year of change. We’ve all had to adapt in some shape or form with most balancing (or trying to – homeschoolers we salute you!) working remotely with home life. But the way developers collaborate as part of a global community stayed much the same, driving a sense of camaraderie across the globe. With 60 Million+ new repositories created this past year developers came together to innovate, connect and solve problems. In addition to GitHub’s growth and usage, this year’s report offers additional analysis around work-life balance and hours worked, the state of open source security, and what role automation plays in faster software delivery. Dive into the full report – or read on for the highlights.   56M+ developers are part of the GitHub community Based on data collected between October 2019 - September 2020, there were a total of 56m+ developers on GitHub with 72% of Fortune 50 companies using GitHub Enterprise. Not only were there 60 Million+ new repositories created this past year, but there were also a staggering 1.9 Billion+ contributions added. This year saw an increase of new users to GitHub, including Data Analysts, Scientists, Teachers, Students, and Designers suggesting that collaborations on the platform will increasingly include more than code. Take a look at the full report to see how the GitHub community has grown and evolved over the last year. JavaScript still the most popular language As it has since 2016, JavaScript ranked as the top language amongst GitHub’s users in 2020. Python takes 2nd place, having overtaken Java in 2019, which remains the 3rd most popular language. TypeScript appears to be the most progressively popular language this year going from 10th place in 2017, all the way up to 4th place this year. Could we see TypeScript continue to gain in popularity over the next years?   Developers have spent more time on Open Source while stuck at home Developers have been putting in long hours and over the last year contributions to open source increased by 25%. These levels noticeably increased as the pandemic unfolded and remained high even on weekends suggesting open source could be an important escape from work as well as a place to learn and create. Open source projects that used GitHub Actions to automate their pull requests also saw noticeably faster software delivery and better collaboration. Global growth Over the course of the year, GitHub has grown globally in size and diversity. Despite a 2% decrease from last year, most GitHub users are found in North America (34%), closely followed by Asia (30.7%) and Europe (26.8%). Countries and regions such as Egypt, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia saw a large growth in contributions in 2020. Nigeria was ranked at the top with a 65.9% growth, closely followed by Hong Kong (SAR) at 64.5%.   Want to know more? Dive into the full report

In 2021 and beyond tech will continue to change our everyday lives. But how will it change the world for the better? Find out in this collection of thought-provoking TED Talks. 1. What will the pharmacy of the future look like? Personalised pills, 3D printed at home. Should we change the way we prescribe drugs? Physician Daniel Kraft calls for a smarter approach to healthcare. Many drugs don't work for those they're prescribed for and can cause side effects. There are also challenges around dosage and patients taking the medicines as they should. In this TED Talk Kraft makes a compelling case for leveraging tech to make a change. Thanks to the internet of things and connected devices, real-time data could be used by healthcare professionals to improve prevention and lead to personalised medications that adapt to individual needs. 2. SpaceX could soon be flying you across the globe in 30 minutes. What's next for SpaceX? Find out from employee number seven at Elon Musk's pioneering aerospace company who is now its President. Engineer Gwynne Shotwell discusses the exciting race to put people into orbit, taking humanity to Mars and space travel for earthlings. 3. Creating Google Search for the Earth. Could the surface of the each soon be as easily searchable as the internet? Will Marshall and his team at Planet are already on a mission to index the entire Earth using satellites. Now they're using AI to index all the objects on the planet which could make ships, trees, houses and everything else on Earth searchable.  4. How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination. From toys to satellite gear, Arduino has inspired thousands of people around the globe to make the coolest things imaginable. Find out more about this easy-to-use open-source microcontroller from Massimo Banzi who helped invent it. 5. The way we trust has changed. There has been a shift in who we trust. Instead of placing our trust in institutions we increasingly rely on others, who are often strangers. Just look at the rise in popularity of platforms like Airbnb and Uber.   6. What could a driverless world look like? Transportation geek Wanis Kabbaj finds inspiration in the genius of biology to design the transit systems of the future. In this forward-thinking talk, explore exciting concepts like detachable buses, flying taxis and networks of suspended magnetic pods that could help make a driverless world a reality. 7. What AI is - and isn't. Educator and entrepreneur Sebastian Thrun wants us to use AI to free humanity of repetitive work and unleash our creativity. In an inspiring, informative conversation with TED Curator Chris Anderson, Thrun discusses the progress of deep learning, why we shouldn't fear AI and how society will be empowered if dull, tedious work is done with the help of machines.  8. Could a smog vacuum cleaner transform our cities? Daan Roosegaarde uses tech and creative thinking to produce imaginative, earth-friendly designs. In this TED Talk, he presents his latest projects from Van Gough inspired bike paths in Eindhoven to a smog vacuum cleaner in Beijing.

We're living in a rapidly changing world as a result of Covid-19. As in previous years, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning skills have been in constant demand with LinkedIn reporting a growth of 40% in global hires in 2020. The information in our 2021 Machine Learning & AI Guide is based on data from our placements, an extensive questionnaire filled out by a highly relevant pool of candidates and from salary ranges provided by our current partners that include some of the best technology-driven businesses across the UK. Which industries are benefiting most from AI? According to a poll, we ran on LinkedIn recently, Software and Tech Organisations could stand the most to gain by investing in AI. Other areas that are evolving in this space include Healthcare, Medical Research, Finance, Multimedia, Chip Design, Market Research, and many more. Overview of the Machine Learning talent pool in the UK As is the case in so many tech professions only 21% of Machine Learning professionals on LinkedIn in the UK are female. Data shows that Machine Learning professionals are most likely to switch companies after 1.2 years. A huge 37,436 professionals are located in London, with Cambridge and surrounding areas in second place with 3,054 professionals. Imperial College London, University College London, Amazon, Facebook, and the University of Oxford are the top five companies employing these professionals, showing the dominance of roles in academia. Spotlight on: Machine Learning Engineers According to LinkedIn data covering 12 months from November 2019, London has the highest number of Machine Learning Engineers with 468 professionals. Manchester (named the fastest-growing tech city in Europe) and Leeds has seen an increase in Machine Learning Engineers by 133%. The top five companies with the largest number of Machine Learning Engineers are Facebook, Apple, Kubrick Group, IQVIA, and Omdena. According to our data, the demand for talent with these skills is classed as very high in Financial Services and Hospital & Healthcare industries. The top three universities producing Machine Learning Engineers are the University College London, University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. What are some of the growth areas? Let’s delve deeper into Machine Learning and AI and understand what areas have been growing in the last 12 months. 1. Natural Language Processing One of the areas that stood out in terms of continual growth in 2020 was Natural Language Processing. This talent mainly sits within London, with 6,606 professionals in this space of AI. However, there are 638 professionals in Edinburgh and 626 in Manchester, both growing tech hubs for Machine Learning, and particularly NLP. Amazon, Facebook and Google are the top three companies employing this talent. The University of Edinburgh, University College London and the University of Cambridge scored as the top universities producing this talent in the UK. 2. Deep Learning Deep Learning also seems a very niche skill that is frequently in demand. Over the last 12 months, there was a steep 51% rise to 10.9k professionals with Deep Learning skills on LinkedIn in the UK. The top three employers for Deep Learning skills are Imperial College London, DeepMind and University College London. Similarly, Imperial College London was also the top University producing this talent in the UK. Our data showed that more Deep Learning professionals are keen to maintain a career in academia rather than transition over to industry. In contrast, NLP professionals have shown more of a willingness to move away from academic positions. 3. Data Science There was a 9% increase in Data Science professionals in the UK with 830 job posts for Data Scientist advertised over the last 12 months on LinkedIn alone. This increase reflects how crucial it’s become for every company to have a Data Scientist. The industries predominantly employing Data Scientists are IT and Services, Financial Services and Computer Software. Facebook, Lloyd Banking Group and Aviva were the top three employers for Data Scientist professionals. Python, Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Data Mining were among the top skills for Data Scientists. This talent was most likely to have graduated from Imperial College London, University College London and the University of Cambridge. Flexibility key in retaining talent When it comes to benefits, ML & AI professionals are most concerned about job security, with many putting their job search on hold in the current economy. Working hours, flexibility within their role, working from home, being able to experiment with ideas, and try new things in their role were also among their top priorities. The overwhelming majority of our respondents said they would not accept a job without their future employer offering flexitime or remote working, emphasising that remote working is in high demand and is a benefits job seekers have come to expect. Other popular benefits include: Flexible or fully remote working Gym membership Medical insurance Life insurance To view more benefits, click here. Financial compensation Generally, ML & AI professionals told us their annual bonus was between 15%-20%, with the next common answer being 10%. For candidates who have a PhD, we have seen salaries increase substantially (in some cases by up to £10,000). For a breakdown of salaries by job title and years of experience click here. Let’s chat For any further information about the statistics in this report or other information about the ML & AI market, including competitors, tech on the rise and hiring processes, feel free to contact me for a chat. Anna Heneghan Head of Machine Learning & AI Recruitment Email me Call +44 (0)1727 809403 Connect with me on LinkedIn Schedule a call with me 

Unbelievably for me, it's been almost a year since our worlds were turned upside down both in and out of work and we’ve all had our fair share of challenges. Thankfully, almost a year on and despite the obvious restrictions we’re all still facing in the UK, there’s finally some well-needed light at the end of the tunnel and in my opinion good reason to be optimistic for the future especially within the world of IT & technology. So what does the future of work look like and what are our customers saying about it? Unsurprisingly, talent is still very much top of the boardroom agenda; both in being able to attract talent as well as maintaining it.  In a world where the vast majority of businesses have been forced into adopting a ‘virtual workforce’ the challenges of maintaining (as well as enhancing) company culture has never been more important but also extremely difficult. The winners are those who’ve been creative, adapted and found new ways to make this work and in many examples, it's been those companies who understand their teams best who’ve nailed it. Coupled with the fact that geographic barriers are in many cases no longer a factor in attracting talent who can in many instances work from anywhere in the world, the war for talent has never been greater and this trend is only set to continue. Remote working much like the demise of the high-street has inevitably been accelerated significantly by COVID.  And as Darwin famously said: “It is not the strongest that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” So what signs of recovery am I seeing in the tech market? Despite the obvious challenges that still exist within some sectors, there are also a significant number of businesses who have long moved from ‘survival’ mode and firmly into ‘building for the future’ mode, looking to use their creativity to challenge the status quo, discover new opportunities and through technology make all of our lives a bit easier. This has in turn seen a clear trend across all our data with companies looking to hire more technology professionals to drive their businesses forward. Confidence is creeping back and in many ways, this is because people have learned (or maybe just accepted) how to live in a COVID world. And with the acceleration of the national vaccination programme and the growing hope that ‘normality’ will soon be returning to all of us, companies are able to be more confident in what the future will look like and the roles they want to play. One word of caution however to all of those companies who are waiting for things to go back to the way things were. As an industry, this has been an opportunity to hit the ‘reset’ button, to pause and think about the way companies and teams operate.  Those companies in my opinion who go back to the way things were, will have missed the bigger picture. Technology has always been about innovation, challenging the norm and doing things better than before.  And it’ll be the companies who grab this opportunity with both hands who thrive when we finally come through the other side. Let's Connect If you'd like to have a chat about this article, find out more about the state of the tech industry or discuss your hiring plans please reach out to me on LinkedIn.

According to a recent Gartner survey, 64% of managers believe that office workers are higher performers than remote workers, and in turn are likely to give in-office workers a higher raise than those who work from home. Yet data from a poll we ran on LinkedIn recently, showed that a whopping 49% of tech professionals feel more productive when working from home. And they are not alone. The Harvard Business Review collected data from both 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic) that clearly showed: Full-time remote workers are 5% more likely to be high performers than those who work full-time from the office. So why do managers maintain this bias in favour of in-office workers? The answer lies deeply rooted in a lot of corporate cultures but also in how we subconsciously perceive people based on physical face time with them. Shifting to a full-time remote working model was a change businesses and organisations across the world had to adapt to. For some of them, this change came a lot quicker than planned, and with it the loss of perceived control over their employees' productivity. With a lot of businesses adopting or planning to adopt a hybrid workforce even after the pandemic ends, remote working isn’t going away any time soon. In December 2020, PwC found that 83% of employers felt the shift to remote working was a success, compared to 73% in June. What’s more, 52% of executives now report that employees are more productive than they were before the pandemic, up from 44% in the earlier survey. Gartner’s 2020 ReimagineHR Employee Survey revealed that only 36% of employees were high performers at organizations with a standard 40-hour workweek. Organizations that offer employees flexibility over when, where and how much they work, see 55% of their workforce as high performers. Beyond 2021, we can expect to see a shift in employees being measured by their output, as opposed to an agreed set of hours. During the pandemic 1 in 4 companies purchased technology to track and monitor their employees. According to Gartner research, less than 50% of employees trust their employer with their data with 44% not receiving any information on how their data is being used by their employer. In the near future, we expect to see new regulations that will limit what employers can track and how they can do it. What does this bias mean for the gender pay gap? Surveys show that men are more likely to return to the workplace while women are more likely to continue working from home which could be a contributing factor to the gender pay gap widening at a time the pandemic has already disproportionately impacted women. How can companies get the best out of remote teams? According to Gartner’s 2020 ReimagineHR Employee Survey, employers that support employees with their life experience see a 23% increase in the number of employees reporting better mental health and a 17% increase in the number of employees reporting better physical health. ​There is also a real benefit to employers, who see a 21% increase in the number of high performers compared to organizations that don’t provide the same degree of support to their employees. Remote work options can help break down barriers enabling talent acquisition to cast a wider net to reach underrepresented talent. It can also be a powerful way to support diversity and inclusion efforts and helps to attract, support, and retain great talent from all backgrounds.  You might also like: Not Today Covid: Time for Optimism in the Tech Industry Use the 80/20 Rule to Beat Procrastination Insights from our 2021 Machine Learning & AI Talent Report 

In today’s budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak made a range of announcements to aid the recovery from COVID-19 debt. Here are the highlights from his speech: 1. Economic Recovery The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the UK economy will return to pre-COVID levels by the middle of next year, sixth months earlier than previously thought. Meanwhile, unemployment is expected to peak at 6.5%. 2. Furlough Scheme Extended till September Millions of workers will continue to have 80% of their wages paid as the furlough scheme is extended until the end of September 2021. There will be no change for employees who will continue to have 80% of their wages paid for hours not worked. Employers however will be expected to contribute as they reopen. Nothing will change until July, when employers will be asked to contribute 10%, increasing to 20% in August and September. 3. More Support for Self-Employed The self-employment support scheme will be extended until the end of September with 600,000 more people being eligible. When the scheme originally launched, newly self-employed couldn’t qualify because they hadn’t all filed a 2019 – 20 tax return. Providing they filed their tax return by midnight last night, self-employed will now be able to claim the fourth and fifth grants. The fourth grant will provide a taxable grant calculated at 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits and will be paid out in a single instalment capped at £7,500 in total. The fifth and final grant covering May to September will be worth: 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500, for those with a turnover reduction of 30% or more 30% of 3 months’ average trading profits, capped at £2,850, for those with a turnover reduction of less than 30% 4. New Visa Reforms for Science, Research & Tech Visa reforms are being introduced to make it easier to attract the best and most promising international talent in science, research, and tech. We will have more on this soon. 5. Business Support The 100% business rate relief will continue until June and then be reduced to two-thirds until the rest of the year. Bounce-back loans will be replaced by a new recovery loan scheme. Emergency loans of between £25,000 and £10m will be available as well as re-start grants of up to £6,000 for non-essential retailers, and up to £18,000 for hospitality and personal service businesses. Companies will also be able to offset losses against their tax bills going back up to three years, allowing them to claim additional refunds of up to £760,000. Corporation tax is set to increase to 25% in April 2023, however companies with profits of £50,000 or less will still only be liable for the current 19% rate. Only those with profits of £250,000 or more will pay the full 25%. Businesses will also be given incentive payments of £3,000 for all new apprentice hires of any ages while £126m will be invested to triple the number of new traineeships. Businesses are also incentivised to invest and can reduce their taxable income by 130% of the amount they invest. A new ‘help to grow scheme’ will offer smaller businesses management and digital training. You can register your interest here. 6. Personal Tax Personal tax thresholds will be frozen with the income tax threshold increasing to £12,570 next year and kept at this level till 2026. The higher rate threshold will rise to £50,270 next year and will also stay there until 2026. Thresholds for inheritance tax, pension lifetime allowance and capital gains tax thresholds are also being frozen. 7. New Freeports Eight freeports have been announced. These are special economic zones with different rules to make it cheaper and easier to do business. They are: East Midlands Airport Felixstowe and Harwich Humber Liverpool City region Plymouth Solent Thames Teeside

As Michelle Obama said: "There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish." At Understanding Recruitment we're proud to be an equal opportunities employer and fully support APSCo's Women in Recruitment initiative.  Just in time for International Women's Day, we asked our ambitious, driven and wonderfully talented women here at Understanding Recruitment, who #ChooseToChallenge every day, what advice they would give their younger selves.    Nicola Parker, Delivery Manager "Know that there will always be unforeseen hurdles in life, but worrying about what hasn’t happened yet, or might happen in the future is a waste of energy and can stop you from enjoying the now – you cannot control what happens in your future but you can control how you live in the present.  Trust that you are always where you are meant to be, whether it feels that way or not at the time – things always work themselves out in the end."    Alex Martuccio, Contract Account Manager "If you have a passion or a dream, follow it and make a reality. It will be hard and you will get lots of setbacks and people telling you it’s not possible, but if you really want it, you will do anything to make it happen."    Danielle Blake, .NET Researcher "Failure is the first step in success and is just as important as success."    Jana Timm, Head of Marketing  "You will get to where you want to be but it will take time. Learn as much as you can from the people around you and don’t be afraid to ask questions. You don’t know what you don’t know."    Charlotte Young, Java Recruitment Executive "Consistency and determination to achieve will get you far."    Cassie Holdsworth, Management Accountant "Don’t focus too much on the destination but enjoy the journey too. I’ve always been one to focus too much on achieving the bigger things, such as; the job, the wedding, the car, the house etc., and you can easily get distracted from enjoying the small things too."    Molly Boca, Hardware Acceleration & ML Recruitment Consultant "Worry less about what others think about you and learn to love yourself through your own eyes not someone else’s. The easiest way to be the best version of yourself is to be free from the judgement of others' perspectives."    Emma Matthiesen, Training & Development Manager  "Work hard - the better you do, the more options you’ll have."    Suzy Bolton, Finance Director "Believe in yourself more and it’s true that the harder you work, the better you do!"    Monique Hunt, Accounts Assistants "Have confidence in your ability/self and don’t always assume the worst."    Laura Trimmer, Talent Acquisition Consultant "Trust your instincts, everything really does happen for a reason."    Rhiannon Mehta, Senior Recruitment Consultant - High Value Fundraising "Trust yourself and don’t listen to other people’s judgement on what you can achieve!"    Maggie Mulshine, Hardware Acceleration, Photonics & ML Researcher "Don't focus so hard on what people will think, and instead focus on what you really want to do and what makes you happy."    Emily Kitamura, Head of Global Talent Acquisition "You're doing great! Everything will work itself out, just believe in yourself and keep doing you!"    Anna Heneghan, Head of Machine Learning & AI UK "Worry less about what other people think about you and think about what you are doing instead. Focus more on yourself. Think about how you can develop and increase your happiness."     Emma Wilson, Delivery Consultant "Don't be afraid to try new things! Push yourself out of your comfort zone more often... what's the worst that could happen?!"    Lisa Booth, HR Manager "Don’t let the expectations and opinions of others limit your ambitions. Only you know what you can achieve."    Mollie Redmond, Marketing Executive "You don't have to have everything figured out and it’s okay if things aren’t quite going to plan. Learn as much as you can and remain positive – things will work out in the end."    Curious about #LifeAtUR?  We'd love to hear from you! DM Emily Kitamura on LinkedIn, email your CV to emily@understandingrecruitment.co.uk   or call 01727 228 255 to have chat about the ​ opportunities we have for you.

What a year 2020 was! Although the pandemic halted some companies' hiring plans, we still helped lots of organisations scale their teams and developers find new roles. The information in this 2021 .NET Developer Report is based on data collected through our .NET survey completed by highly relevant developers on our database, the latest LinkedIn Insights data, data from our 2020 placements, and salary ranges provided by our current partners that include some of the best technology-driven businesses across the UK.  What’s the current state of the .NET talent pool in the UK? There are 31.3k professionals in the Software Developer talent pool with .NET & C# experience in the UK on LinkedIn.  88% of these identify as men and 12% identify as women. It definitely seems like UK developers are becoming more full-stack even if their job title doesn’t state it with many organisations requiring .NET developers to have front end skills.  We also saw a 48% 1y growth in .NET Core, a 44% increase in React, and a 38% increase in Microservices. On average, .NET Developers decide to move companies to pursue a new job after 1.5 years, highlighting the importance of retaining good talent. Overall 89% of developers were happy with the tech they use. 80% of respondents also said that their companies had moved into the cloud. Azure was the top choice in cloud platforms, closely followed by AWS. 9.8% of respondents used private cloud platforms while none used GCP. To find out more about which universities are producing this talent click here. What does this talent earn? The demand for talent within .NET remained high throughout 2020 despite the pandemic. Similar to last year, we saw higher salaries being offered to candidates with knowledge and experience of cloud and DevOps tools. We have also noticed that more organisations are looking for .NET Developers with some experience with front end technologies and are paying them more. Thankfully, we have found that organisations aren’t trying to pay their developers less as they are no longer commuting.  For more salary insights check out the full report.   What are the factors causing Developers to look for a new job?​ Where is this talent located? As expected, London is where the majority of developers reside. We are seeing an increase of developers based in cities such as Hove, Lincoln, and Leicester. Hiring demand across London, Manchester, Bristol and Leeds remains very high. The increase in more fully remote roles has meant that individuals can be based across the UK. The organisations that are open to more remote or fully remote are the ones who are securing more talent.   Remote Working is key in retaining .NET talent Remote working is definitely here to stay, with an overwhelming 68.2% of developers saying they wouldn't accept a new job that didn't offer flexi-time and/or remote working. This is up from 45% in last year's survey. Pre-Covid, we saw the majority of companies allowing developers to work remotely 1- 3 days a week. 67.3% said their employers will continue to offer remote working while 29.1% of respondents said they didn't know if their employers would allow them to carry on working remotely. We find this worrying considering it has become such a deciding factor for developers. To view more benefits, click here.   What do Developers look for in new employers? Openness to innovation Focus on quality Challenging the team Prioritising people   Let’s chat For any further information about the statistics in this report or other information about the .NET market, including competitors, tech on the rise and hiring processes, feel free to contact me for a chat. Arjun Gillard Head of .NET Recruitment Email me +44 (0)1727 809079 or +44 (0)7791 141 227 Connect with me on LinkedIn Schedule a call with me