I've spent years working with technology businesses across the UK, and one challenge comes up time and again: when a critical role needs filling, organisations need expertise fast. In a market where experienced professionals are increasingly scarce and expensive to secure, contractors often play a vital role in bridging capability gaps. They provide the specialist skills and flexibility organisations need to maintain momentum, deliver key projects and respond to changing business demands.
Addressing immediate workforce needs will always be a priority. However, while solving today's skills challenges is essential, it's equally important to consider how we build the talent pipeline for the future. When investment is focused predominantly on experienced hires, opportunities to develop emerging talent can be overlooked.
The tech sector has become highly effective at meeting current workforce demands. The bigger opportunity now is ensuring enough skilled professionals are entering the industry to meet future demand. Flexi-job apprenticeships can play an important role in that equation, providing a practical route for developing new talent while helping employers address long-term skills shortages. Yet, despite their potential, they remain one of the sector's most underutilised pathways into technology careers.
The missing generation we can't afford to ignore
The intentions are there. According to our recent survey of 2,000 UK employers, that informed our ‘The missing generation 2026’ report, 73% say bringing early-career talent into their business is a high priority, and 58% have increased the number of 16 to 24 year olds they have hired over the past three years.
However, good intentions and a solid pipeline aren't the same thing. Reed’s research also found that 74% of employers still experience skills gaps to at least some extent. More telling still: 74% believe today's shortage of early-career talent is likely to contribute to leadership shortages in the future.
The latter figure is the one I find most alarming, simply because the tech leaders of the future need to be entering the workforce now. If entry-level opportunities keep narrowing, we risk creating a 'missing generation': a lack of talent entering the workforce that no volume of senior hires can fill.
With more than one million young people currently not in education, employment, or training (NEET), the talent is out there. What's missing isn't the people, it's the pathway in.
Why building tech talent has become more complex
In my experience, there are three main factors prompting more tech employers to rethink how they build their talent pipelines:
1. Entry-level opportunities are changing
Nearly one-in-five employers (19%) in our research say AI and automation are already reducing opportunities for young people. This rises to 26% among tech businesses. But that's where I'd offer a note of caution. Junior roles in IT support, data and software testing are more than entry points into the industry. They're where people develop the practical experience and commercial understanding that underpin successful tech careers.
If those early opportunities become scarce, organisations risk narrowing the pipeline of talent that will eventually progress into more experienced roles.
2. Building future talent requires time and investment
The barriers employers identify are practical: a lack of suitable applicants (30%), the cost of training (28%), gaps in job-ready skills (26%), and budget constraints (26%). For smaller tech teams without dedicated early-careers resources, creating structured development pathways can feel difficult to prioritise alongside day-to-day business demands.
3. Apprenticeships can feel more complex than they need to be
I've heard many versions of what Phil Athersmith of BAE Systems described well: "I work in a huge organisation, and we've got teams dedicated to these programmes. Smaller organisations don't have those resources, and navigating funding rules and requirements can be really difficult."
For many employers, the challenge isn't a lack of enthusiasm for developing talent. It's finding a model that makes participation practical, manageable, and commercially viable.
What if there was a different way?
This is where I think the sector needs to think differently. A flexi-job apprenticeship agency (FJAA) is a Department for Education-approved organisation that employs apprentices and places them with host employers. Reed is one of those approved agencies, operating across tech and digital roles in England.
The model works by separating two things that have historically been bundled together: employing an apprentice and hosting one. The agency takes on the employment relationship, including payroll, HR, compliance, and wellbeing support. The host organisation provides the day-to-day work, direction, and learning environment.
That distinction matters more than it might first appear, for a few reasons:
Headcount stays flat. The apprentice sits on the agency's books, so your team gains capability without adding to official headcount.
Training costs are covered. At Reed, we fund training through our own apprenticeship levy, the government's mechanism for funding apprenticeship programmes, so the host carries no training costs. This is particularly important given that 29% of tech employers in our research cited the cost of training young people as the biggest obstacle to hiring early-career talent.
Admin sits elsewhere. Recruitment, payroll, HR, compliance, and progress tracking are managed by the agency. You focus on the work itself.
Risk is reduced. If your priorities shift, the agency remains the employer and can move the apprentice into another placement, allowing them to continue and complete their programme.
Start dates are flexible. There's no need to align with academic term times. You can launch when you're ready.
None of this removes the host's responsibility. Apprentices need meaningful work, consistent supervision, and a manager genuinely invested in their development. But the model removes the friction, cost, and complexity that have kept many businesses from taking that first step.
The questions worth asking now
If you're responsible for tech hiring or workforce planning, these are the questions I'd encourage you to explore with your team:
Which roles are we consistently filling with expensive contractors that a developing apprentice could realistically grow into?
Where are our likely mid-level and leadership gaps in three to five years?
What's actually stopping us from offering apprenticeships today: cost, headcount, admin, or simply not knowing where to start?
Do we have managers with the time and inclination to coach someone who's earlier in their career?
The answers won't be the same for every organisation. But they often reveal that the barriers are smaller, and the opportunity larger, than assumed.
The pipeline we build today shapes the leadership we'll have tomorrow
Half of the employers (50%) in Reed’s research name fresh perspectives as the biggest benefit of hiring young people. Nearly as many (49%) point to building a future talent pipeline. Those aren't abstract ambitions. They're the practical case for acting now, rather than waiting until the gap becomes a crisis.
The skills challenge in tech isn't only about finding experienced people today. It's about ensuring experienced people exist tomorrow. Flexi-job apprenticeships give organisations of every size a credible, low-friction way to open the door to new talent without the headcount pressure, training costs, and administrative complexity that have held so many back.
Want to learn more about our flexi-job apprenticeship programme? Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you build a sustainable pipeline of future tech talent.
