We’ve been feeling the ripple effects of offshoring for some time.  But now we must prepare ourselves for the tidal waves that will hit our shores in the near future.  Offshoring has already eroded the number of entry-level IT positions leading to a divide in the UK tech industry.  Now it’s time to consider the other possible effects and plan for our future. 

The number of IT support roles, most at risk from the first wave of offshoring, has fallen, while higher-paid IT roles such as consultancy and management are now taking up a larger proportion of IT jobs in the UK.  A global division in labour in IT is upon us, with the UK specialising in project management and consultancy and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) sharpening up their technical and application implementation expertise.

This may work for us now.  But we are storing up problems for the future by offshoring so much of our IT work, as tomorrow’s IT managers aren’t being employed in lower-level jobs. These jobs no longer exist here. At the same time countries like India are trying to move up the IT value chain, offering not just IT systems implementation but also related business consultancy, so they are already starting to move in on one of our remaining strongholds.

The implications of both these trends are going to be phenomenal for the UK technology industry and we need to carefully consider our strategy moving forward.  We must think about whether we stem the flow of technical jobs moving to India, and if so how, while building and securing our ongoing competitiveness in the associated high-value areas.

We have realised this and are deliberately keeping some more junior roles here, in order to be able to develop our future IT skill base. Also a hopeful sign - I was speaking with a major Indian outsourcer and they told me that they are trying to recruit and train some UK staff , recognising that for some customers and roles they just have to have UK staff who are based in the UK.

The time is now for the UK tech industry to formulate a forward-thinking strategy which plays to its remaining strengths (project management, business consultancy skills, and innovation) and allows us to update and renew our in-depth and focused expertise. 

If we don’t, it is inevitable that offshoring will mature, gain an unshakeable position in these areas too, and our IT industry will run inexorably down the plughole of globalisation.