Government must look beyond traditional recruitment to close digital skills gap

Government needs to broaden its definition of what constitutes a qualified digital professional if it is to tackle persistent skills shortages, according to Mercator Digital.

Andy Probert, head of academy at the digital consultancy, argues that continued competition for experienced technology professionals risks simply moving scarce talent around the market rather than increasing the overall pool of people available to government.

Instead, he believes public sector organisations should place greater emphasis on aptitude, behaviours and transferable skills, while creating more routes into digital careers for people without conventional technology backgrounds.

“I don’t believe the issue is a lack of capable people; it’s that we’re often looking in to narrow a talent pool,” said Probert.

“Government is competing with private industry for experienced digital professionals, where salaries and opportunities can be difficult to match. If we continue recruiting only those with years of experience, we’re simply moving talent around the market rather than increasing the overall capability of the workforce.”

The argument comes as government continues to grapple with the challenge of building digital capability at scale while competing with the private sector for experienced specialists.

Probert said one answer could be to rethink the emphasis placed on previous job titles, qualifications and years of experience when recruiting digital professionals.

Mercator’s academy instead recruits primarily for attitude, aptitude and potential, before providing technical training, mentoring and experience on live projects.

“Technical skills can be taught through structured learning and real-world application, but qualities such as resilience, curiosity, accountability and collaboration are far more difficult to develop,” he said.

The company says it has trained 43 people through the programme, with 39 successfully progressing through the academy into digital careers. The majority are now working on government projects in a Mercator capacity.

Its position on the Digital and Legacy Application Services (DALAS) framework also means the model can be used to provide potential hires within UK central government and other public sector organisations with training through the academy.

Looking beyond traditional technology backgrounds

One of the more unusual aspects of the approach is where Mercator looks for recruits.

Academy participants have come from industries including hospitality and aviation, bringing skills that Probert believes can translate particularly well into the design and delivery of public services.

“People from frontline industries bring something incredibly valuable to digital delivery: a deep understanding of people,” he said.

“Whether they’ve worked in hospitality, aviation, retail or customer-facing services, they’ve spent years communicating with diverse groups of people, solving problems under pressure and delivering positive outcomes in demanding environments. Those experiences translate remarkably well into designing digital services for citizens.”

Different industries can also provide capabilities that are easily overlooked when organisations recruit primarily around technical experience.

Probert pointed to the communication and adaptability developed through hospitality, discipline and process adherence in aviation, and resilience, empathy and conflict resolution in retail.

“These aren’t traditionally viewed as technical skills, but they’re exactly the qualities needed to create user-centred public services,” he said.

The approach also reflects the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of government digital delivery, where technical expertise needs to sit alongside communication, stakeholder engagement and an understanding of users.

“Government digital transformation isn’t just about technology; it’s about improving people’s experiences when accessing essential services,” said Probert.

“Individuals from diverse professional backgrounds naturally challenge assumptions and encourage teams to think beyond purely technical solutions.”

Building rather than buying digital skills

Academy programmes are unlikely to replace the need for experienced digital specialists. But Probert argues they could become a more important part of the government’s approach to workforce development, particularly given public sector pay constraints.

Rather than repeatedly competing for a limited number of established professionals, organisations can potentially create additional capacity by developing people who would otherwise struggle to enter the sector.

“I believe academy-style programmes can make a significant contribution, provided they’re viewed as a long-term investment rather than a short-term solution,” he said.

“They aren’t designed to replace experienced recruitment but to complement it by creating a sustainable pipeline of digital professionals who might otherwise never have entered the sector.”

That investment does, however, require more than putting recruits through an initial training course.

Mercator’s model combines technical training with coaching, wellbeing support and experience on live projects. New recruits initially work alongside experienced consultants, observing and supporting delivery before taking responsibility for increasingly complex work.

Probert said ongoing mentoring is particularly important to helping inexperienced recruits make the transition into live government environments.

“People progress more quickly when they know they have experienced colleagues available to guide them through unfamiliar challenges rather than being expected to succeed independently from day one,” he said.

Creating multiple routes into government digital

Looking longer term, Probert argues academy programmes should form one part of a wider ecosystem alongside apprenticeships, graduate schemes and conventional recruitment.

Academies could have a particular role in reaching career changers, veterans, parents returning to work and others who have the potential to succeed in digital professions but lack traditional technical credentials.

The changing nature of technology could make that wider skills base increasingly important.

“As technology continues to evolve, particularly through AI and automation, technical knowledge alone will become less of a differentiator,” said Probert.

“Skills such as critical thinking, adaptability, collaboration and continuous learning will become increasingly important.”

For government, the implication is that addressing the digital skills gap may depend as much on creating new sources of talent as attracting existing specialists.

“Ultimately, if government wants to create a sustainable digital workforce, it needs multiple pathways into the profession,” said Probert.

“The more diverse those pathways are, the stronger, more resilient and more representative the workforce will become.”