Overview of the UK's IT industry

While rapid advancements in technology have presented increased opportunities to the UK's tech sector, skills shortages need to be addressed - get a job in IT and be part of one of the nation's key industries

What areas of IT can I work in?

According to CompTIA's State of the Tech Workforce UK report, the tech sector employed just under two million workers in 2021, accounting for 6.3% of the total UK workforce.

In addition, the UK Tech Ecosystem update (June 2022) - a Tech Nation report supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Digital Economy Council - revealed that there's been a huge push to encourage talent to enter the industry, with over two million open vacancies within the past year.

So, if you possess the relevant knowledge and technical skills, you could work in:

applications development
computer forensics
content management
cyber security and risk management
data analysis and analytics
game development
geographical information systems (GIS)
hardware engineering
information management
IT consultancy (business and technical)
IT sales
multimedia programming
software engineering (designing, building, developing and testing)
systems/network management
technical support
telecommunications
web design/development.

For instance, your job may involve creating applications or systems, solving problems with technology, or supporting those who use it. Employers in the IT industry also require graduates to work in their business, marketing, human resources (HR) and finance functions.

Many IT professionals also choose to work outside the sector, such as in the IT departments of retail, finance, manufacturing and public sector organisations.

Who are the main IT graduate employers?

Large and global companies include:

Accenture
Amazon
Apple
Capgemini
Cisco
Cognizant
Dell
FDM Group
Fujitsu
Google
IBM
Infosys
Intel
Meta (Facebook)
Microsoft
Oracle
Rockstar Games
Samsung
Softcat
Ubisoft.

Major telecommunications companies include:

BT Group (EE, Openreach, Plusnet)
Sky UK
TalkTalk
Telefónica UK (O2)
Three
Virgin Media (Virgin Mobile UK)
Vodafone.

As the sector is fast-moving and dynamic, there are many smaller businesses and tech start-ups that are worth seeking out for entry-level job opportunities. For example, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the IT industry provide a range of specialist services and typically offer consultancy and technical roles.

IT professionals are also employed to work in many other job sectors, including:

Financial services - recruiters such as Barclays, Citigroup, Deloitte, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are looking for IT graduates to work with the latest technologies. These include jobs with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, virtual reality software development, robotics process automation, user experience (UX) or analytics.
Manufacturing - multinational engineering companies in the oil, pharmaceuticals, automotive and energy industries need IT specialists to work on the processes and technologies that underpin their operations. For instance, aerospace and defence innovator MBDA requires software engineers with programming language skills.
Public sector - local authorities, central government and the National Health Service (NHS) all recruit IT professionals to keep their systems running smoothly, deliver projects and analyse data efficiently so it can be used to make major decisions.
Retail - major online and high street retailers such as Amazon, Tesco, TJX Europe and John Lewis look to technology graduates to develop new systems and apps, while rolling out technological solutions that satisfy their customers' needs.

Consider what you can do with a degree in computer science or information systems.

Explore the range of technical careers on offer at IT graduate jobs.

Where can I find IT jobs in the UK?

Most employers expect you to have gained some technical knowledge of IT, although any relevant work experience or internship would be beneficial as you seek to land your first role.

You can search for graduate jobs in IT or visit the websites of major IT and telecommunications companies to browse job opportunities.

Vacancies for entry-level and graduate jobs can also be found on specialist IT recruitment sites, including:

IT jobs in the public sector can be found on websites such as:

In addition, you can look for IT vacancies on general jobs websites, as employers across all sectors require graduates to fill IT and computing roles in their organisations.

Another option is to find an IT apprenticeship, as you'll be able to learn on the job while studying towards a recognised certification.

How do I apply for IT roles?

An IT CV, also known as a technical CV, can be used to apply for roles such as web developer, IT consultant, software tester or applications developer.

Include an introductory paragraph that mentions your technical expertise and experience and incorporate a 'key skills' heading that allows for more detail when discussing technical competencies.

While you might be tempted to showcase all your technical abilities at once, ensure that you highlight relevant skills first and foremost. You should also bear in mind that the document will need to be understood by non-technical people such as HR managers.

Use this CV template to focus on your:

ability to maintain existing software applications and develop new ones
experience of applying technical standards, theories and techniques
problem-solving capabilities
communication skills.

What about technology graduate schemes?

Many major companies run graduate schemes focusing on IT and technology. These are structured training programmes for new and recent graduates, usually lasting between one and two years.

Companies offering IT and technology graduate schemes include:

Visit the recruitment websites of large businesses to find more opportunities. You can also search for IT graduate schemes.

Explore graduate schemes in more detail.

What's it like working in IT?

Graduates entering the IT industry in the UK can expect:

An average starting salary - according to High Fliers' The Graduate Market in 2023 report, starting salaries for technology jobs with organisations featuring in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers are £27,500.
Long working hours - employers tend to emphasise completing a task or project over maintaining standard 9am-5pm office hours.
Opportunities to work abroad - many large IT companies have branches or subsidiaries in other countries.
The chance to be self-employed - it's not unusual for graduates to go freelance, work as a contractor or even start their own companies.
A constantly changing industry - as new technologies and software are developed, it's important to keep your skills up to date to remain at the top of your profession.

To find out more about salaries and working conditions for specific roles, explore our IT job profiles.

What are the IT skills shortages?

Representing over 800 member organisations, industry trade association techUK has highlighted the need for the UK's growing digital skills gaps to be addressed to remain at the forefront of innovation and research and development (R&D).

Nimmi Patel, techUK's skills and diversity programme manager, explains, 'The UK's tech sector is growing at 2.5 times the rate of the rest of the economy creating exciting jobs that require a range of skills and talent - but the UK is still facing a major digital skills shortage. To effectively prepare our workforce in an ever-changing digital economy, we need to inspire and support people into digital roles.

'There are a number of vocational and academic pathways that can provide people with the right technical skills to flourish in the industry, but the IT industry needs more than developers and programmers,' adds Nimmi.

Indeed, TechNation's Jobs & Skills Report 2021 showed that while the number of advertised tech jobs had risen by over a third (42%), many employers were unable to fill these vacancies.

The top in-demand skills included those associated with data science and IT system architecture. Statistics, AI, analytics and machine learning skills were highly valued for the former, with business and data management and Amazon AWS the most sought-after for the latter.

What are the IT industry trends?

In its IT Leaders 2021 report, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, assessed the capabilities, skills and ethics required by IT organisations in the near-term future. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings showed how reliant organisations are on their IT function.

Operational efficiencies (59%), business transformation and organisational change (55%), and remote and distributed working (48%) were among the top priorities for these firms.

Driven by the advancements in digital technologies and the need to remain secure, the report revealed how respondents had made cyber security and cloud their main technological priorities.

Other priorities included business process automation, Agile methods, big data, IT governance (legislative changes), AI, compliance, the as-a-service model (for example, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), mobile/apps, the internet of things and 5G.

The manipulation of data is a skill that cannot be overlooked, especially with the rise in awareness of the data scientist role.

There are other considerations too. For example, the effect that current or incoming legislation will have on work, such as GDPR-related roles. This would have an implication for big data professionals, who would require skills in AWS, Python, Hadoop, Spark, Cloudera, MongoDB, Hive, Tableau and Java.

The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) has highlighted how the entertainment sector, which incorporates, music, video and games, is set to hit £10billion in UK sales in 2022 - as it enjoys its ninth successive year of growth. This means that careers in the media, music and video gaming industries are also viable routes for technology graduates.

Find out more

Read about diversity in the tech industry.
Explore how to upgrade your existing skills with an IT course.
Discover how to get into digital marketing.