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It was Benjamin Franklin who said: “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. In addition to that I can add another certainty – the lack of quality IT developers in the Financial Technology landscape. Blessed is the geek, for they shall inherit if not the earth, then a hefty salary, possible equity and the intoxicating enticement of never having to leave their dwellings.

Across Europe companies of all shapes and sizes are crying out for Back End, Front End and Full Stack Developers with skills in languages such as Golang, Python, Javascript, Node.Js and React. Google are offering salaries of £140K to 25 year old naifs with 2 years’ experience under their best. Heady times! COVID-19 and its ensuing and enduring impact on the landscape of work means if an individual is sharp and talented enough, they can work remotely without the need to physically go to the office, which increases their marketability way beyond the country in which they live. Cash Rules Everything Around Me, rapped the Wu-Tang-Clan many years ago, and no conversation about Technology Recruitment can be seriously had without making reference to the inflated salaries currently being earned by Developers and Quants – even Tech orientated Product Managers are making the sort of bank the likes of Middle Office, Regulatory Change and Compliance can only dream about.

Stupid, pointless, unnecessary Brexit has made recruiting Technologists in the UK a much harder proposition, with many having the skills and the desire but not the legal means (such as Pre-Settled Status/Global Talent Visa/Post Study Work Visa) to work on a Permanent basis. This means that any Techie with the skills to pay the ever-increasing bills are in high demand, and in essence, has their pick of roles. If we are in a Recession, actual, technical or theoretical, it is my opinion that Technology Recruitment will continue apace. Much has been made of the likes of Google, Meta, Spotify and the like making redundancies – but chopping 5% of heads is standard practice anywhere to keep the workers frosty. Make no mistake – the Tech landscape is in the rudest of health.

So who is hiring? Readers, it is easier to say who is not. Crypto companies who are fighting against the odds to stay alive still need Developers, DevOps candidates and Product Specialists, as do the Banks, Hedge Funds and Fintech organisations. Developers with Rust and Ethereum skills are also highly covetable, as companies continue to see the value in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology. It is also worth mentioning the NFT/Gaming Space, Web 3.0 Metaverse – despite Crypto being out for the count, these areas continue to see growth and a good level of hiring across all levels – with fresh grads finding a more compelling home here than at a Tier 1 bank as one of the foot soldiers.

In conclusion, there has never been a better time to be in the Tech space. With banks like the EBRD spending mucho dinero on a huge Digital Transformation Programme (as well as fancy new digs on the Wharf) and continued VC Funding and General Investment for growing Tech Firms, the future is looking brighter than it is for the Techies than for almost everybody else in the City, as the nights draw in and distant sounds of Sleigh Bells start to emanate from the North Pole. Happy 2022!

Contact Robert Lycett at MWEK – https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertjlycett/

http://www.mwek.com/