Almost half (47%) of young people are put off pursuing a career in tech because they believe they are not qualified enough or lack the skills they need, according to research released by digital development partner xDesign.

Just under three-quarters (73%) of respondents also reported finding it hard to get into tech due to a lack of experience or contacts to support them.

In a nod to the ongoing lack of diversity in the industry, half of respondents (50%) said they have been put off joining the sector as they don’t see anyone like them in it.

The survey of over 2,000 young people aged between 16-30 from across England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland was commissioned as part of ‘Leeds Unleashed,’ an initiative led by xDesign and Leeds City Council in partnership with Sky, Burberry and Glean that’s taking place on 5 May.

Leeds Unleashed will see the partners open their doors to local school, college, and university students as well as career changers, offering them access to their people and technology, in a bid to bust the myths that surround the sector and tackle the ongoing digital skills gap.

As well as providing an opportunity to learn about the latest tech being used by each partner, it will also enable young people and career changers to engage face-to-face with technologists and other specialists.

The research also revealed that almost four-in-ten respondents (39%) bemoaned a lack of information available to expand their knowledge of the sector.

Further, over half (56%) believed they would need to move away from their current location to pursue a tech career, due to a perception that there are limited local opportunities.

Alarmingly, about one-in-five also said that they would not consider a career in tech as the sector ‘seems boring to work in.’ When asked what tech organisations could do to encourage more people into the sector, the most popular response (chosen by 30%) was to ‘provide more support for schools, colleges, and universities to create a pathway into the sector.’

Matt Ward, Head of xDesign’s Leeds office said: “The results of this research underline the importance of organisations stepping up to support young people into the tech sector. With the help of our partners, we’re already taking action in Leeds today, but we plan to roll this initiative out to other parts of the UK to address what we can see from our stats is a national issue.

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“We also, as a sector, need to urgently tackle the ongoing misconceptions surrounding working in tech if we are to have any hope at all of closing the digital skills gap.

“For instance, half of young people feel under-qualified or under-skilled for a career in tech – but formal qualifications aren’t a must-have. Equally, working in tech doesn’t just mean being a developer or engineer – there are a whole host of other roles available in the sector and it takes much more than just technologists to drive a tech-enabled company forward.

“There are many routes into a career in tech, and it’s our job as a sector to make this clearer to our young people, so we’re not missing out on half the potential talent pool.”