The report — which is underpinned by a survey of 255 decision-makers involved with digital transformation efforts — highlighted the pervasiveness of the country’s tech skills gap, with only one in 10 firms claiming not to be suffering from a lack of skilled IT professionals in any way.

It uncovered that the biggest gap is in the field of software development (37%), with large companies boasting over 500 employees experiencing this more acutely (48%). Following software development, the next most in demand roles are in cybersecurity (37%) and digital marketing (36%).

Worryingly, respondents pointed to the fact that the situation is getting tougher as time goes on. Over half (57%) of respondents said that their tech talent shortages have either substantially or somewhat increased compared to last year, rising to 74% for the firms experiencing large or very large shortages.

The reasons for their internal shortages, firms believe, include not being able to find qualified candidates (34%), as well a lack of budget (32%).

The report also spotlighted the domino effect that the shortages are having on organisations’ digital transformation efforts. For instance, for the firms that admitted they weren’t making decent progress on their digital transformation journeys, the main reason cited was that it’s taking longer than expected (45%), with a further 30% citing there’s too much work to be done and too few people. Specifically, 22% noted they don’t have the right talent in place.

Further, there’s a consequent negative impact on teams’ mental health. While 92% of people reported feelings of work-related stress, nearly two-thirds (62%) cite tech talent shortages as the cause, with more than half (52%) of those respondents experiencing an increased workload. People working in senior management roles were the most likely to lay the blame on the tech talent shortages, with 80% saying so.

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In light of these findings regarding talent shortages, mental health challenges, and paused digital transformation efforts, Gigged.AI’s report advocates for organisations to “think about more flexible ways to tackle these challenges.”

Positively, the research found that firms are already starting to do so, with over a quarter (27%) of firms creating training programmes to upskill current employees to plug skills gaps, and 69% offering mental health support to their staff, for example.

Also in the report, Mark Logan, the chief entrepreneurial advisor to the Scottish Government, recommended that the UK tech industry take a systemic approach to creating and supplying the needed talent: “The size, strength and resilience of the tech sector is largely a function of the talent available.

“The UK needs to adopt a more systematic approach to supplying that talent, with a joined-up policy across schools, universities and colleges, retraining support to convert from other disciplines, immigration and a lifelong learning programme. Without that we are choosing to limit our economic strength well into the future.”

The full report, titled Digital Transformation in Crisis: The Impact of Skill Shortages, Talent Trends and Burnout on the UK’s Technology Industry, can be read here.