The mobility of tech talent will slow down

At the end of 2021 we predicted lots of mobility in the tech talent pool, with people more likely to move jobs more frequently – but it seems like next year is likely to pitch the other way. With tech layoffs, hiring freezes and the cost-of-living crisis escalating, it’s likely less people will be comfortable taking risks and changing careers. This will probably lead to more of a culture of instability and uncertainty than we have seen in 2022; so to appeal to candidates, you might need to be more transparent about your funding picture and assure them you’ll still be around in a year’s time. On the other hand, there will be more candidates on the market because of redundancies in the tech industries, but in general the tech talent pool is going to be far shallower.

Climate tech will soar

2021 was a record-breaking year for investment in climate tech, and in 2022 investment in climate tech actually doubled – so it’s not a case of taking off, but reaching even greater heights. As climate change unfortunately tightens its fist, and we see a slow but steady shift towards a more widespread awareness of the issue at both an institutional and individual level, climate tech is becoming more urgently needed. The looming recession means a survival mode mindset will make a comeback; funding is more likely to be directed towards tech that addresses real-life, real-time issues rather than concepts which rely on people’s disposable income (such as speedy grocery delivery).

The rise of challenger banks and fintechs

Thanks to that looming recession we keep speaking about, 2023 is going to be a year where people in general care a lot more about where their money is going. The public’s focus is going to shift to financial security and financial freedom as they’re forced to tighten their belts, and so challenger banks and innovative fintechs are likely to have a much more pliable and receptive market. Startups like Strabo and Loqbox, who take innovative approaches to financial planning and credit score management, are likely to see an acceleration in 2023 as the cost-of-living-crisis and recession forces people to get serious about their finances.

Investment boards will begin spotlighting diverse talent

As diversity and inclusion becomes more of a priority in the startup industries and more generally, we forecast a shift in the investment patterns of fund managers and investment boards. Where traditionally these kind of boards have been pretty homogenous and non-diversified, we think 2023 will usher in a new phase of diverse founders being invested in from the very beginning. Research has shown that diverse teams have much better financial outcomes across the board, with 63% higher business value in teams with one or more female founder versus all-male founders, and 65% higher business value with one or more ethnically diverse c-suite members compared to all-white c-suite teams. Although it will probably take many investment cycles to achieve equity, it seems like next year will be the start of a significant shift in investment boards prioritising diverse founders; we’ve already seen a move towards it, with black-led angel groups like Cornerstone VC taking the lead and plenty of others along the way.

Java and Python will stay on top

In terms of programming languages, we don’t predict that much of a change in the relevancy and popularity rankings. The top 5 (Java, Python, SQL, C++ and JavaScript) have a considerable lead at the end of 2022, with the fifth ranked JavaScript having roughly about four times the volume of the sixth ranked language, Bash. Whilst we have seen some growth in smaller languages like Go and Typescript, it’s unlikely that any of them will be able to break into the top 5!

2023 is bound to be an interesting year for the tech industry – with a mixture of peaks and troughs across the board. Regardless of the cost-of-living crisis and tech layoffs, the tech industry is continuing to grow pretty consistently for now. Growth slowed in 2022 compared to 2021, but general forecasts point towards something of a recovery in 2023. Even if hiring more generally will slow, companies can’t afford to fall behind in acquiring and retaining top tech talent.

If you want to chat through your hiring strategy for the new year, drop our co-founder and CEO Alan Furley a message on LinkedIn!