As a company we’ve been recruiting for the development industry for a number of years, but in 2016, we observed that the industry was facing severe hiring challenges:

• 97% of UK companies have experienced challenges hiring developers in the last 12 months
• There are 2.2 developer jobs for every experienced candidate
• Development is the 3rd most in-demand skill in the UK

These statistics compelled us to look further afield and to research how to bring talented developers to the UK for our clients through Tier 2 visa sponsorship.

Research showed us that Vietnam was the ideal country for sourcing world-class developers. Not only does Ho Chi Minh City have more technical universities than the UK combined, but 83% of students choose science over social degrees. Learning English is promoted at Vietnamese universities, so the vast majority of developers have English as their second language and speak it fluently. All of this, combined with the fact that Vietnam has been named the world’s fastest-growing IT region for the past 6 years, led us to identify Vietnam as our very own Asian Silicon Valley!

Our first intake for our Tier 2 Workers Programme took place in 2016. We received hundreds and hundreds of applications, but after a thorough interview process, where our own developers tested the candidate’s technical capabilities and our consultants interviewed them to find out their motivations and if a move to the UK was right for them individually, we selected a number of candidates for our MD Matt to do final interviews within Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Throughout the process, we prided ourselves on the welfare of our candidates, all the way from finding out if moving their families to the UK was right for them to ensure they understood what would happen once they got to the UK.

When our first 2 chosen developers and their spouses landed in the UK, we met them at the airport, took them to get a sim card and UK bank account, before taking them around properties in their price range for them to rent.

This process isn’t short by any means; however, we believe it’s critical in order to help these individuals settle into life in the UK as smoothly as possible. We were even fortunate enough to win the APSCo Awards for Excellence – ‘Best Client Initiative of the Year’ in 2017 because of how we prioritised welfare in our Tier 2 Workers Programme.

Since our first intake, we’ve only had positive feedback on the talented developers we’ve placed with our clients and this is obviously mutual, with 100% of the developers still in their posts. We’ve also expanded, with Matt travelling to meet a number of world-class developers in Malaysia during our most recent intake.

So, if you’re a development manager looking to hire talented individuals into your team, or perhaps you’re aware that your managers are struggling to hire the right developers, please get in touch with our MD Matt Collingwood

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