Demand for digital marketing skills in city outstripping supply

For months, if not longer, the talk in recruitment has been about the disproportionately high number of candidates in comparison to vacancies. But, in one sector at least, the scales have tipped in the other direction.

The demand for digital marketing specialists is on the increase – and, from conversations we’ve been having with other business people and clients, we suspect it’s not a short term spike but the beginning of a long term trend.

For the uninitiated, and I should probably count myself in that number!, digital marketing incorporates search engine optimisation, Google analytics, pay per click advertising and the whole range of social media – Facebook, Twitter and the like.

More and more companies are getting involved in these forms of marketing. But they need people to manage it. And that’s where they’re struggling to find people. Online marketing is still in its infancy so the number of experts in the field is still relatively small. Demand is outstripping supply.

We’re particularly noticing this in Peterborough where media and marketing is one of the growth sectors. We are getting more and more requests from companies, large and small, for people with a background in digital marketing and finding the right calibre of people is a challenge.

I hope that this is something schools, universities and other training centres will pick up on so that, eventually, we will start to see a healthy flow of people with the right skill sets to match these kind of vacancies.

In the meantime, if you have an online marketing background or expertise, congratulations – you’re in demand!