Lateral moves in tech: Why leaders should support employee mobility
In light of ongoing skills shortages, companies can benefit by incentivising staff to move laterally within their firm or even the wider tech sector. This might mean reskilling those in non-technical roles to become data analysts or software engineers, or conversely providing STEM graduates with a grounding in areas such as data ethics or humanities.
These kinds of lateral moves are being seen to an increasing, with data showing that people regularly shift between different kinds of roles within the tech sector. Harvey Nash’s 2024 Global Tech Talent and Salary report found that nearly four in ten tech professionals went into a non-tech role after education and then transitioned into a more tech-focused role later. In addition, only half of technologists entered the industry through the traditional university STEM degree route.
Movement is particularly being seen in reskilling into rolls in AI, machine learning (ML) and data, says Charlie Deacon, managing consultant at Harvey Nash.
“There’s a real push into these areas with new roles such as AI or ML engineers and project managers being created,” he explains. “We could describe it as ‘dev to data’. It’s also about a move from project to product, as many businesses are taking a more product-focused approach where teams concentrate entirely on the management of a specific product rather than a variety of projects. Cyber’s another attractive area, as is data ethics and sustainability,” he notes.
Unlocking potential through internal mobility
More is happening now inside companies to incentivise and support internal moves, partly because it’s cheaper than hiring externally, says Deacon. As a general rule he believes startups and scale-ups tend to be particularly strong on internal mobility and reskilling as they have agile cultures and fluid organizational structures.
However, he’s also seen that tech leaders at some bigger businesses have been finding there’s more available to them in terms of training budgets than previously realized.
Individuals are also training themselves independently through the wealth of courses and materials available online. “I don’t think it will be long before some standard AI-related certifications emerge equivalent to PRINCE2 for project management,” he notes.
Making tech transitions more accessible
Even so, more can be done to make tech careers accessible to individuals with non-technical or humanities backgrounds says Sheila Flavell, COO of FDM Group. This can be done by offering programmes that blend hands-on experience with structured learning, she says.
“Training programmes and bootcamps are essential for making career transitions more accessible by offering structured learning, practical experience and industry-relevant skills.
“Mentorship and coaching further support this, ensuring participants receive the guidance needed to succeed in new roles. While a trainer provides the skills for a specific role, a career coach promotes longer-term learning and guidance on how to navigate different career paths.”
Company culture matters
As well as providing the formal training necessary to support lateral moves within the tech sector, it’s also important to cultivate a workplace culture that supports staff and encourages career mobility. This helps to retain staff while also upskilling them. For example, consultancy firm Mercator Digital allows its staff to move between technical and non-technical roles.
Connie Bernardin, project management office coordinator at Mercator Digital, had stumbled into a career as a software developer after completing a social sciences degree and feeling unsure which career direction to take. But after 18 months on the job, she realised programming wasn’t her passion.
“While I loved the problem-solving aspects of the job, I struggled with the isolated nature of work. Likewise, I didn’t find the same satisfaction in fixing small bugs in code as my colleagues. I wanted more bigger picture impact and people-facing time.
Bernadin spoke with senior members of staff and organized one-to-one meetings with the CEO. Around three months after speaking up, the CEO encouraged Connie to apply for a role within the project management office (PMO). She was offered the position of coordinator and began a formal training program, where she discovered her existing knowledge was very useful.
This move changed Connie’s perception of what career progression within the tech industry can look like.
“It’s proven how career progression doesn’t have to be linear at all. By carving new paths and moving laterally across roles, you end up acquiring a much broader skillset and deeper understanding of the industry.”
April Garlington had a similar experience at Mercator, where she re-skilled from software development to training at Mercator’s Academy. She’d been a secondary school teacher before transitioning into software development and, while she loved the mental challenge of coding, missed the fast-paced, people-facing side of teaching.
“I wouldn’t have been able to put the curriculum together or teach the content without having been a developer. Beyond giving me the technical knowledge, my experience allows me to teach with real-world anecdotes that help cement concepts,” she explains.
“The skills you have built in tech are incredibly transferable and can open doors to careers you might not have considered. A lateral move doesn’t mean stepping away from tech, it’s about leveraging your expertise in a new and potentially more fulfilling way.”
The tech industry is clearly seeing a shift in how career progression is viewed, particularly among Gen Z, which views lateral career movement as a key strategy for growth.
Therefore, experts understandably predict continued growth in training and development programmes, as companies appreciate the importance of internal reskilling and mobility. Those organizations that incentivise lateral moves are more likely to benefit – by retaining and up-skilling their staff.
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