What a Tech Skills Gap Means for the Armed Forces

As tech-enabled warfare continues to be a key talking point for post-Brexit Britain, the head of the UK’s armed forces has encouraged cyber specialists and data engineers to join as reservists to fill gaps in tech capabilities.

Due to the high demand for tech expertise, the general notion is that there will be a strong mix of full- and part-time service, with those who are committing to short-term defence deployments having the capability to move efficiently and painlessly between their civilian job and their part-time service.

The future is set to include an emphasis on digital capabilities, which means that the demand for tech experience has never been higher.

What does a skills gap mean for the armed forces, and what skills are required? 

How technology is used by the armed forces

The uptake of technological improvement isn’t exclusive to the UK, who is in the planning stages of implementing greater cyber capabilities.

As China increases its military capabilities, particularly in the navy, there has also been increased investment in cyber warfare. 

In the UK, however, the skills necessary to push for a cutting-edge approach to aid technological development are usually found in the private sector – not in the military’s own ranks.

In line with the 2030 vision of the armed forces, the goal is to increase and fully integrate the use of electronic warfare and cyber capabilities.

This includes artificial intelligence (AI), synthetic/digital systems, and space-based capabilities, all backed by an investment of over £60m.

Filling roles covering these areas will be critical in achieving the innovation necessary to cultivate more adaptable, agile processes.

As these skills are usually tied to dedicated disciplines, the knowledge needed to be proficient tends to mean that private sector cyber specialists and data engineers are necessary to fill the skills gaps.

Which skills are in demand?

The rapid pace of technological innovation has meant that skills in data analysis and engineering, cybersecurity, AI, and even computer language are in high demand.

Many of the skill gaps that the armed forces are and will be experiencing relate to the push for automated and data-driven processes.

Artificial intelligence

There has been somewhat of a rush to adopt the use of AI in the armed forces, as a response to the use of AI by China and Russia.

This means that those with the ability to synthesise and leverage large, dynamic data sets in real time will be in high demand to avoid falling behind in the uptake of AI.

The potential uses for AI are vast, from vulnerability discovery to the automation social engineering attacks, and even autonomous surveillance, counter-attack systems, cyber attack mitigation and adaptive communications systems.

AI systems will be an integral part of the tech innovation of the armed forces, which means that those with data analysis skills, experience handling and analysing complex networking and systems, as the success of AI adoption rests critically on data.

Data science

A deep understanding of statistical and analytical techniques will be a vital element in bridging the tech skills gap.

This includes proficiency in coding languages, in order to develop and utilise mathematical models.

Additionally, full-stack data scientists could be a lifeline for the armed forces, as they have the skills necessary to provide end-to-end analytical solutions, assist with infrastructure, data engineering, machine learning, data visualisations and algorithmic development.

These skills offer a huge tactical advantage, as it means that there is greater efficiency and speed for real-time data support.

Given the rapidly changing context during deployment, having those who can overcome communications challenges to give data science support can go a long way.

Analytics

Rapid innovation can sometimes stagnate if there is a gap between the uptake of technology and the contextual understanding. 

Reservists who can communicate the data into an operational context will help to overcome the difficulties when attempting to leverage data into a deployed environment.

This goes hand-in-hand with the necessity for data science skills, as those who are strong analytics translators can align the data science with the context – without the pitfalls of standstills due to technical complexities.

In a nutshell, those who can efficiently analyse large data sets and convert it into actionable intelligence will be in high demand!

Attracting skilled reservists

There’s no doubt that the skills that private sector cyber specialists and data engineers have are necessary in helping the armed forces evolve to a more agile future.

However, the main barrier in meeting the demand is attracting it – particularly since a balance needs to be struck in order to make the transition impactful.

The UK armed forces have recently somewhat relaxed hiring rules to allow private sector candidates entry into the military, in an effort to recruit more cyber specialists.

Ambitions for cyber capabilities in the armed forces are only going to get bigger, which is why bringing in tech specialists is such a high priority, with such fierce competition.

Efforts have already been made to relax lateral entry criteria for midlevel and senior roles to make space for those with tech expertise, as part of a wider effort to keep up with the likes of Russia and China, who continue to heavily invest in AI and analytics.

This comes at a time when the UK has a National Cyber Force, expected to grow to a force of 3,000 within the next decade – the time to achieve an objective of an agile, digitally capable future for the armed forces is now.

To summarise

Tech expertise is in high demand across sectors, and the armed forces are no different.

In order to innovate, adapt, and become more agile (in line with the 2030 vision of the armed forces), special attention needs to be given to highly-coveted skills in data analytics and engineering, AI, data science and cybersecurity. 

Attracting these candidates might not be an easy task, but the payoff from having the advanced capabilities and the benefits of aligning the theory with the practice will go a long way in putting the increased funding into tech capabilities for the armed forces to good use.

If you’re an organisation looking for candidates with highly transferable skillsets, get in touch so that OWOA can open your talent pool to the ex-forces market.