Are Testing vacancies on the rise?

With a strong talent pool in the UK, the software and manual Testing market has seen it’s fair share of fluctuations over the years. As we move through Q2, Sanderson Senior Consultant Elias Ofosu shares his thoughts on the Testing job market.

After a quiet Q1, Q2 has seen a steady rise in Testing vacancies, particularly for contract positions. Automation testing skills are in high demand, with companies seeking candidates experienced in tools like Selenium WebDriver, Cypress, and Specflow.

While there is still demand for manual testers, it doesn’t compare to the market for automation testers, which is in line with most industries shifting away from manual testing roles.

Over the past few months, we’ve noticed a trend in the number of organisations offshoring their QA function while keeping the Development team onshore. There are several potential reasons for this, including increased efficiencies, cost reductions and access to talent in job markets such as India and Central Europe.

However, the UK has an extensive and talented Testing talent pool, so this trend leads to an interesting question. How do engineering departments view QA in 2024? Is it an essential function with an equal voice in software engineering? Is it a job that should sit embedded with a software engineering team? Should developers take responsibility for end-to-end quality, or is it simply a cost centre that gets in the way of producing features at pace?

To find out more and to read our Test Automation Engineer Specialism Spotlight with an overview of talent pool location, salary ranges and gender splits, download your copy of our latest Technology & Digital Insights Report here.

If reading this has sparked a need for insights into your market, contact our expert Talent Insights Team today. We use a variety of first-hand research techniques, tools and proprietary data to help you understand more about the trends and opportunities within your market.