Scotland set for first IoT recruitment platform, aiming to address tech skills gap, on back of new tie-up

Scotland is set for what is billed as its first recruitment platform of its kind, which aims to help address the skills gap in the tech sector, as a result of a new partnership.

Filament Smart Things Accelerator Centre (Stac), which says it is Scotland’s IoT accelerator, has partnered with HR specialist Jordan Talent Solutions to debut the offering, known as Stac Jobs, in the first quarter of this year to proactively address hiring challenges in the growing industry. Stac added that it is already supporting 23 active companies with 70 employees from its base at Skypark in Glasgow, with a new 250-desk facility boasting fully equipped labs planned for the second quarter.

Stac chief executive Paul Wilson believes the new initiative – expected to be Scotland’s first IoT and smart devices recruitment platform – will accelerate the progress of the IoT sector in Scotland. He said: “We are on track to create Europe’s largest IoT cluster in 2023. Stac Jobs will help us get to this point, by bringing about a step-change in how companies access high-quality talent. We need to build more IoT intellectual property here, and we can only do that if we have the right people and teams in place to drive that growth.”

Jordan Talent Solutions, co-founded by LeighAnne and Grant Jordan, works with companies from early-stage ventures to international corporates. Ms Jordan said: “We know we have extremely capable Scottish founders and companies in the IoT space, and Stac Jobs will support their talent-acquisition strategies, processes, and policies. If our start-ups are to compete with the established order in the global IoT sector, they need to attract and retain the best talent.”

From left: Stac COO Gregor Aikman, Jordan Talent Solutions co-founders Grant and LeighAnne Jordan, and Stac CEO Paul Wilson. Picture: Stewart Attwood.

Mr Wilson also said IoT (whereby devices can communicate with in-built technology) is “integral” to key future industries north of the Border, adding: “Scottish success stories like remote patient monitoring scale-up Current Health, which secured the second largest European healthcare exit in 2021, or New York Stock Exchange-listed nanosatellite developer Spire Global are two examples of what we can achieve.”

Stac, which marked its first anniversary in October, says its local partners in Scotland include Murphy Wealth, AAB, Burness Paull, Scintilla, Arceptive, Soben, Integrated Graphene, and Pivot International, while on a global scale it works with names such as semiconductor chip manufacturer Intel Corporation.