It’s not just Europe, Silicon Valley has a talent problem too

One of the enduring issues with London’s growing tech scene is the shortage of skilled workers.

Programming is now being taught in schools for the first time but we are years away from a generation of coders.

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Despite all the hype around Silicon Valley, it turns out they are having very similar problems.

What’s the problem?

According to DLA Piper‘s fourth annual Technology Leaders Forecast Survey, 72 percent of business leaders felt that a talent shortage and talent flight were a significant or moderate risk to Silicon Valley.

The survey measures the attitudes of senior US technology and venture capital executives.

It found that the biggest perceived threat to talent was workers’ inclination to start their own company and the risk of being poached by competitors.

However, 41 percent of those surveyed also believed that talent turnover is a natural inherent business risk.

Emerging markets

The second biggest threat found was the emerging global tech centers in Asia, South America and Europe.

66 percent of those surveyed thought emerging markets were a reasonable threat to Silicon Valley remaining the global leader in innovation.

The change in attitudes towards China’s booming tech ecosystem was particularly noticeable.

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In 2012, 54 percent disagreed that China will be a source of major technology innovation in the next five to 10 years. Two years on, 67 percent agreed with the same statement.

Recently, Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba successfully floated on the New York Stock Exchange, valuing the company at $170bn.

Keeping positive

Despite the worries about talent shortages and competition from Asia, Silicon Valley leaders are still cautiously optimistic.

78 percent expected moderate growth in the US market in the next 12 months, 74 percent believe its a strong market for US tech IPOs and 81 percent expect employment growth for their businesses.

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This story originally appeared on Tech City News. Copyright 2014