To help inform The Hg Foundation’s strategy and funding priorities, we have partnered with the National Foundation For Educational Research (NFER) to analyse education and employment trajectories into the tech workforce in the UK.

The aim is to help us better understand the relative value of different education and employment pathways, choices and outcomes, to achieve well-paid, secure and fulfilling tech jobs for underrepresented groups.

The research will run over the course of 2025 and seek to answer the following questions:

• How do different educational pathways (including educational choices and achievement) support entry into the tech workforce?

• To what extent are there disparities for different beneficiary groups (by disadvantage, ethnicity and gender) in entry, progression and earnings into the tech workforce?

• What value do employers place on qualifications and grades in hiring for tech roles?

• To what extent do tech employers seek diversity in their workforce and what strategies do they use when hiring to fill vacancies and support career progression?

In March 2025 we released the first report for this work, looking at the trends in job adverts for tech roles.