The Candidate is a specialist Manchester based digital marketing recruitment company. They recently conducted the first agency study of the North West's digital marketing sector, and quizzed dozens of industry professionals across a variety of positions and levels of seniority. Their findings show that there is more to the skills shortage than just money as a series of structural factors linked to training, recruitment processes and higher education challenges play out to cause a major headache for agencies and candidates alike. At the heart of the problem lies the disconnect between many digital native marketers, often graduates of specialist vocational courses holding junior agency positions and senior staff, two-thirds of whom graduated from redbrick universities and without specialist digital marketing backgrounds. What’s clear from Candidate’s research is that addressing the skills shortage requires a form of realignment - for agencies and clients to sync better. Not only do agency management call the recruitment shots but it’s clearly in their interests to start developing a better, more nuanced client understanding. Candidates too, particularly vocational graduates would be wise to put themselves in the shoes of potential employers and consider the kinds of non technical skills and that their prospective employer valuables. For the full survey presentation including current salary and projected salary findings and analysis click through to the Candidate Slideshare.