The Growing IT Skills Gap

The IT skills gap is growing. In 2019 and beyond, employing skilled IT workers will be a key factor separating successful companies from the ones that fall behind. The demand for advanced skills in programming, app development and data analysis is on the rise.  Emerging technologies like machine learning and AI are poised to generate at least 133 million  new  roles by 2022,  according to the World Economic Forum. But new jobs aren’t beneficial if no one can fill them. While new technologies are creating more job opportunities than ever, an enormous deficit exists of workers skilled in data science, programming and development.

Hiring managers can’t count on the ability to bring on new employees that possess these skills. Timing is critical – and acquiring new talent is expensive and highly competitive. Instead, organizations need to invest in training to upskill their existing workforce.

Businesses are overrun by software and applications. Those with 1,000-4,000 employees deploy an average of 44 custom applications today, according to McAfee. Developing applications in-house is easier and cheaper than ever before. But companies struggle to secure the right  talent to spin  up custom software.

As you can see in the image above, 40 percent of respondents see software/application development as their biggest skills gap. Decision-makers also  recognize that finding and hiring  qualified talent in cybersecurity, cloud computing and data analysis is a major challenge.

These findings, as well as many others including the Top Challenges IT Department Face, and Measuring the Effectiveness of IT Training Programs, are included in our 2019 State of IT Training Report.