How will you navigate the tech talent tightening ?
How can you plug the ever-widening tech skills gap effectively ? Michelle Hainsworth , Managing Director of Client Services at AMS , outlines a new approach to building tech talent from within .
The ‘ war for talent ’ is a concept dating back to 1997 . Yet in 2021 , we are still fighting a new and escalating war for talent . Emerging from one crisis has seemingly accelerated our collective movement into another . While 2020 found workforces devastated by job loss , 2021 is thrusting employers into an astounding deficit of available and willing workers . In the United States alone , almost 4 million workers quit their jobs in April , putting job vacancies at a 20-year high and climbing .
The ‘ perfect storm ’ for a tech skills crisis ?
Heading into 2021 , a study by Gartner revealed that almost 90 % of executives knew they faced skills gaps in their workforce , and 68 % of HR leaders recognised that building critical skills would be their absolute top priority in the year ahead .
In parallel , consider that technology jobs , from IT support to cyber security and coding , are growing at a rate far beyond that of all other industries . Employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipate a rise of almost 575,000 technology jobs in the US alone by 2029 . Amplifying the fear created by both job vacancies and job growth is the concern that tech skills also have the shortest life span . While employers will be challenged to keep pace with an increased demand for tech roles , the skills of the people they already have in roles today will fast be outdated . As organisations begin to embrace new digital tools and ways of working in a post-pandemic workplace , the demand and evolution of technical skills will continue to accelerate . This looming deficit is moving beyond an IT or HR agenda , with nearly 60 % of CEOs believing that the availability of talent with tech skills is most critical to their return-to-growth strategies in 2021 .
Accelerated digital adoption due to the pandemic has created a huge demand for technology skills
A tightening pool of in-demand skills
Accelerated digital adoption due to the pandemic has created a huge demand for technology skills . With emerging technologies changing so quickly , oftentimes there is no talent pool at all .
The obvious answer to fill this widening skills gap is hiring – and for many years , that approach worked . But finding seasoned tech professionals with the precise skills you need is not only increasingly hard , it ’ s expensive too .
There are nearly 10 million jobs open in the US , and the UK is currently facing a 4.2 million ‘ COVID employment gap ’. Businesses around the globe are facing the same talent shortage you are , and competition to acquire critical skills is heating up . While demand is growing , employees are leaving jobs at a record pace and are raising the bar for what they expect from a job and their employer . In response , some industries are operating at reduced capacity because the scarcity of candidates and skills is hitting their business hard . If your strategy is to hire your way out of the skills gap , expect to compete fiercely for a tightening pool of in-demand skills .
Shifting from buying to building skills
Forward-thinking HR leaders are already making the shift from thinking ‘ headcount ’ to ‘ skills count ’, focusing on identifying and cultivating the skills their business will need . McKinsey ’ s Global Study exploring future workforce needs revealed that in the past five years , 60-70 % of HR leaders globally cited hiring as their top action for closing the skills gap . But looking ahead , only 31 % of those leaders cite hiring as the most effective way to close potential skills gaps .
The most viable alternative to ‘ buying ’ skills will be ‘ building ’ the precise skill sets you anticipate your business will need . Identifying and building skills , especially tech skills that are fast-changing , is a full-time commitment . And for those ambitious talent teams that are trying to reskill or upskill their workforce , 31 % have admitted they can ’ t create skill development solutions fast enough to meet their evolving skill needs . So , where does this leave you when trying to get ahead of a seemingly endless tech skills race ?
Forward-thinking HR leaders are already making the shift from thinking ‘ headcount ’ to ‘ skills count ’
A new approach to navigate the widening gap
Today , neither ‘ build ’ nor ‘ buy ’ alone seems to be sufficient when plugging skills gaps . We ’ re looking at new ways to grow and augment the tech skills supply , by combining deep talent acquisition expertise that finds people with aptitude , ability and cultural alignment with proven technical training methodologies that makes them job-ready faster . This provides the opportunity for stretched HR and Talent teams to have a helping hand and not navigate the skills crisis alone – they ’ re not resorting to competing for talent at sky-high premiums , but they ’ re also not trying to design and deploy training programmes they ’ re not familiar with .
While this new approach relies on finding and preparing a network of early career talent for deployment , it also considers the talent you already have and can upskill or reskill ( and want to hold on to ). With either approach , diversity and inclusion is at the heart of the programme ; it ’ s not a separate initiative ( or overlooked because you ’ re scrambling to just fill roles ). Tech skilling creates opportunities that foster more inclusive tech workforces through opportunity , growth and mobility .
Click to learn more about how you can navigate the tech skills crisis in a new way .
“ Applying a conventional approach to the tech skills problem won ’ t work as a sustainable solution in today ’ s environment . However , bringing opportunity to talent – with the right aptitude , attitude and training – will enable you to grow the skills your organisation needs .”