The Skills Gap in Tech Is Poised to Expand. Employers, What’s Your Action Plan?

Article

By Ryan M. Sutton, Executive Director, Technology, Robert Half

Much has changed in the world in recent years, but the shortage of skilled technology talent available in the job market has been, and remains, a constant.

It’s a significant issue for businesses across industries, especially for those hoping to recruit professionals with skills in rapidly evolving areas of technology like AI, machine learning and data science. In a recent Robert Half survey, 90% of technology managers said that they are facing challenges finding skilled talent. Fifty-eight percent said they are hiring for new permanent positions, and another 39% reported that they are recruiting candidates for vacated roles.

The struggle to find talent to help bridge tech skills gaps could undermine companies’ efforts to meet their customers’ needs and pursue new business opportunities. It could also prevent tech departments from achieving key initiatives. Fifty-five percent of U.S. technology leaders at companies of all sizes surveyed for our e-book, Building Future-Forward Tech Teams, told us they expected staffing constraints to put their organization’s priority projects at risk this year.

For more insight on technology hiring challenges for U.S. employers, read the latest Demand for Skilled Talent report from Robert Half.

According to our research for Building Future-Forward Tech Teams, 65% of tech leaders see a skills gap within their department today, and 62% report that the gap is more apparent than it was a year ago.

In what areas are employers struggling the most to secure in-demand tech talent for their teams? Separate research from our company shows that the top five areas are, respectively:

AI, machine learning and data science

Security, privacy and compliance

Technology process automation

Software and applications development

Cloud architecture and operation

Digital transformation is driving the need for these and other skills in many organizations — including data analytics, business intelligence and reporting, and data engineering and database administration. That trend will likely continue, given that global spending on digital transformation is expected to reach nearly $4 trillion by 2027, according to IDC. And for many businesses now, these initiatives are no longer about catching up — but getting ahead.

Many firms accelerated digital transformation during the pandemic years to accommodate a massive shift to virtual ways of working and operating. But now, they’re looking more to the future. That’s why many digital transformation projects are intended to help companies prepare to adopt and work with AI tools like generative AI.

To be agile in a cloud-first, data-driven world where AI is infused into almost everything we do — and interacting with us in more natural ways — forward-looking business and IT leaders understand that time is waning fast to build a tech foundation that will help their organization succeed in that future.

With all the AI-driven change already underway in countless workplaces, I strongly urge employers to move quickly to hire skilled technology professionals when they find them. Competition for talent with AI proficiency is only heating up. In a Robert Half survey, 55% of tech hiring managers said they have shifted the skills they seek based on advancements in AI and automation.

Meanwhile, there are several things you can do to manage technology skills gaps in your department more effectively. The following strategies can help you shape an action plan that’s best suited to the talent needs of your organization and aligns with your business objectives and available resources.

Employers can become so focused on trying to recruit new employees that they overlook the strengths and potential of their current team. This is a missed opportunity — and it can undermine retention.

Retention is an issue tech leaders do need to worry about. Our workplace research indicates that 23% of tech professionals in the U.S. are either looking now or planning to search for a new job in the next six months. That figure may not seem dramatic, but could you afford to lose about one-quarter of your tech team? It’s likely that you have passive job seekers in your department as well. Nearly half (45%) of the tech pros responding to our survey said they would be open to exploring new job opportunities in the months ahead, even though they aren’t actively searching now.

You can give your valued employees more reason to stay with your organization by providing them with meaningful opportunities for professional development that will benefit them — and your business. An example of a win-win is helping team members build proficiency in programming languages foundational to AI development, such as Python, R, Java and C++.

Another strategy is to recruit high-potential candidates and provide them with on-the-job training and mentoring. This investment can help your business build talent from within while earning a reputation as an employer of choice that can help you attract and keep strong hires.

In Building Future-Forward Tech Teams, we underscored to tech leaders the value of creating a continuous cycle of learning that can help employees grow skills needed to support priority projects. For example, you can encourage knowledge sharing among employees by creating forums, communities of practice or internal social platforms where employees can exchange ideas and lessons learned.

However, it’s unlikely your business can provide all the learning and training in-house that your tech team needs to be future-fit. You may need to look for outside resources that can provide online courses, tutorials and workshops to help your employees upskill or even reskill. Microsoft, as an example, offers an AI Skills Initiative with free coursework to help professionals learn introductory concepts of AI.*

If you want to attract and retain the best talent available for your tech team, you need to offer competitive compensation. Through our recent surveys of tech hiring managers, we have learned that many businesses are prepared to offer higher salaries to professionals with in-demand skills.

For instance, 44% of tech hiring managers told Robert Half they’d bump up starting salaries for top candidates with AI, machine learning and data science skills, and 37% said they’d step up salary offers to professionals with in-demand cybersecurity skills. And 30% percent reported that they would boost compensation for top candidates with cloud computing skills.

Another strategy to consider adding to your action plan for bridging tech skills gaps and navigating hiring challenges is to embrace a scalable staffing model. With this approach, you can engage highly skilled tech talent when and for as long as your business needs them. It is a widely used strategy: In a Robert Half survey, 64% of technology hiring managers said they plan to increase the number of contract professionals in their department in the second half of this year.

These arrangements can help you keep projects moving forward while you search for new hires or expand the skill sets of your current staff. Many experienced professionals in the tech field choose to work on a contract basis because they enjoy the diversity of work. We often see employers decide to keep contract staff in place for full-time engagements or invite them to become part of their permanent team because they are such valued contributors.

If there was a quick fix to address the dearth of skilled tech talent available for hire, I’d be delighted to offer it here. The reality is that it will take hard work and, no doubt, many years to resolve the issue, and it will also require focused effort by schools, businesses, the technology community and others to drive positive change. But the four strategies outlined above are tactical solutions for employers looking to ease tech skills gaps in their businesses today — while also preparing for the AI-powered future of work.

To learn more about the value of a scalable staffing model and how this approach can help your organization address its tech skills gaps, get in touch with Robert Half today.

Ryan M. Sutton is an executive director at Robert Half, leading the technology practice for the firm. He joined the company in 1999 as a recruiter and has been promoted multiple times to roles of increasing visibility. Prior to joining Robert Half, he worked in public accounting.

Follow Ryan on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

*Robert Half and our subsidiary, Protiviti, a global consulting firm, are members of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program.

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