The shortage of tech skills has been a long-standing problem. Pandemic or no pandemic, people were talking about it before the outbreak.
The demand for skilled labor in the U.S., across all industries and sectors, is at an all-time high with ten new positions ranked as being among the hardest to fill globally. IT professionals come first followed closely by engineers, and then accounting/finance professionals.
In a time where the majority of new talent entering tech is made up of young graduates who are in high demand, it’s no wonder that there have been many studies revealing this trend. One recent survey from Deloitte revealed Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2000) overtaking Millennials as being most interested in changing jobs within two years- with over 50% active thoughts on leaving their current company.
Where to find these dedicated developers
Although some people started to question the future of the working place in the pre-COVID era, the reasons that accelerated the rethinking include, but are not limited to:
- Burnout: The workforce is feeling the pressure of a tight economy, with many employees having trouble readjusting to remote work and dealing with salary cuts. They’re also overworking themselves trying to cover for laid-off colleagues or working overtime in order not to be unemployed themselves.
- Worrying about health: With the rise in cases of infection, some employees were afraid to return after leaving for private family matters. They may look elsewhere as they care about their job more than ever before or find themselves with increased responsibilities at home.
- A year off in education – It is not uncommon to find graduates who postponed their training, education, and even graduation because they wanted nothing more than peace during this time.
US-related numbers for 2021
- The turnover rate in the IT industry was 13.2%, which ranks highest among all industries and sets back the development of the US tech market tremendously because employers have to pay 50–250% salary for replacement staff who leave their positions before they can be productive enough.
- The US is facing an engineer shortage that may exceed 1.2 million by 2026, and the market for software developers will have left America completely within five years from now according to recent reports by The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
- Companies are not able to take care of their needs due in part because there isn’t enough talent. Only 29% of candidates for software architect positions and 39 percent meet employers’ requirements, which may lead directly to lower quality products/services provided by these companies as they continue hiring employees with limited skillsets that don’t match up against what is needed on the job market right now.
- The demand for engineers with the right skill set continues to skyrocket and is expected to grow 22% over the next decade.
How to bridge the newly created gaps
As most companies stayed without any manuals and playbooks on how to act and what to focus on first when the pandemics hit, the post-pandemic era seems to be an equally new playground when it comes to rethinking the working environment, talent acquisition, and retention.
Think Remotely
With the talent shortage gap being so wide, employers are expanding their search to find new workers. They can work with software engineers from anywhere in the world and still have no difference between remote or local cooperation because of how communication tools there currently are suited for these employees – not just at home but also during business trips across national borders.
Rethink Perks & Benefits
With the talent shortage sending companies into a competitive mode, many of them are ready to offer higher pay and benefits in order to capture top-tier employees. If your current crew isn’t happy with their current package or if they’ve started shopping around then you might want to take another look at what’s being given out by other organizations because it could be affecting recruitment efforts for this reason alone.
Offer Both: Place to Work and Place to Grow
There’s been a significant slowing down of the careers’ growth process even during this pandemic. To keep the existing talent, companies should consider helping them grow in their roles and beyond.
Is there the Tech Talent Shortage End in Sight?
With the fast-growing turnover rate and widening talent gap, we’re not out yet. The shortage will likely remain an issue in 2022 with even more severe implications for business success thereafter if nothing changes soon enough!
The best way to stay on top is by staying ahead. That’s why companies need a rethink as soon as possible because there will always be new competitors coming up each day.
It is time to rethink what makes a great workplace and how to keep good employees now!
