Insufficient Talent Pool
Technical talent continues to be scarce both in terms of quantity and quality. This trend is unlikely to change in the next few years. According to an analysis of the latest labor market data by CompTIA, the US unemployment rate for in the technology sector is at a near-record low at 1.3%.
In its 2022 Tech Hiring Report Datapeople, a recruiting analytics company with strong emphasis on staffing tech startups, found that available tech jobs nearly doubled in 2021 while the average number of applicants declined by 25%.
The tech talent woes over the past few years have been further compounded by an antiquated immigration system that COVID and politics have rendered completely dysfunctional. The result is that there is a 9+ month backlog for processing H1B applications. Essentially, those are temporary work permits highly skilled foreign professionals need to work in the US. To top it off, every year the number of H1B applications that are approved for processing is decreasing in spite of the high demand. For 2023 only 26% of 483,000 applications received were selected.
The situation with the shortage of skilled IT professionals isn’t unique to the US; it is a world phenomenon.
New Rackspace technology research finds that globally talent shortage is the most serious limitation for IT leaders focused Cloud Transformation projects. 77% of IT decision-makers identify talent scarcity as the principal obstacle stopping the adoption of new cloud development methods.
Not only do many planned IT projects end up delayed, there is another sobering repercussion of an insufficient talent pool. is a disproportionate number of IT professionals who experience burnout due to an overwhelming workload. A study of more than 35,200 tech workers worldwide found that two in five employees want to quit their jobs because of stress and exhaustion.
Based on the data above, we can safely make to following assumptions:
- The available IT resources who possess the skills your organization needs are most likely already employed, so just putting up a job posting on LinkedIn or your company career site won’t yield much.
- The companies that will succeed in this cut-throat competitive environment are those that can adapt and embrace flexible hybrid work models. A strategic IT project doesn’t have to be delayed because of a lack of technology know-how in-house; it can be delivered successfully by highly qualified IT professionals who don’t necessarily want to be FTEs.
- You aren’t the only one looking for tech talent for your next IT Project, everyone else is too. This means that you have to be better at finding the talent, or if you aren’t, then engage with someone who is.
In 2019, we created the iShift IT Staffing practice specifically to help businesses in their digital journey. From experience we became very aware that innovation is often tied to technical talent shortage.
Over the last three years, we were able to build an agile and highly skilled team around cloud transformation projects and services. We have over 100 years of cumulative tech know-how and experience. More importantly, because we speak “tech”, we can find you the right IT resources and quickly fill the talent gaps in your organization.
The reality is tech talent shortage is going to be with us for a while. But so is iShift. And we are here to help with your Cloud 2.0 IT Project. Give us a call.
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About iShift
iShift is a multi-cloud technology solutions company that provides cloud engineering, cloud migration, cloud management and specialized IT staffing services. Our mission is to help businesses to simplify and accelerate growth while enabling digital transformation and IT modernization. No matter where organizations are in their cloud journey, iShift can design, build, optimize and manage a future-ready multi-cloud environment, resulting in significant cost savings, increased workforce productivity, operational resilience, continuity of services, and business agility. For more information on how our offerings empower businesses through their adoption of cloud and modern technology, visit ishift.net.
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