Sarah White, Computerworld
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The lack of skilled IT workers is hurting the deployment of emerging technology, according to a new survey from Gartner. In areas from cloud to cybersecurity, this crisis is expected to last for years to come.
Companies
will continue to focus on IT hiring, according to a survey of human
resources professionals and hiring managers in Chicago and south
Florida. The study was conducted between July 21, 2015 and August 5,
2015 by Richard Curtin at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and
Brilliant, a staffing firm that worked with Curtin to collect
information on current hiring trends in IT as well as accounting and
finance.
Although companies
report a need for IT professionals, there was a slight decline in open
IT positions from previous quarters; 33 percent of companies report IT
job openings for Q4 2015, whereas 37 percent reported IT openings last
quarter and 58 percent in Q2 2015.
Hiring Managers Want to Move Fast
According to the
study, "companies have a high percentage of unmet needs within their
accounting, finance and IT functions." Results also suggest that
companies are looking to fill positions quickly, with 22 percent of
companies reporting they want to hire "ASAP," and according to Brilliant
and Curtin, this indicates companies are looking to "handle the demands
of current business," rather than filling positions for future business
needs.
However, despite the
decline, Brilliant CEO Jim Wong notes that his team is "optimistic that
hiring plans will remain strong for accounting, finance and IT
professionals in the near term."
Last quarter, 14
percent of companies indicated plans to increase their pace of IT
hiring, whereas 12 percent of companies reported the same for Q4 2015,
while 64 percent of companies state hiring plans remain unchanged in Q4.
Companies with unfilled positions decreased significantly from 58
percent in Q2 to 33 percent in Q4.
Of companies with
open IT positions, 12 percent have at least one to three positions for
Q4, while 14 percent of companies report four to six open positions and
seven percent of companies report seven to ten openings. Job titles with
the most open positions in IT include, in order of demand, technical
services, software and database administration, network and
communications, data security and IT director.
What's Missing in Candidates
When asked what skills candidates were lacking for IT roles, the top five responses included problem-solving, communication, expertise, cultural fit and none.
If you're not sure where to look for jobs, Brilliant and Curtin also
asked companies where they found their top talent. Companies reported
that the top hiring resource was search and recruitment firms, while
referrals and word-of-mouth came in second. Online job boards, internal
promotions, resumes submitted to the company website and social media
were also noted.
While a number of
companies report turning to social media for recruitment, the study
points out that it's difficult to assess how many people it pulls in.
Most users will typically browse on the Web, but turn to another medium
to complete the application process. "Therefore, companies might not
necessarily give credit to social media as the means for their
successful new hires even if the candidates learned about the job
openings via a social media site," according to Brilliant and Curtin.
Recruitment was
undoubtedly the most popular and successful source for finding
successful talent. "One-third of all human resources professionals and
hiring managers stated that their most successful hires were obtained
through search and recruitment firms. No other method was nearly as
successful," states Brilliant and Curtin.
If you're in the
market for a new IT job, this report suggests that you reach out to
recruiters, and fast. With companies looking to hire as soon as
possible, you'll want to get your resume in ahead of the crowd.
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