Back to blog 02/11/2022

Labor Shortage has Created Talent Gap for the Tech Industry

Contributed by Jim Hartweck and Neema Moughari

The talent gap in the tech industry has existed for a while but the recent labor shortage crisis has made it even larger than expected. Over 1,500 chief information officers agree there’s a deficit, which means massive demand for those with the right skills ^[1]. A recent survey by CNBC Technology Executive Council also highlighted the labor shortage as one of the biggest concerns for tech companies ^[2]. Other key findings from this survey include:

• 57% of tech executives said that finding qualified employees is the biggest concern for their company right now. 26% said the supply chain is their biggest worry, and less than 20% named cybersecurity as their biggest fear.
• Respondents ranked it higher than supply chain issues and cyber security threats.
• Nearly 70% of those surveyed said that they’ve increased their hiring of remote workers to get the talent they need.

Alongside the talent gap, the tech industry is also facing the challenges of supply chain disruptions. The pandemic created huge shifts in demand by both businesses and consumers, resulting in unprecedented supply chain disruption that hit technology manufacturers particularly hard ^[3]. As a result, navigating such an environment necessitates accepting the external pressures as the cost of doing business in today’s digital economy and finding effective solutions to progress. One of the many ways to address the concerns of finding and retaining the right talent is to work more closely than ever with human resource leaders and find new ways to reach a larger pool of candidates. HR executives, for instance, should consider communicating with potential candidates in geographically dispersed areas that were unreachable up until recently. By providing flexible working conditions, they can more easily hire and keep new IT staff ^[4]. Similarly, technology manufacturers should also remain competitive in the job market but ensuring that they offer career progression, healthy work environment, higher work flexibility, and effective employee appreciation and recognition measures.

 

References

[1] Monster.com: The tech talent gap is even larger than you thought

[2] CNBC: Labor shortages outrank cyber threats as biggest concern for tech companies

[3] Logistics Management: Five Trends Disrupting the Technology Supply Chain and How to Navigate Them

[4] SHRM: IT Workers Will Be Hard to Find and Keep in 2022