According to the 2022 Skills and Salary Report, it was found out from Skillsoft that the biggest challenge for IT leaders is employee retention and recruitment.
Zach Sims, General Manager, Tech & Dev, Skillsoft said, “Companies that create cultures of learning and talent development will be most successful in recruiting and retaining ambitious individuals with the right skills and certifications to make an impact.”
“This culture not only supports individual employee growth – which is something IT professionals are actively seeking – but also leads to better business outcomes that propel organizations forward,” Zach Sims added.
As the importance of strength and professional skills grows in the IT industry, one in four have chosen this type of training in the past years.
Among IT professionals the top three reasons who changed employers in the past years leaving the organizations include:
- Better compensation
- Lack of training and development
- Lack of work-life balance
The reports have the following findings:
- The report revealed that 66% of IT decision-makers see a skill shortage in their teams, while the biggest challenge centered around a talent shortage as 53% of respondents saw a lack of skills.
- Meanwhile, the top cited deterrent to training is that management doesn’t see the need for it. This is despite 97% of IT decision-makers saying that certified employees add value to the organization, the report noted.
- IT professionals receive several benefits post-training, including better quality of work (56%), increased engagement (41%), and faster job performance (36%) that organizations invest in their people, One can expect to see significant ROI till date.
- Despite the improvement, 80% said skill gaps pose a high or moderate risk to their team’s ability to meet objectives, while 63% have been unable to fill at least three positions in the past year.
- The top factors that widen the skills gap are difficulties in hiring skilled candidates (44%) and employee retention (33%). 26% say that not enough investment is being made in training.
- The top three most challenging areas to find qualified talent are cloud computing, data analytics/ big data/ data science, and cyber security.
- Positively, 59% expect budget growth over the next year (up from 35% in 2021), with top skill areas of investment being cloud computing, security, AI, and machine learning.
- IT professionals are hungry for knowledge. Strength skills are becoming increasingly important 86% have taken some form of training in the past year. The top three reasons for doing this are to prepare the organization for new technology upgrades, to earn a salary increase, and to upskill as a personal preference or interest.
- 61% of organizations offer leadership development programs.
This survey includes insights from nearly 8,000 respondents. Team communication, interpersonal communication, and emotional intelligence were cited as the most important strength skills to build among professionals.
