At a Webinar put together by the IT Association of Hungary, a question on the growth of the IT talent gap was raised by a participant. The question bothers the reason why the gap is still an issue in the IT industry. The Webinar’s theme revolves around the results of the IT talent gap market research in 2020.
The research is based in Hungary but it is safe to say that it can be applied all over the world. This is mostly because of the growth in the IT market generally. There are different opinions as to the reasons why the gap is still growing. The major reason cited by the research is the known phenomenon of hiring for a degree in IT and Tech.
Other issues were discussed in the webinar that points to a couple of well-explained factors that could be the reasons for the gap. Through this article, we will further dig deep into these relevant factors and discuss their concepts.
- Development of Digital roles beyond IT.
The IT talent pool is now very broad. Most businesses are adapting and forming their own IT positions. These past few years, some new digital roles are coming into play, not just in tech, but in other departments of businesses or organizations. We have positions like Digital Business Analysts, Digital Marketing Officer, Digital Sales Manager and so on.
These new positions make businesses or organizations go in search of the right candidates for the job. And as we know there might be a scarcity of the right people for the job, thereby leading to the hire of Tech personnel for jobs that are outside IT.
- Digitalization of IT due to COVID.
The COVID-19 pandemic made a turn in how IT works. Most IT jobs are now online and digital. Though there were plans in place to make products and services digital, however, the pandemic helped to speed up efforts towards it.
Organizations were forced to make use of additional resources and scarce relevant skills from former projects, making it a part of available resources. This covers new types of support, cybersecurity tasks, and so on.
- Growing Inflation.
This mostly applies to Hungary where the research was carried out. The country is experiencing an increasing growth in inflation these past few years. However, it is quite stable on international levels.
This rise in inflation means there has to be an increase in salaries. Organizations and businesses will find it hard to fill in IT roles as it is expensive.
- Increased Funding.
The European Union has set in place a policy, the EU Cohesion policy, that helps to contribute funds for the digital age. The goal of this funding is to improve access to quality IT and ICT. The funds, European Regional Development Fund(ERDF), sums up about 20 billion Euros in the past few years. This has led to the creation of thousands of IT jobs that are yet to be occupied.
- Talent Migration.
Thanks to the pandemic, most tech jobs are now remote and virtual. This helps talents across the globe to work together on the same platform. It also increased international job opportunities for local talent.
The disadvantage of this is that Big Western Companies from countries like the UK and US are sourcing for and getting all of the best local digital talents. This leaves startup tech companies and developing countries with a scarcity of real tech or IT talent.
- Recruiting for a Degree.
As mentioned above, one major obstacle is the fact that tech companies prefer college or university graduates. This, most times, doesn’t guarantee effective and quality service. Talented IT personnel without a degree suffer this discrimination.
- Discrimination.
One of the biggest challenges facing the tech world is discrimination based on sex, age, and race. When it comes to tech, most of what we see is masculinity. Females utilize IT products at the same rate as men but these digital tools are a work of just men for men. Tech jobs are easy to learn and should be done by anyone who is highly skilled, creative, and full of innovations.
Efforts are being put in place to ensure that this digital talent gap is bridged. A panelist at the webinar mentioned that this should be seen as an opportunity instead of a setback. This opportunity should center on bridging the gap and helping others to have bright tech careers.
