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Programmers and developers, security professionals and software engineers consistently placed in the top five most difficult positions to fill with exceptional talent throughout three-quarters of 2015, according to TEKsystems’ survey of 300 IT leaders.
Programmers and developers – originally forecasted as the most difficult roles to fill – declined throughout the year, but regained the top spot at the end of September.
Big data analytics continued its progression, now placing in the top five for the first time. Project managers, architects and BI at some time have placed within the top five during the course of the year.
“The ubiquitous nature of IT and more specific applications means organizations are in a constant state of need for these types of roles,” TEKsystems research manager Jason Hayman told eWEEK. “It takes a special mindset and acumen to become a programmer or developer, which further dilutes the potential talent pool. Once you become a programmer or developer you must continually expand and improve your skills as new languages are created and older ones fade away, otherwise you risk becoming obsolete.”
Hayman also noted that organizations are getting more selective about whom they hire —they need people who understand the end product and has an appreciation for the end-user experience, not just someone who can code.
At the end of Q3, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies entered the top five most impactful trends for organizations for the first time.
“IoT could quite possibly transform everything we know today, and it represents an enormous opportunity for businesses in the future,” Hayman explained.
He noted that Gartner predicts that by 2020 more than 26 billion devices will be connected to the Internet, generating over $1.9 trillion in new revenues for IoT related products and services.
“IoT has huge potential to create new products and revenue streams, and we will see new lines of service built out to support them,” Hayman said. “Organizations are seeing huge opportunities around IoT. It’s a concept that will impact organizations outside of IT and telecom in ways we cannot even yet conceive.”
Heading into 2015, 50 percent of IT leaders expected full-time hiring to stay the same as in 2014, 40 percent of IT leaders expected increases in full-time hiring, and 10 percent of IT leaders expected full-time hiring to decrease.
Since mid-year, an additional 8 percent of IT leaders expect increases in full-time hiring, while those who expected full-time hiring to stay the same or decrease has dropped 4 percent.
“Our recent survey on IT talent and engagement revealed some of the most important drivers for IT professionals when it comes to what motivates them to work for a particular company,” Hayman said. “Beyond compensation, IT professionals identified career opportunity, company health, manager quality and relationships with co-workers as some of their most impactful drivers. IT professionals should evaluate what is most important to them before considering a new opportunity.”