Missing qualifications and skills of IT Departments increase work stress & reduce productivity in companies, shows a new study by Skillsoft. The annual report “Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report” from Skillsoft examines the current status of qualifications, training courses, opportunities for career development, remuneration, and job satisfaction in the IT industry.
Around 9,300 IT professionals in EMEA, North America, Latin America, and APAC were surveyed in the present study. Seventy-six percent of respondents state that they are faced with critical skill gaps in their departments. That’s an increase of 145 percent since 2016.
The good news for IT professionals: salaries have increased worldwide. In EMEA, they rank second behind North America, with an average of $ 71,603 per year. In Germany and Switzerland, salaries already significantly exceed this average and even turn on their US colleagues depending on the specialist area.
IT Departments : Digital-First Increases The Need For New Qualifications
“The digital-first trend does open up new opportunities for companies. However, it has also created an urgent need for new skills in the areas of cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, DevOps and many other technology areas”. “Skills gaps don’t just go away; they get bigger if not adequately addressed. The report shows the first signs that organizations have begun to fill this gap. But the work is far from over. Companies should put more emphasis on the development and training of their employees. In this way, they can offer skilled workers the chance to acquire new certifications,
Reasons For Gaps In Qualifications
Understanding the causes and implications of how they arise is essential in filling skill gaps. Thirty-eight percent of IT managers named the speed of digital transformation and technological change the primary driver since existing competence development programs are taking too long to take effect. Respondents also saw difficulties attracting qualified candidates (35 percent) and a lack of investment in training resources (32 percent).
The analyst firm IDC predicts that such skill gaps will have a direct financial impact on company results. These could rise to $ 6.5 trillion worldwide by 2025. (Source: IDC Future Scape: Worldwide Future of Work 2022 Predictions, October 2021). In addition, the respondents stated, among other things, that a lack of qualifications increases the stress of employees (55 percent). It would also meet quality and business goals (42 percent and 36 percent, respectively) and cause project delays (35 percent).
Promote Professional Development
The report shows that companies increasingly realize professional development’s important role in tackling skill gaps. In addition, training and career programs support employee loyalty and increase employee engagement. Fifty-six percent of IT decision-makers say they plan to train existing team members. Given that 80 percent of IT professionals report a variety of benefits after acquiring new skills and certifications – including improved quality of work (49 percent), increased engagement (32 percent), and faster work performance (27 percent) – the provision of further training opportunities is a win-win situation for companies and employees.
IT Staff Are Looking For Opportunities For Further Development
Skillsoft’s “Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report” provides further insights. This is how IT employees actively seek development opportunities. Otherwise, they change companies:
- Respondents who changed employers in the past year cited the lack of growth and development opportunities as the main reason for their decision (59 percent). This has also been the case for the past two years. Other reasons were the remuneration (39 percent) and the work-life balance (31 percent).
- Sixty-six percent of respondents said they prefer trainer-led training regarding the training method. The remaining third prefer to learn using a more informal peer-to-peer methodology. This shows that providing various techniques (blended learning) and personalized offers is very useful.
Salaries are rising, and new qualifications enable further increases:
- There was a positive development in all regions for the average annual salary of IT specialists. Aside from executives and salespeople, the higher-paying positions can be found in the cloud, risk management, security, and IT architecture and design areas.
- Fifty-two percent of respondents said they had received a raise in the past year. Of these, 60 percent attributed the improved pay to their job performance, the development of new skills, or receiving an industry certification.
More And More Certified IT Employees
More IT professionals than ever before are earning certifications and boosting the balance sheet:
- Ninety-two percent of all respondents said they had at least one IT certification, increasing 5 percent and 7 percent respectively compared to 2020 and 2019.
- Sixty-four percent of IT leaders said certified employees add $ 10,000 or more to non-certified team members, demonstrating the positive impact of investing in training on company bottom lines.
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