Editor’s Note: This piece has been edited for length and clarity.
With the unemployment rate for IT professionals creeping up to 2.9 percent in January, the demand for tech professionals in Cincinnati shows no signs of waning. According to a recent survey by Robert Half Technology, 62 percent of Cincinnati tech hiring managers plan to expand their teams during the first half of 2019. This number is up significantly from a year ago, when only 20 percent of local hiring managers planned to expand their teams during the first half of 2018.
As we’ve known for a while, these are the glory days for Cincy tech workers, who are in such high demand that 83 percent of local hiring managers said its somewhat or very challenging for their company to find skilled IT professionals today. Many companies are accelerating their hiring process to avoid losing talent to the competition. Additionally, employers are being more flexible on candidates’ skills requirements and bringing on workers who are fast learners and a good fit with the company culture.
Cincy tech leaders weighed in on the skills in immediate demand:
- Cybersecurity
- Cloud computing
- Cloud architecture and cloud security
- Database management
- Virtualization and web development/design
As for upskilling, 94 percent of local tech leaders said they’re training their teams the most on:
- Security
- Cloud computing
- Web development/design
- Data science
- Machine learning/AI
- Project management
- Mobile development
In an era of increasing automation and changing business priorities, upskilling is taking on new urgency. Upskilling is more than just a new term for professional training and development. It comes at a time when teaching your employees new skills is no longer just a nice thing for a company to offer, but a necessity. Among other benefits, training and development programs boost morale, employee satisfaction and help with succession planning.
Any time an organization invests in their employees by providing or supporting upskilling opportunities, workers feel more valued — and in turn, grow more loyal to the company. What’s more, when employees learn new skills, they put themselves in a position to take the next step on their career path with the company, and that’s a win-win: The employee gets a desired promotion, and the organization gets to fill an important position with an experienced, skilled worker who has plenty of institutional knowledge and can hit the ground running.
Creating upskilling opportunities within a tech team isn’t just smart, it’s critical to the health and growth of the company. Forward-thinking companies that identify what training and development methods are best for their goals reap the benefits with employees who are better at their jobs, more motivated and more likely to remain with the company.
Why Project Professionals Are Becoming Crucial When local tech leaders were asked, aside from recruiting, what will be top of mind for the first half of 2019, the top three business concerns cited were maintaining security of IT systems, innovation or helping grow the business and cloud projects/initiatives. To address these concerns, 73 percent of Cincy tech leaders have prepared a budget and plan to bring on project-based professionals through the next few months.
Along with a strong core team, project professionals are becoming an integral part of organizations' staffing strategies to get the best and brightest on board quickly for key projects. When it’s difficult or taking too long to hire full-time tech professionals, hiring an interim IT professional can be a good solution. IT teams are also tasked with a variety of new projects and often lack specialized skills. A project professional with the right experience and expertise can help during the duration of the project.
The Bottom Line For organizations struggling to fill open IT roles, it may be worth bringing on interim professionals to help with certain projects that require specialized skills. Companies with broader IT department needs may want to reassess the skills they require when considering candidates — being flexible with criteria and hiring a professional who can be trained on the job may be a smart strategy in the long run. Training and development opportunities are a great way to show new and existing employees that their company supports them and wants to invest in their long-term success.
Jason Miller is branch manager of Robert Half Technology in Cincinnati. With more than 120 locations worldwide, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. For more information, visit roberthalf.com/technology.
