Skillsoft, a leading platform for transformative learning experiences, has officially published results from its 2024 IT Skills and Salary Report, which draws its insights from more than 5,100 global IT decision-makers and professionals.
According to certain reports, the stated report discovered that AI and ML remain the top investment priority for IT decision-makers. Despite that being the case, these decision-makers continue to rank this skillet’s prevalence as lowest amongst team members across nearly 30 competencies. Furthermore, Skillsoft report revealed the struggle of IT decision-makers in regards to hiring cybersecurity and information security talent (38%), with one in every five facing difficulty finding AI / ML talent.
Next up, the report dug into how 65% of IT decision-makers claimed to have skill gaps across their teams, whereas on the other hand, 72% said they are planning to address the same through training existing talent. More on that would reveal how 94% of IT decision-makers say they have observed a tangible benefit among their workforce from training, compared to 90% last year and 61% in 2022.
Moving on, IT professionals’ top reason for skilling was discovered as tied to interest in learning new skills (54%), followed by becoming more competitive in the job market (53%) and improving job security (46%). Alongside that, the report had 58% of IT professionals sharing about the existence of leadership development program at their organization, while 28% said they plan to invest in developing leadership skills over the new year.
“This year has reinforced that when it comes to the technology industry, there are two constants: change and the need to continuously adapt. Our report highlights current organizational priorities and skilling needs while offering insights into how leaders and individuals can embrace learning opportunities to drive better business outcomes,” said Orla Daly, Chief Information Officer at Skillsoft
Another detail worth a mention here is rooted in how 56% anticipate the present skill gaps to persist over the next one to two years. Joining the mix would be a contingent who plans on hiring more staff (38%) and leveraging AI, including generative AI (30%), to support automating processes and becoming more efficient.
Almost 56% of respondents also revealed that, if a skill gap remains unaddressed, it presents a medium risk to the business by increasing stress on existing employees (54%), stretching project durations (42%), and decreasing the ability to meet business objectives (37%). Against that, upskilling was found to boost team morale (60%), enhance innovation (55%), and improve talent retention (49%).
Markedly enough, Skillsoft even discovered that nearly a fourth (22%) of IT decision-makers expressed dissatisfaction with their organization’s current talent development initiatives.
Then, we have almost all (97%) IT decision-makers saying that certified staff adds value to their organization, most prominently by bridging organizational skill gaps (49%), resolving issues efficiently (49%), and boosting productivity (48%). Next to that, over a third of IT decision-makers shared that certified team members bring at least $25,000 in annual added value, helping improve the quality of work (60%) and increase engagement (48%) and efficiency (43%).
Among other things, we ought to mention how respondents are increasingly relying upon on a mix of IT/tech certifications (67%), technology skills (66%), and soft skills (56%) to stand out and address the varied demands of modern businesses. In fact, the five most important skills for leaders were discovered to be team communication (74%), problem-solving (70%), critical thinking (70%), interpersonal communication (66%), and technical skills (62%).
“As AI technologies are further embedded into workplace operations and the demand for cybersecurity talent and leadership skills intensifies, it is more important than ever that organizations adopt a proactive approach to skill-building. This involves not only investing in holistic training programs that encompass technical skills, leadership skills, and certifications, but also fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation with opportunities to put new skills into practice,” said Daly.
