IT Workers in High Demand

You’ve surely heard it before, in labor market data, in workforce reports, and in future-looking keynotes so popular at conference.  Here at the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC), we hear it over and over from employer members of our Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT).  There are more IT jobs than there are skilled workers, which creates huge demand and, ultimately, big employment benefits.  Sometimes, though, it helps to hear the new reframed in new ways, like a recent Wall Street Journal article called America’s Got Talent, Just Not Enough in IT.

A few highlights from that article:

* 33% of IT jobs in large U.S. companies are left unfilled after five months, costing millions in lost productivity.

* In the first half of 2019, IT job postings rose 32% from 2018.

* In the past three months, U.S. employers had over 900,000 unfilled IT jobs.

* In a survey of 2800 U.S. employers, 80% identified recruiting IT talent as a top business challenge.

* The employee benefits in such a competitive job market, aside from high salaries, include signing bonuses akin to professional athletes, remote-work arrangements so employees can work more hours from home, and education support either through subsidized tuition or professional development opportunities.

If you and your students aren’t yet convinced that there is a high demand for IT skills in a market that will provide top compensation for those skills, this article is worth a look.