The competition for top tech talent is fierce. According to global consulting firm Bain & Company, almost 75% of technical companies report talent gaps. And despite layoffs across the industry, CompTIA, one of the industry’s major trade associations, expects demand to grow. It predicts an increase of almost 1% in the UK, and more than 3% in the US this year. Over the next decade, the projected growth rate of tech jobs in the US is almost twice the national rate.
The skills shortage is exacerbated by the fact that companies have a hard time holding onto workers with tech skills. A Harvard Business Review survey of 230 organisations found that only 13% of employers can attract and retain the tech talent they need most. Based on research by The Linux Foundation, almost a third of new hires leave within six months of being onboarded. This is not only incredibly costly, but also indicates a misalignment of expectations.
The question, then, is where the problem lies, and how companies can identify and address potential issues early on.