How Employers Can Close the IT Skills Gap

As 2015 winds to a close, employers face a significant challenge: The IT skills gap. Unemployment in the tech sector has hovered just below three percent for the last two years, which has been great for IT professionals, but a nightmare for IT employers. Companies of all sizes and across all industries struggle to fill high-skill positions with professionals who possess the right skills, qualifications, and certifications.

Why Does The Gap Continue To Grow?

There are two major factors that contribute to the ever-growing IT skills gap. First, colleges and universities are not keeping pace with the changing skill environment, as it can take years to develop new programs. Second, because there are so few highly skilled employees in the job market, salaries have climbed to near-record highs. Employers are using salaries to entice new talent, and those rising salaries are pricing out many small and mid-size companies. All of this leads to an environment where positions go unfilled, IT teams underperform, innovation is stifled, and hiring cycles can take nine months or longer.

How Can Employers Fill The Gap?

Employers need to get creative if they want to access top talent for their high-skill IT positions.  Hiring teams cannot use the same tactics that worked just two or three years ago.  Savvy employers can bridge the gap through tactics like:

• Outsourcing: Free up salary and resources by outsourcing utility service like data centers and help desks to a third-party vendor. This will also keep internal teams focused on innovation and mission-critical projects.
• Invest in SaaS: Software-as-a-service can alleviate internal IT resources as well, by eliminating back-end management of software programs.
• Invest in Training:  Keeping your internal teams up to date with the constantly changing landscape will pay dividends. Training and development improves retention and ensures a pipeline of skilled in-house talent.
• Utilize Contractors: Hire contractors who are subject-matter experts to bridge short-term gaps. These contractors can keep time-sensitive deployments on schedule, they can focus on innovation projects, and they can round out the team for less money than a long-term full time employee.
• Recruit Passive Candidates: Hiring teams must invest in building relationships with passive candidates who are not actively seeking new positions.

Develop A Strategic Partnership

Unless your company name is “Google” or “Apple”, closing the IT skills gap won’t be easy. However, savvy employers can tap into strong, skilled talent immediately by building a strategic partnership with an IT recruiting firm. These niche firms have the time and the expertise to build a strong network of active and passive talent who possess the skills that are in-demand and hard to find in the current IT job market.

If your company is struggling to close the IT skills gap, contact the strategic recruiters at INSPYR Solutions today. We can help you improve your hiring processes, identify and attract top talent, and fill your most challenging positions.