While 2030 may seem distant, the past five years have demonstrated the rapid pace of technological innovation. Kagiso Manoto, from Bizmod, says that IT organisations need to be preparing now for the skills they are going to require in the future to ensure business continuity and long-term success. “Over the past five years we have seen many companies left behind, unable to capitalise on breakthroughs like quantum computing, AI, IoT, augmented reality and serverless computing,” says Manoto.
A forward-thinking talent management strategy is key to mitigating the risk of being unprepared for future skills demands. While predicting the future landscape is challenging, it’s clear that functional IT Skills are becoming outdated every two-and-a-half years. By 2030, this means that many IT skills will be rendered obsolete, twice.
Manoto says that in developing a forward-thinking workforce strategy the following elements should be prioritised:
- Identify, engage, and retain critical resources to minimise turnover and retain the knowledge, skills, and experience that employees have.
- Put training programmes in place and communicate with employees what key skills have been identified for the future, encouraging them to take ownership of their own skills development.
- Align resourcing with IT objectives. As IT job titles and skill sets evolve, it’s essential that IT and HR departments collaborate to ensure that the right people are employed.
- Identify critical skill gaps and create targeted plans to address these through upskilling, reskilling or new hires.
- Restructure the IT operating model to align with strategic vision, continuously evaluating people, processes, and technology.
- Prepare employees for the future by building essential AI competencies.
- Measure employee engagement and experience ensuring both new and existing IT employees are supported and developed.
- Address the most pressing challenges of the CIO, to systematically improve IT performance and align with broader business goals.
“The role of IT management has evolved and the need to monitor the critical skills IT required for business growth, strategic development and team competency is now more vital than ever,” concludes Manoto.