The software development field is reeling under a set of juxtapositions:
On the one hand, software developers are in short supply; however, tech hiring is in overdrive. While there is no shortage of tech talent, attracting quality candidates is a big roadblock for recruitment teams. Furthermore, identifying and hiring tech talent is increasingly becoming more time-consuming and difficult.
Needless to say, the software development landscape is undergoing a metamorphosis. And L&D professionals need to increasingly watch out for the changing trends. Here's what research by ICIMS tells us:
The writing is on the wall: Unless learning and development teams fundamentally change their approach to hiring developers, the skills-talent gap in tech (and non-tech) roles will continue to widen.
If you are wondering whether there's a blueprint or an IT Skills Gap Development Plan that you can leverage to identify the skills gap within your team, refer to the following table. It will teach you about how to get into the mindset of a software developer and craft impactful, value-driven learning and development programs with developers at the forefront.
Note: Start by looking at the components and next steps columns (B and C, respectively). Then, factor in the scenarios listed in column D and ask yourself related questions. If the answer to the questions is 'Yes,' then consider taking the measures listed in column E.
|
Components |
Next steps to think about |
Scenarios to consider |
Action plan |
| Understand what to do | What to do? (40%) |
- You ended up missing some of the requirements - You heard others claim: "The feature was not supposed to work like this" - Your completed work gets re-opened during QA or User Testing |
- Focus on improving your domain knowledge. - Ask your PO more questions so that you can better understand the requirements. - Make high-quality requirements documentation a priority. - A/B test your features routinely and consistently. - Actively listen to the sprint demos to get an in-depth understanding of all the new features that have been added. |
| Have knowledge of important frameworks, design patterns, best practices, and principles | How to do it, and what are the skills needed? (20-30%) |
- You don't know where to start when implementing a feature - You don't know if a similar functionality already exists within the application or not - You don't completely understand the frameworks within the application and how they are used |
- Leverage the expertise of an experienced developer to learn how they tackle issues and problems. - Learn more about the frameworks that are being used within your app. - Focus on creating sample applications using them. - Identify the patterns and principles used in your app and try to use them. |
| Engage in problem-solving; gather analytical debugging skills | How to do it, and what is the ability needed? (10-20%) |
- You are struggling with writing algorithms - Debugging and finding issues in the code are weak areas for you |
- See if you can tap into a few tried-and-tested patterns to solve the underlying problem. |
| Communicate with your code | What was your performance like? (15%) |
- Your code is not up-to-the-standard; it does not match up to the required code quality - You don't have enough code coverage - You are unable to draft a quality documentation |
- Leverage tools like sonar to review the code quality. - Spend more time refactoring and improving the code quality. |
| Communicate about your work | How effectively did you communicate about your work? (5%) |
- You don't follow the set process within the team - Your check-in comments are not useful - Your team isn't aware of what you are working on |
- Understand and adhere to the team policies. Drive transparent and honest communication if things are not going your way. |
Remember that the end goal is to identify the skills gap and compare it to the ideal position you wish to reach. Using this as your base for tech skills gap assessment, you can build a robust learning program.
In this section, we will learn how Learning and Development professionals can create powerful learning programs to assess, hire, and retain the right talent:
There's a growing need within software enterprises to inculcate a culture of continuous learning, which can boost technological innovation. This is where practical on-the-job training for emerging skills can help. In fact, according to 94% of companies, enterprises can gain a competitive advantage by investing more in learning and development and recognizing it as critical to success.
Developers want more opportunities to learn new technical skills on the job. That said, it is critical to understand the top 2 in-demand skills that have emerged as a must-have within the software development sector post the pandemic:
A new area called "people analytics" is gaining traction within the Data Science field. If you think mining into HR data is not a valuable exercise, think again. According to research, 70% of company executives cite people analytics as a top priority. Plus, a majority of organizations are investing in people analytics teams. After all, sitting on mountains worth of data without actionable insights is a wasted opportunity. This is where software developers can play an important role in tying data, people, and processes together.
Here are the top skills that software developers need for this area of expertise:
While there are many paths to becoming a Data Scientist, individuals can obtain the following degrees to become People Analytics experts:
Oftentimes, people venture into People Analytics from other fields, as this field is quite new. One can work as a Data Scientist and start working with a company's HR data as a side project before pursuing it full time.
According to the Harvard Business Review, the people analytics age is here to stay. As work becomes increasingly virtual and employee-related data (think: behaviour, characteristics, performance, etc.) increases, doubling up as digital records, the role of software developers will come into the limelight. The HR field will need a technological boost with data-driven insights at the forefront.
Circling back to the previous point, the pandemic has accelerated the need for enterprises to safeguard their data. In fact, as per IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report (2021), "COVID-19-powered shift to remote work has had a direct impact on the costs of data breaches. The average cost of a data breach was US$1.07 million higher where remote work was a factor in causing the breach." Needless to say, more and more enterprises are looking to hire cybersecurity software professionals who can effectively defend the enterprise.
Here are the top skills software developers need for this area of expertise:
Other key hard skills they must have include:
Step 1: Candidates can obtain a bachelor's degree in a computer-related field such as computer science, mathematics, or electrical engineering. They should have in-depth knowledge of the Windows, Linux, and UNIX operating systems and key programming languages such as ASM, C, C++, Java, PHP, and SQL. They should also learn about:
Step 2: As there are no entry-level jobs in this field, individuals can start out as systems or database administrators/network or computer software engineers/web developers or administrators/IT technicians.
Step 3: Further, they can get certifications, attend cyber security conferences, and enrol in online boot camps to enter the software development field. They can then do a master's within the cyber security software development field.
Step 4: They can also get additional training and certifications such as Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
The big takeaway: On-the-job training can reduce instances of technology skills gaps and out-of-context training experience.
Pro tip: Make sure to introduce chances to apply the learning to drive knowledge retention among software developers. Provide employees [X] dedicated hours of self-guided learning every week. As per research by the Harvard Business Review on Where Companies Go Wrong with (L&D), only 12% of employees apply the new skills learned in L&D programs to their job department workflow.
Every L&D team should collaborate with the HR team to recruit talent together. They should start by:
- Sizing up the workforce to understand the current capabilities, skill-sets, knowledge, and experience of the employees.
- Optimizing the hiring as well as training budgets to support short as well as long-term training and learning goals.
L&D programs that facilitate problem-solving are more valuable than ones that don't. Hiring leaders identify problem-solving skills as most important when recruiting talent, even more, important than programme language efficiency.
Assessment-based learning is critical for driving efficient learning and development programs as it can eliminate bias and scale up quality evaluation. This includes conducting linear technical tests, psychological tests, and so on. All in all, learning and development managers should embrace a holistic approach to skills assessment by including three key components:
A. Aptitude: This component requires hiring managers to evaluate a person's innate skills and abilities, excluding their education and experience.
B. Technical skills: This component requires assessing a candidate's proficiency with a particular skill, task, or assignment.
C. Human skills: This component includes assessing a person's soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, ethics, and so on.
Advancements in assessment technology are helping organizations to scale their L&D and recruitment programs. From remote proctoring and multidimensional assessments to career-fit assessments and customized assessment tools, the options are plenty.
Instead of focusing solely on degrees, there needs to be a greater shift in making the teams more diverse, inclusive, and holistic in every sense of the word. Additionally, it is critical to ensure that the L&D mindset aligns with the business needs, deepens the talent's knowledge as well as skills, and empowers enterprises to stay relevant, despite the changing talent trends.
Explore this case study to know how iMocha helped Cyient with fastest skill gap analysis.
Pro tip: There are multiple knowledge-sharing formats that L&D professionals can integrate within an employee's training, such as onboarding, mentorship, apprenticeships, and so on.
Let's cut to the chase: When it comes to addressing the Skills-Talent gap in the IT sector, a Band-Aid approach will not work. L&D leaders should focus on thinking long-term to bridge the skills gap and hire talent that's the perfect fit with the company.