According to , more than half of organizations feel they lack cybersecurity and cloud skills. 2024 Technical Skills Report By Pluralsight, a company that provides upskilling resources. For this year's report, the company surveyed 1,400 executives and IT professionals.
65% of respondents said their organization lacked cybersecurity skills, and 52% said they lacked cloud skills. Software development follows closely, with 40% saying their organization has a skills gap in that area.
The effects of a skills gap include increased workload (experienced by 96% of respondents), adoption of new technology (57%), maintenance of legacy systems (53%), and retention of business opportunities (44%). ) and customer retention (33%). ).
63% say learning cybersecurity skills will be important in the next year, with 47% citing cloud and 45% citing software development.
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Interestingly, despite all the hype around AI, Pluralsight found that this is the lowest priority area for companies to invest in. Compared to last year, the number of respondents interested in improving their AI skills increased by only 11%.
Aaron Rosenmund, Senior Director of Security and GenAI Skills at Pluralsight, said: “We know that AI/ML skills are becoming increasingly important, but we also know that organizations have other more immediate upskilling priorities.” “The average cost of a data breach is 445 Millions of dollars and the success rate of cyberattacks continues to increase exponentially every year, it's clear why cybersecurity skills are a top priority for organizations.”
But overall, the prospects for closing the skills gap are positive. His 78% of respondents said the IT skills gap is narrower than last year. The main reasons for companies not improving are the loss of staff or the challenge of new technology.
Pluralsight says that upskilling existing employees is more effective than hiring new employees when it comes to closing skills gaps.
66% of survey respondents said hiring new employees takes the same or more time than upskilling existing employees. According to Pluralsight, it takes an average of 10 weeks to hire a new employee.
Comparing the costs, U.S. companies spend $23,450 on hiring new employees and $15,231 on upskilling existing employees. Companies currently spend an average of $5,000 to upskill each employee, which shows there is room to do more.
“Hiring is typically a stop-gap solution, not a long-term investment in an organization's growth,” the company said in its report. “It's like trying to repair a burst pipe with duct tape. You can close the gap and stop the flow of water a little bit, but it doesn't solve the root cause of the problem. On the other hand, you can improve your skills. It acts as a permanent seal, allowing employees to develop the exact skills and proficiency they need at the time, while giving them the opportunity for continued development.”
