More than two-thirds of businesses and IT leaders (67%) are concerned about the impact that IT skill shortages will have on the success of the digital economy, according to research conducted as part of the 2022 Expleo Business Transformation Index.
The global survey of 1,000 business and IT leaders in five countries, including 111 in Ireland, showed that 77% of respondents in Ireland think talent shortages are a top barrier to digital transformation while 63% believe that development, and software development and IT operations (DevOps) talent is in critically short supply at present.
Similarly, IT skill shortages are already having an impact, with 56% of organisations claiming that a lack of talent is negatively impacting their business plans, although 65% believe employers have underinvested in the skills base of employees.
"Although there has been a significant acceleration in digital transformation due to the pandemic, ongoing skills shortages are hindering many organisations in embracing new digital technologies," Phil Codd, Expleo Ireland managing director, said.
"At a time when Ireland should be displaying its digital leadership, our business leaders and innovators are saying that the skills shortages have gotten so bad that it is negatively impacting our digital economy. It is crucial that businesses invest in both their internal and external teams to overcome this challenge.
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"Many enterprises are now outsourcing certain roles in order to get quick and convenient access to a wider skills and knowledge base. As the battle for the best customer experience escalates across all sectors, we expect this trend to continue throughout 2022."
Engineering, technology and consulting service provider Expleo also found that 82% of businesses find development roles the most challenging to fill, just ahead of IT leadership and management positions (81%).
Half of Irish enterprises will outsource more functions and roles to third parties and consultants to bridge the gap while 44% will invest in staff training and 43% plan to avail of temporary or contract workers.
In response to staff issues and demand for flexible working, 54% of businesses in Ireland have now formalised a ‘hybrid working’ approach.
Almost half (48%), meanwhile, have introduced a flexible location policy, but 33% of leaders stated that maintaining employee motivation and camaraderie has become more difficult due to remote working.
Just 22% of business and IT leaders see hiring people from more diverse backgrounds as a long-term solution to skills shortages – compared to an average of 33% in other markets surveyed.
"The competitive recruitment market has pushed employers to formalise flexible working arrangements and think about how they can create a working culture that will attract the best talent," Codd added.
"Organisations that don’t see diversity as part of the solution will find that they lack the diversity of thought that their competitors benefit from, as well as the inclusive environment that will make people stay with them long-term.
"We are seeing that instead of taking the focus away from workforces, the rise of digital is in fact putting greater emphasis on the humans who make it work."
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