Win the talent battle

A Randstad survey of more than 400 tech industry leaders reveals that a shortage of emerging technology talent poses an immediate threat to the growth and competitiveness of Australian businesses. Without fresh solutions, the problems will continue to get worse. So how can your organisation secure the scarce skills it needs to succeed?

The past year has accelerated transformations in how we live, work, and generate value within businesses.

The emerging technologies spearheading these developments give companies the ability to sharpen efficiency, improve decision making, step up the pace of innovation, and enhance the employee and customer experience.

At the same time, they also heighten the operational demands on businesses in areas ranging from complex systems resilience to data protection.

Change of this scale demands talent as well as technology. Along with a plethora of specialized new roles, existing jobs are maturing to adapt.

The leaders in our survey identify the most important emerging tech skillsets in driving growth over the next 2-5 years as cybersecurity, followed by digital transformation, cloud computing and big data.

The problem is that these prized capabilities are becoming more sought-after and harder to secure all the time.

Over four in ten leaders in our survey are worried that their businesses will be unable to meet future talent demand and growth, while a third are concerned they will lose their competitive advantage as a result.

On top of this, nearly a quarter believe that talent shortages will impede their ability to retain existing talent, reflecting an increasingly competitive job market.

Where are the challenges of matching rising demands with available talent supply most acute?

Cybersecurity tops the list of anticipated headcount growth, while ranking just below artificial intelligence (AI), automation and robotics in scarcity. More than one cybercrime is now reported every ten minutes in Australia. In part, the rise in cybercrime and resulting need for security specialists reflects just how much more business is conducted on digital channels and how much more people within companies collaborate virtually.

Download the report to learn more.