At the start of any New Year it’s always a challenge to identify which IT skills will be particularly in demand over the coming 12 months…
So, we’ve taken the opportunity to review the predictions of a number of leading online resources and have come up with a hit list of eight skills that are consistently highlighted. In no particular order they 
are:
- Security professionals – the recent spate of high profile cyber attacks and system breaches has ensured that security professionals continue to be in high demand as the requirement to protect sensitive date becomes an ever-increasing priority for businesses.
- Network engineers – networks are everywhere, from the web, collaboration and streaming video through to mobile, so it’s no surprise that network management and infrastructure skills are much sought after as organisations look to support and maintain the proficiency, reliability and overall performance of their network infrastructures.
- Project managers – with many organisations planning to increase their IT spending in 2016 there will be a corresponding increase in the need for project management skills. And significant growth in the adoption of agile techniques will also result in the requirement for project managers who are capable of delivering results that match the increasing pace and expectations of businesses today.
- Cloud architects/integrators – as cloud becomes increasingly mainstream (research firm IDC predicts that more than half of enterprise IT infrastructure and software investments will be cloud-based by 2018), so the requirement will grow for skilled cloud professionals to help with adoption, deployment, and integration. The expanding use of software-as-a service will bring demands for specific skills.
- Data analysts – today’s digital world is full of data which is growing at a rapid pace thanks in part to the increasing use of social media and the emrgence of the Internet of Things (IoT). The requirement to manage this is leading to increasing demands for IT professionals who can analyse and interpret data and bring it to life visually, building dashboards and the like to assist in its understanding and application.
- Business analysts – in spite of (and possibly more because of) the raft of emerging technologies there is an increasing need for analysts who understand how technology supports the business. A business analyst should be able to “speak” the language of both business and IT in order to ensure that IT solutions fully address business requirements.
- Application developers – as smartphones become more advanced there is a demand for mobile developers to create new and exciting apps for iOS and Android. Native programming languages for mobile such as Java and the new Swift will continue to be sought after but Hybrid App Development (which uses web technologies such as CSS, HTML5 and Javascript) is also generating significant opportunities, with Gartner predicting that 50% of mobile apps could be hybrid by the end of 2016.
- User experience/user interface designers – UX/UI designers are likely to be in high demand as online businesses look to make their software interfaces as intuitive as possible in response to consumers seeking a quick and seamless user experience.
So, if you’re planning a career change in 2016, hopefully we’ve given you a few useful pointers in the list above!
Global Knowledge
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