How U.S. Companies Are Bridging Tech Skills Gap In 2016

Skills gap has become a very widespread problem in developed countries recently. Companies require highly qualified specialists and human resources cannot perform a sufficient number of specialists with relevant skills to meet these needs. About half of the companies reported the existence of unfilled jobs because applicants lack the necessary job skills. Health care and technology are sectors that are particularly lack of highly skilled workers. The extent of the problem can be illustrated by the following facts. For example, Amazon announces about 16,000 unfilled jobs for IT professionals and Accenture requires 14,000 of skilled specialists. Considering the size of companies the numbers are impressive. Сompanies incur significant losses: near $14,000 for each job awaiting specialist for 3 months or more.

Skill gap problem is chiefly the suing consequences of educational problem. Technological progress is going forward and in order to be a competitive specialist one must learn every day and catch up with current innovations. Technology automates jobs a lot and radically change the labor process not leaving much time for workers to adapt to the new workflow. That pour oil on flames.

According to scientific forecasts the problem is going to exacerbate in the near future. The year of 2020  anticipates the deficit of high-skilled workers around the world will increase to 40 million and the deficit for medium-skill workers will reach 45 million. A surplus of 95 million low-skilled workers is expected as well. The figures are very disappointing and this calls for urgent actions. Businesses, government, non-profit organizations, educational institutions are working to solve the problem of education and to make training process more accessible and mobile. There is a list of possibilities for those wishing to improve their skills and acquire new knowledge.

1. Coding schools.

The aim of these programs is to provide coding skills in an unconventional way. There are many educational platforms such as Code Academy, Code Avengers, Code School, General Assembly. Some of them are free and some should be paid for.

2. Massive open online courses (MOOCs).

You can find free courses on the desired field from the best universities in the world on free online education platforms like coursera, edx, futurelearn etc. They are available to an unlimited number of students and at any time. The only problem that a student might face is a lack of motivation to complete the course because training process should be organized individually.

3. Federal and nonprofit efforts.

Governments across the country are contributing to staff training in order to reduce the skills gap. Nonprofit organizations also train and employ workers in different sectors but sometimes such organizations may not have enough funds to provide training according to the latest technologies.

4. Other companies.

Many large commercial companies such as MTU, BMW organize educational events for their employees at their own expenses[1].

In addition to providing educational opportunities and adapting workers to changing technology, the company is also considering the possibility of talent acquisition abroad. Companies need to create conditions for such underestimated workforce as retirees, women, and youth willing to work from home. Generally speaking, technology and the whole world will never stand still as change is inevitable and people are ready for it [2].

1. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241297
2. http://fortune.com/2015/05/12/how-u-s-companies-can-fill-the-skills-gap/

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