Much has been made about the scarcity of tech professionals and the strained organizations trying to find them. A new one Article by McKinsey makes the case for hiring people from “unique backgrounds”.
The report acknowledges that this is “difficult to apply in practice,” noting that “hiring managers are adept at selecting people with learning curves to fill key roles in the mission.” fate”.
However, research shows that “people have a clear ability to master new skills, and hiring unconventional technology is not so unique after all. But, the willingness to hire them and the commitment to help them expand their capabilities requires a change in mindset.”
This is a tactic that companies should take, says McKinsey. Demand is growing exponentially for skills including software engineering, data management, platform design, analytics-driven automation, customer experience design, and cybersecurity. Eighty-seven percent of global senior executive respondents said their companies were not prepared to address the digital skills gap, and that this happened before the COVID-19 pandemic caused problems. drastic changes to remote work.
The research firm notes that the pressure is particularly severe on employers outside of the tech sector.
Of course, there are some people who don’t fit into tech roles, and those are the people who tend to be happy in their comfort zone, says Anu Madgavkar, a partner at McKinsey Global Institute and one of the authors of the study. the report said.
But she adds that “even seasoned technologists with a computer science degree must commit to continuous learning to keep up with the pace of change in the field.”
People are learning technological skills to reinvent themselves
The report’s authors say they analyzed millions of job postings online to quantify the “skill gap” associated with specific job transfers, which refers to the proportion of new skills or unrelated to the new job when someone makes the change.
Those starting out in the tech sector often overcame the 27% skill gap every time they changed roles, according to the report.
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What’s more appealing to hiring managers is a small group of tech professionals starting in other types of jobs, the authors say. “These are not professionals who earned a degree in computer science and never deviated from their chosen path.
“These are people who start in completely different areas of work and then reinvent themselves by adding new capabilities in the process, be it learning to code, understanding knowledge web architecture or application development.”
The authors call this “a common phenomenon in the tech sector” and say that 44% of individuals holding tech roles by the end of the period they observed had transitioned from non-employment jobs. IT.
“In order to do so, they have to master more and more distinct new skills, and their reward for doing so is the ability to move upwards.”
Also, for tech roles in particular, “it’s also a good idea to ask if a college degree is really necessary,” says Madgavkar. Research shows that many of the workers who transitioned to the tech sector from other occupations did so without a college degree.
The role technology plays in increasing people’s income dramatically
People moving into tech roles will increase their lifetime earnings. In fact, nearly two-thirds of their lifetime earnings can be attributed to what the authors call “capital experience, or skills learned on the job.”
According to the report, these workers have moved an average skills gap of 53%, much higher than when people just started working in the field.
“This indicates that workers who want to push out of their comfort zone are often more likely to develop and apply new technical skills than many hiring managers assume,” the report said. use. “During the time period that we observed, these newcomers experienced an average annual salary increase of 5.3%, higher than the 2.3 to 2.6% growth for starters in the field. technology sector”.
Tech roles that non-casual workers turn to
The report says some common tech roles that provide newbies with a starting point include application software developer, IT support specialist, web developer, administrator and management specialist. document.
From these launchpads, the sky is often the limit in technology, where things evolve so rapidly that the field is open to anyone to keep up, regardless of pedigree, the report said. ” the report said.
Furthermore, nearly three in five workers who become IT managers in the United States start in non-IT roles. They often start their careers as executives and marketers or management analysts.
Three important strategies for cultivating tech talent
Non-digital native companies often find themselves overestimated for tech talent or overlooked by highly experienced candidates, the report said. That indicates that they need to take a different approach to recruiting and retaining talent — one that shifts from focusing on narrow expertise and taking a broader view of people’s potential.
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Don’t ignore the people in your organization who can make the switch
Compared with those who have taken on technology roles, workers without a background in technology are nearly 30% more likely to leave their current employer to become systems software developers. . Take inventory of available capabilities internally before looking for external candidates. Creating internal mobility that allows employees to add new skills and change courses can keep them energized and motivated.
The report cites a June 2021 Gallup survey of 15,000 US workers that found that 61% said the opportunity to learn new skills was an extremely or very important factor in deciding whether or not to work. stay in their current job or not.
Have the confidence to make bolder hiring decisions
While McKinsey’s data shows that tech talent can come from a variety of backgrounds, some employers are still cautious about hiring. People entering tech roles for the first time often expand by more than 50% of their skillset, so employers need “a new lens” to select candidates based on potential as well as past. their.
Candidates should be assessed not only for their current responsibilities but also for their transferable skills, intrinsic competencies, and potential for success in new roles. Technical skills can often be taught, so organizations should look for the right kind of mindset and soft skills needed for this role.
Training for retention
Since tech workers are constantly on the move, employers need to evaluate the overall picture of what they offer employees, and one of the most important components is the opportunity to learn.
“The deepening and scaling of the entire workforce’s digital skills will pay off in the form of productivity, innovation, and retention,” the report said.
Learning can take the form of structured face-to-face courses or digital content modules that employees can access themselves. But according to McKinsey, nothing compares to learning by doing and being coached or mentored.
“The rapidly changing nature of technology means that even senior professionals are constantly learning and improvising at work,” the authors write. “Opening doors to all employees — especially those looking to innovate themselves — is a smart tactic to activate talent and stay on top.”
