IT Decision-Makers Are Challenged to Find Qualified Professionals in Three Areas

More than 14,000 IT and business professionals worldwide who participated in Global Knowledge’s 10th annual IT Skills and Salary Survey confirmed that individuals and organizations benefit from IT certification, participants identified increased productivity and earning potential, fewer skills gaps and faster troubleshooting as benefits of certification. This year, the scope of the IT Skills and Salary Survey Report was expanded to include IT professionals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

Skills gaps are a concern

More than two-thirds of IT decision-makers reported a gap between skill levels and knowledge needed to meet goals, they identified an insufficient investment in skills development and training as a primary reason for gaps. These gaps can result in increased employee stress, lower likelihood of meeting quality objectives, delays in product and service development and in hardware and software deployment and lost revenue.

Certifications pay

The majority of IT decision-makers indicated that the cost of certification is recouped through increased productivity, faster troubleshooting and fewer skills gaps. In addition, certified IT professionals worldwide earned significantly more than their non-certified peers, certified IT decision makers in North America earn an average of 8.9% more than their non-certified peers, in Latin America and EMEA the difference is 10% and 13% respectively. Survey participants also indicated a correlation between certification and job security and satisfaction.

Cloud computing and cybersecurity skills are in demand

Organizations priorities are cloud computing, cybersecurity and virtualization, at the same time, IT decision-makers are challenged to find qualified professionals in those areas. The growing demand for professionals in these areas can mean higher salaries. Individuals working in cybersecurity report the highest overall salaries; the average global salary is $87,580. Those working in cloud computing round out the top five, with an average global salary of $75,365.

“Responses confirmed that skills gaps exist and organizations are having trouble filling positions; these issues are exacerbated by the faster pace at which individuals and organizations are required to adopt new technologies. At the same time, training was identified as a way to address skills gaps and related issues.“, said Greg Timpany, Senior Market Research Manager.

“The typical IT product lifecycle continues to shrink and the skills gap continues to widen. Organizations can't buy their way out of this problem; they have to look inward to start training and retraining their people. As the market leader in IT training, Global Knowledge is committed to supporting our customers' and partners' ever-evolving development needs, while also expanding our ability to present and deliver training in a way that uniquely resonates with their stakeholders around the world., said Global Knowledge President and Chief Executive Officer Sean Dolan.