How to close the IoT skills gap and revolutionize business productivity
Why you should upskill your employees in IoT
By adopting IoT solutions in organizational operations, repetitive jobs can be automated, freeing employees’ time for more vital tasks that call for personal skills and the ability to think beyond the box.
Additionally, IoT app solutions help improve safety by reducing the probability of human error at various stages of corporate operations. Safe working conditions and workplace efficiency increase the company’s appeal to investors, stakeholders, and employees, enhancing reputation and trust in the brand.
Five ways to close the IoT skill gap: A blueprint to guide your business
Upskilling:
Upskilling is a fantastic way to address the IoT skills gap. You can train trusted employees to take on senior roles in the firm that demand better technical skills. With the surge of online courses, businesses have a wide variety of options to train high-performing employees and close the IoT skill gap. To develop end-to-end IoT expertise within your company, incorporate the following core competencies:
- Programming skills
- Hardware engineering
- Data analytics
- Front end development
- Mobile app development
- Cloud computing
- Networking
Network with industry professionals and educators:
Creating relationships with institutions that teach IoT-related skill sets means recruitment opportunities on campus. Staying in touch with educators at universities with strong STEM programs and even guest lecturing forges strong relationships.
While this may not be a way to find seasoned IoT developers, it can help find junior candidates that can continually improve in-house. Furthermore, staying in contact with industry professionals can help spread the word when it’s time to recruit.
Outsource:
Some companies choose to completely outsource their IoT work instead of searching for candidates to come on full time to address IoT skills gap. Although this option is cheap, it offers less control.
Outsourcing is a good option for companies that may not need IoT work done on a continual basis or for businesses that don’t have a robust HR team that can recruit for technical positions.
Hire part-time or contract employees:
Businesses needing to fill IoT positions can also hire part-time or contract workers. More and more employees want flexible work schedules with remote possibilities.
Companies can hire part-time employees that only need to be in the office on certain days or during specific parts of a project to address IoT skills gap. Offering more flexibility with the position may be a way to gain access to talented IoT professionals that do not want a traditional full-time job.
Revisit your recruitment plan
Refresh your recruitment plan to address IoT skills gap. Take a look at the types of people you are hiring. Are they the kind of people who get the big picture? Are they the kind of people who can see the value hiding in data segments? Who understands the why behind the how?
You need to recruit employees who have the ability to learn, grow and embrace a changing technology landscape to deal with IoT. To attract the right candidates, make sure your HR team asks the right questions, explains the responsibilities associated with the role clearly, and offers attractive incentives.
To read more: IoT for enterprise – A roadmap to guide your scaling strategy
Summing it up
This isn’t a one-time deal. Demand for IoT jobs rose from 3,338 in Q4 2018 to 4,968 in Q1 2019, and it won’t stop anytime soon. Focus on creating a solid, consistent, and undisrupted IoT pipeline that your company and customers can depend on.
Your company can easily overcome the IoT skills gap problem by focusing on upskilling, recruiting, incentivizing and intelligently growing a pipeline of talent. The power of IoT is still very much in your hands.
