Talent International have identified six in-demand roles within the IT job market this year. The company notes that there is not much ‘wriggle room’ in the IT job market at there moment so companies are going out of their way to ensure they attract top talent. That means keeping an eye on emerging technologies as they will be the key catalysts for how the tech jobs landscape looks in the year ahead.
“It’s not just a case of innovation and advanced technologies becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives,” says the recruitment business, “they’re also changing the way companies do business. As a result, the number of tech roles in web development, cybersecurity and data analysis will grow exponentially over the next 12 months, making talent much harder to find.”
Forward-looking companies are getting a head start in recruiting for the most in-demand roles for 2019. Here are six to watch out for:
1. Artificial intelligence / machine learning engineer
The fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are seriously understaffed. Business leaders are consistently looking for ways to optimise, automate and streamline business process and practises, meaning there’s increased demand for these skilled professionals. Businesses looking to hire tech leaders who can manage AI, ML and data science teams are going to have their work cut out.
2. Blockchain developer
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies jobs are booming. According to Gartner, blockchain will generate $3.1 trillion in business value by 2030. With platforms such as Ethereum growing in popularity, businesses need developers who understand blockchain and smart contracts, as well as being able to build decentralised applications. Despite the price drop in cryptocurrencies, the market is still young and those with blockchain skills will continue to be a hot commodity in the tech workforce.
3. Python and Java developers
Alongside the rise of AI and ML technologies, we are seeing growing demand for Python developers. Relatively easy to learn, Python is the fastest-growing programming language and has a large developer community. Demand for Java developers will also remain high, with the growth of the cloud keeping Java on top.
4. Business intelligence analyst
With experience in database technology, analytics and reporting tools, business intelligence (BI) analysts need to understand a company’s unique data needs and then communicate those data patterns to stakeholders. This is a role that is growing in prominence as businesses shift their focus from harvesting data to making sense of it.
5. Cybersecurity engineer
With headlines full of reports of data breaches, cybersecurity remains a key issue for business leaders. This increased emphasis on organisational safety means that security engineer jobs are the first line of defence in safeguarding products and services – and the number of these roles is rising. Internet of Things (IoT) security will be a key focus as companies look for ways to protect connected devices and reduce data vulnerability.
6. DevOps engineer
The DevOps workflow (and demand for DevOps engineers) is becoming increasingly popular. If you ask an engineer, DevOps is more of a culture shift than a single job, but that hasn’t stopped it becoming one of the hottest tech jobs around. According to LinkedIn, DevOps engineer is now the most recruited job on its platform. Because it is a newer position, the role can vary across companies and go by different names (e.g. site reliability engineer).
