The highest-paying IT jobs in Asia-Pacific are in cybersecurity/IT security (US$65,524), IT architecture and design (US$61,501) and cloud (US$56,096). Also, contrary to popular belief, banking and finance don’t offer the highest pay for IT professionals. The distinction goes to construction, architecture and engineering (US$78,697), government non-defence, state and local (US$77,839) and insurance, real estate and legal (US$72,260).
The 2022 IT Skills and Salary Report from Skillsoft reveals that 62% of APAC IT decision-makers see skills gaps in their teams. While still a considerable challenge, this represents an 11% decrease from last year.
However, the industry is facing another pressing challenge centred around talent attrition, with more than half (53%) of all respondents extremely or somewhat likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months.
Over the past year, the workplace has been defined by employee-led “movements,” namely the Great Resignation and “quiet quitting.” Meanwhile, the pace of digital transformation and lack of enough technical resources have pushed many IT professionals to a point of burnout.
Together, these trends are fuelling record rates of talent turnover across all industries.
Current employer challenges
As revealed in the report, IT leaders’ two biggest challenges are employee retention and recruitment. Thus, organisations must take proactive steps to shift their cultures to ensure employees feel fulfilled, engaged, and motivated.
“Learning is the catalyst for mutually beneficial growth for employees and employers, especially as organisations struggle to retain technical talent and keep pace with innovation,” said Zach Sims, general manager of tech & dev at Skillsoft.
“Companies that create cultures of learning and talent development will be most successful in recruiting and retaining ambitious individuals with the right skills and certifications to make an impact.”
Zach Sims
“This culture not only supports individual employee growth – which is something IT professionals are actively seeking – but also leads to better business outcomes that propel organisations forward,” said Sims.
Why IT staff are leaving
Among IT professionals that changed employers in the past year, their top three reasons for leaving were better compensation, a lack of training and development, and a lack of work-life balance, respectively.
Meanwhile, the top cited inhibitor to training is that management doesn’t see a need for it. This is despite 97% of IT decision-makers saying certified staff add value to the organisation.
With IT professionals seeing numerous benefits after training including improved quality of work (56%), increased engagement (41%), and faster job performance (36%), organisations that invest in their people can expect to see significant ROI both to the bottom line and with employee retention.
“While the IT industry continues to face a multitude of challenges, they are by no means insurmountable,” added Orla Daly, chief information officer at Skillsoft. Drawing from the report, she points to the value of tapping into employees’ desire for upskilling and growth.
“With deliberate planning focused on creating transformative learning experiences, we, as an industry, can not only solve for today’s skills gaps, but also create a sustainable workforce aligned to future skill needs.”
Orla Daly
Other findings
Despite improvement, IT skills gaps still weigh heavy on IT decision-makers' minds.
- 80% say skills gaps pose high or medium risk to their team’s ability to meet objectives.
- 63% have been unable to fill at least three positions in the last year.
- The top factors driving skills gaps are difficulties with hiring skilled candidates (44%) and employee retention (33%). 26% say not enough is being invested into training.
- The top three most challenging areas to find qualified talent in APAC are cloud computing; AI and machine learning; and data analytics, data management and data science.
- Positively, 70% of IT departments in APAC expect a budget increase in the next year (up from 44% in 2021), with the top skill areas of investment being cloud computing, AI and machine learning, and data analytics, data management and data science.
IT professionals are hungry for knowledge. Power skills are increasingly critical.
- 92% of IT professionals in APAC have taken some form of training in the last year. The top three reasons for doing so are to prepare the organisation for new technology upgrades, earn a salary increase, and as a personal choice or interest to upskill.
- 61% of organisations offer a leadership development program. Team communication, interpersonal communication, and emotional intelligence were cited as the most important power skills to build.
- As power and professional skills rise in importance in the IT industry, one-in-four have opted into this type of training in the last year.
DEI efforts in the IT industry are improving, but there is still work to be done.
- 75% of respondents say their organisation takes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) seriously, and 74% feel comfortable expressing their opinions at work.
- Still, roughly 25% have experienced microaggressions, harassment, and/or discrimination in the workplace.
- Exploring employees’ feelings about how management is addressing DEI challenges, 43% of non-management IT staff say they are recruiting diverse talent. But, only 19% see them setting and measuring DEI goals and objectives and just 17% say they are providing mentorship, coaching, or executive sponsorship.
Skillsoft CTO Apratim Purakayastha noted new and proven ways to provide IT professionals with transformative learning experiences, including the use of artificial intelligence, social and collaborative technologies, and seamless mobility.
“In the near term, AI will make more relevant recommendations based on learner preference, history, job data, peer usage data, and more. One can already see AI being used in modern learning technology in the form of digital assistants that are embedded directly into a learning experience platform (LXP).”
Apratim Purakayastha
