Top In-Demand IT Skills In 2022: The Experts’ Edit

This video on Top 11 In-Demand IT Skills in 2022 brings to you two industry analysts (Daren BrabhamOpens a new window , senior director analyst, ETR and Aaryn AndersonOpens a new window , senior manager strategy and business, Insight) who identify the most in-demand tech skills for 2022 that companies are going to look for and the strong draws for attracting high-quality engineers. Hear from our experts what you need to be aware of the top in-demand IT skills.

Key Takeaways 

• Find people who can be a Jack or Jill of all trades and still have that depth as well
• Security is top of mind of every organization to create a secure workplace
• Marry business savvy with technical know-how to advance the fastest

Read the full transcript of our conversation with Daren Brabham and Aaryn Anderson here:

0:00Opens a new window – Introduction

Toolbox: Rapid digital transformation is taking place across all industries today and it has made everyone realize that many job profiles will become obsolete and it will also give birth to new ones. In fact, a World Economic Forum report on Future of Jobs says that 50% of employees will need to reskill by 2025. This means, it is not enough to simply achieve your certifications, but you need to be aware of the skills that will be in demand and the ones that will disappear. We spoke to top analysts from the industry to identify the most in-demand tech skills for 2022 that companies are going to look for and the strong draws for attracting high-quality engineers. Let’s look at what these experts say.

See More: Cybersecurity Engineer: Key Skill Requirements and Salary Expectations

1:06Opens a new window –  Which are the top IT skills that tech companies will be leaning towards in 2022?   

Daren: One of the top IT and data privacy skills that the tech companies are looking for this year is they’re looking for people who can have an ability to scan the landscape. And find those new vendors in the products that might better serve a need in your organization. They are also looking for people who can set rigorous practices for getting those tools, running proof of concepts, exploring those tools on the side to see if they might be a fit and to find that next product that might make your job easier and might save your organization a lot of money.

So I think just the ability to scan the landscape and stay up to speed on trends is really important. 

“Another IT and data privacy skill that I think we’re looking for in 2022 is the ability for a tech professional to communicate across the business and with executives. To distill these complex technical topics into digestible bits that are decipherable by non-technical folks, and be able to make recommendations that connect to business goals and clearly communicate as much in written and verbal form as you can. It’s about translation, it’s about business acumen and it’s about executive presence and communication.”

And I think another skill that we see that’s really important for IT and data privacy in 2022, it’s flexibility in broad skill sets. Deep knowledge on a particular set of products will always be appreciated.

But don’t completely fuse your skills profile as a tech professional to what’s offered by a single vendor in their technology stack. Keep exploring emerging tools, keep learning new programming languages and DevOps methods. Keep learning new paradigms. Immerse yourself in your current job. The most in-demand tech people will have depth in one or two products, but they’ll have a whole lot of breadth in the ability to look at new products.

And so really what we’re seeing is this kind of push to find people who can be a Jack or Jill of all trades and do several things and still have that depth and still have that breadth as well.

See More: Top 7 Cybersecurity Skills To Master In 2022

3:10Opens a new window –  What capabilities do CIOs and tech leaders need to upskill these in-demand skills?  

Aaryn: So there’s really four areas that come to mind that we’ve seen come to prominence in the last years and digital transformation. First, one being security. Top of mind of every organization these days, and being able to create a secure workplace. Then, digitization and AI, and being able to have automation to be able to improve the employee experience, the guest experience, the customer experience.

“Ultimately, the third is being able to develop compliance frameworks for the employees. So that they have systems to regularly produce work within. And then finally business agility and being able to have strategies that align back to business objectives. And ensuring that the strategy is relevant to those key metrics that people measure against.”

4:02Opens a new window –  Apart from compensation and benefits, what will be the strong draws for attracting and retaining high-quality engineers?  

Aaryn: Such a super relevant question! With the competitive workforce and the nature of the business that we find ourselves in, these are really tough. So, top off is the quality of work that these people have and work that they’re passionate about. So that IT engineers want to show up and do work every day.

That ties back to company values and making sure that we have a place where those values are shown every day by every employee and by the company. It comes over the long term. So, being able to create value for customers, for the organization, and for those people who have a sense of balance.

“Another way to keep high-quality engineers is with the work they produce. So being able to have constant cycles and opportunities for education and self-improvement, having a nature where you always want to learn and you always want to improve your abilities. And then finally, as we see this more and more, it is being able to create an environment of autonomy. We can’t let people run off on their own, but allow them to have a space where they can produce their best work in the style that they can create.”

See More: Top 10 Cybersecurity Tools in 2022

5:16Opens a new window –  What are your top recommendations to IT pros to develop their skills?

Daren: My top recommendations for IT professionals to develop their skills is to keep up with digital transformation. It’s an obvious one. Stay up on conferences, blogs, market survey data, podcasts, interviews, and other sorts of industry trends and analysis.

It’s also the best way to keep an eye on emerging technologies and how your peer organizations are adopting them. It’s a fast moving space and it takes a weekly or even daily commitment to tracking those industry conversations in order to keep up. 

“Another skill that IT professionals need to develop to keep up with digital transformation is investing in those soft skills. Take up communication, leadership, business acumen, and public speaking. Digital transformation initiatives involve close alignment between business and IT that’s sort of the nature of it today. So, the soft skills will really form that bridge and allow businesses to understand one another and work together to achieve organizational goals.”

So the IT professional who can marry business savvy and clear communication with technical know-how will be the one who will advance the fastest. So it’s about learning to build that bridge and communicate what you know.

Which are the in-demand IT skills in 2022 that you are investing in? Tell us on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We would love to hear from you! 

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