Future-Proofing Your IT Talent

Traditionally, there are three approaches to  equipping your organisation with the necessary skills. Aon’s ‘Future-Proofing Your Talent’ report explains that these are:

1. Build: You can build your own talent through recruitment and development. It isn’t always easy to hire specialist digital talent. Investing in your existing workforce is therefore something that every organisation can and should be doing.
2. Borrow: Creating partnerships — for example, with universities and other organisations — can provide short-term access to talent and expertise.
3. Buy: You can purchase consultancy expertise either at an individual or organisational level. Or you could subcontract assignments to a third-party organisation.

IT and business leaders report an average of six months to fill new roles externally, and nine months to develop internal candidates (Gartner Research Circle survey). However, it often takes much longer to recruit externally for in-demand jobs.

The time that passes while searching for a candidate is also time your organisation spends without the skill set, compounding the skills shortage or productivity issue.

Integral to building your organisation’s talent is investing in employee development.

Proactively managing and developing your talent, through development programmes, coaching, mentoring or giving them the opportunity to work on specific projects, helps both the organisation and individual employees. This is especially true in the fast-moving, exciting arena of technology and digitalisation.

Are Apprenticeships the Answer?

Apprenticeships are emerging as an ideal solution to attracting more young people into cybersecurity. This was the result of a Twitter poll run by Infosecurity Europe with 42.5% of participants favouring apprenticeships. More than a third (37.2%) believe that sustaining motivation and wellbeing is the greatest skills-related challenge faced by cybersecurity professionals right now. This is especially relevant when recruiting young people, where mental health is flagged as the priority issue for employers of remote workers. (Read about possible solutions: ‘Working From Home: Tips and Technology’.)

An Immediate Alternative

Most organisations are more reliant upon technology than ever before. Outsourcing enables a consistently high level of IT expertise, lower risk and improved productivity. In addition, 69% of UK companies outsource as a means of reducing IT costs. Plus, it’s quick to set up.

“Every organisation is unique and has its own IT requirements,” says Eric Hughes, founder of EMH Technology. “It’s important to nurture talent and optimise the performance of individual employees and the organisation.”

Are you keen to progress your career within IT – or interested in working in this dynamic sector? We’re looking for an IT Systems Administrator and an IT apprentice! Find out more about the IT Systems Administrator or click here if you are interested in an IT apprenticeship with EMH Technology. We look forward to receiving your application.

Is your organisation looking for a blend of internal development and outsourcing to manage IT? Have an informal initial discussion with the friendly team at EMH technology. We’ll put the kettle on!