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If you work in technology, you’ve probably seen the headlines lamenting the ongoing Lack of developers. demand of Skilled developers There has been a steady increase over the past few years, but supply has failed to keep up. The International Data Corporation (IDC) has predicted a global decline Four million developers By 2025. If we don’t act now, a global talent shortage could almost certainly result $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual income by 2030.
So what can we do about it?
Recently, I attended the SXSW festival in Austin and led a panel with industry leaders from Salesforce, Morgan Stanley, and Estee Lauder to address this question. Throughout the conversation, it became clear that our solutions must go beyond establishing stronger job fairs at top universities. To overcome the developer shortage, the entire industry must undergo a paradigm shift, Prioritizing diversity, to realize education and policy change and secure the future of all tech-enabled businesses. ChatGPT will only take us so far.
Tap into a new pool of talent
Tech has primarily drawn candidates from the same constituency talent pool For decades. The problem is that this pool does not reflect the diversity of the world around us. 62% All tech workers are white, and 75% are male. Relying on this very limited and homogenous source of talent has put the industry in a bind. Even though companies are unable to fill the vacancies, there are large groups of people who have been forced out of the industry. What would the developer shortage look like if we expanded our talent pool to better include women, people of color, global workers, people with disabilities, and the formerly incarcerated?
We cannot keep returning to the same empty pot and expect gold to suddenly appear. We cannot expect to find 4 million new developers by 2025 from the same pool.
As leaders, we need to consider the groups that we may have dismissed Old prejudices And ask ourselves, “How can we tap into a new pool of talent?”
Related: 4 Reasons Low-Code Tools Will Never Replace Software Developers
Use non-traditional methods
Fostering a new generation of developers means organizations must implement non-traditional methods to identify and attract talent.
First, look at your job descriptions — are they accessible to people from non-traditional backgrounds? remove Degree requirements and develop job descriptions that focus less on credentials and more on the skills needed to succeed in the role. Also, train hiring managers and recruiters to overcome their biases and identify transferable skills in a candidate’s application.
Skills can be taught, but passion and creativity are much harder. One can usually upskill an employee in weeks or months, but changing someone’s behavior will take years at best. Don’t let erroneous requirements like a four-year degree get in the way of hiring someone who can bring an important perspective to your team.
We should also consider how we can adapt our workflow Drive included and relationship. For example, the prevalence of remote work has opened up many opportunities for people living with physical disabilities. Before the pandemic, many workplaces would not consider an applicant if they could not come to the office. Moving forward, we must educate ourselves about other areas of our work that may inadvertently be exclusionary and adapt accordingly so that all have the opportunity to contribute. Leadership and teams need a lot of learning to properly involve everyone.
Related: How software developer freelancers are filling the skills gap
Nurture the talent pool
If we only look for talent when we need them, we’ll likely give in to old biases and hire the first developer who checks all our boxes. Organizations have a responsibility to actively build and nurture an expanded talent pool through education, training and support.
Institutions must invest STEM education Beyond the traditional and expensive four-year degree. What can we do as companies to expand access to tech education and accreditation? At Salesforce, they partner with schools to provide access to computers and coding classes to bring tech to students at the beginning of their learning journey. There are also programs like Microsoft Acceleratewhich provides free courses and resources to underserved communities to equip them with the skills needed to participate in the tech sector.
However, education alone is not enough. My company recently partnered with a non-profit and higher education institution in Brazil to help underserved communities access tech jobs. Although these students had completed their computer science degrees — while holding down full-time jobs in another field — many still lacked the confidence to apply for jobs in tech or even create a LinkedIn profile. We quickly realized that it was necessary to build a bridge from the hard skills learned in class to the soft skills they needed to land a job, including networking, interviewing and finding opportunities. Having a credential is one thing, but if someone doesn’t know how to use it in the job market, it won’t go far.
During the question portion of the panel, a student and young entrepreneur asked how companies can promote and promote Developer Boot Camp For young people. He suggested focusing on community-focused approaches—going into underserved communities and providing educational resources. We should not expect people to come to us, we have to make efforts to reach them.
It is up to us to create holistic solutions at every step of the pipeline, providing the necessary structure, support and emotional safety. Marginal groups To confidently apply for technical jobs.
Related: Why low-code platforms are the solution to the developer shortage that people aren’t talking about
Act as an ecosystem
The developer industry has a visibility gap, not a talent gap. Finding non-traditional and creative approaches to identifying and evaluating talent is how we can help our companies spot the talent they feel they lack.
We must find solutions that help nurture and develop talent from its earliest stages and engage more in initiatives with non-profit organizations to work with underserved communities to create solutions that they and those they work with.
Most importantly, we all fail if we compete to develop talent. The challenge at hand is that we need to measure and measure correctly. We must work together to create an ecosystem with partners in all industries – who we can count on as competitors.
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