For generation Z, finding a job seems to be more difficult than it’s been in recent years, and part of the problem is a lack of experience or skills companies want at a time when technology is changing at breakneck speed.
More than half of 1,000 workers ages 21 to 25 in the UK polled recently by Wiley Edge, a reskilling training provider, said they needed as much as nine months to find their first entry-level role, with 37% of Gen. Z tech workers needing more than six months to do so. (Half the respondents were in a tech or IT-based job; the other half were in other types of jobs.)
Even as recent college grads hunt for that coveted first entry-level position, businesses face a critical technology skills gap, exacerbated by the fact that tech unemployment is low.
There are other cross-currents in play affecting hiring in IT:
Organizations have shifted away from hiring based only on college degrees and more toward skills-based talent.
Some of the most in-demand skills include full-stack developers, data scientists, and artificial intelligence (AI) engineers and developers.
The quick rise of AI and generative AI could be having an adverse effect on entry-level IT positions that often involve lower-level or more mundane tasks.
Gen. Z tech specialists, according to Wiley Edge, prefer to work in big tech companies because they have a misconception of what a good tech career looks like.
Gen. Z, typically considered those born between 1997 and 2012, is expected to make up 27% of the workforce by next year. So, increasingly, it will be important for companies who are hiring to find the skills they need in young workers, and for those workers to adjust their hiring expectations.
“This rift between the next generation of tech workers and expanding technology teams is exacerbated by two factors: how job seekers look for employment and the strategies employers use to find talent,” said Khadijah Pandor, head of partnerships at Wiley Edge.
“Great talent can be found anywhere, and hiring people with diverse backgrounds and life experiences brings new perspectives and different skill sets to benefit the workforce,” Pandor said. But “applying for a position at this type of company can be extremely competitive, with candidate demand outpacing the number of paid opportunities available.”
In reality, solid career opportunities can exist at tech companies from small to global, as well as in other sectors, from finance and healthcare to logistics.
What companies can do to attract younger workers
In light of the perception among young adult professionals of what it means to have a successful tech career, employers need to build awareness of tech jobs at smaller companies and in vertical industries other than technology, according Pandor. For example, finance, healthcare and logistics are all industries that need tech talent.
“A practical way to make a difference here is for businesses to promote their employer brand at a…
2024-01-17 04:41:03
Post from www.computerworld.com rnrn