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In Terms Of Skilled Personnel, The IoT Is Full Of Gap

You’ve already heard, ad infinitum, here and elsewhere in the media, there’s a shortage of skilled IT and cybersecurity workers and professionals, enough to drive one to liquid solutions.

Along the same thought plane, a report from Canonical, the maker of Ubuntu Core IoT OS, indicates a skills gap is currently affecting recruitment for the Internet of Things (IoT) space. We can assume, again, this refers to IT, software, and cybersecurity professionals. The survey purveyor claims, “Businesses are struggling to recruit employees with the skills needed to make the Internet of Things a success”.

The Report Finds:

53% believe that quantifying ROI and providing a clear use case is their most immediate challenge in adopting IoT

68% of professionals are struggling to hire employees with IoT skills

57% believe the security of IoT devices should be a joint responsibility

According to the survey, the hardest-to-find skill set is Big Data and analytics expertise. This tells you businesses can easily collect tons of data, but do not have the expertise to figure out what to do with it or what it means. Obviously and again, the Big Data/analytics category was followed by embedded software development, embedded electronics, IT security, and artificial intelligence, a.k.a., the usual suspects.

Canonical executive Mike Bell says of the findings, “When it comes to the Internet of Things, the business community is still overcoming a significant skills gap. Many businesses are concerned by their own lack of knowledge and skills within the IoT market and many business leaders are finding themselves running head first into a set of technology and business challenges that they do not yet fully understand. Above all, businesses must be agile when it comes to deciding on the 'right' people, skills and team to take them forward. What is decided upon today is unlikely to remain the same in even one or two years, so constantly evaluating what change is needed and being able to execute this quickly is a must.”

The Possible Solution

Surveys and research studies are great for finding problems and how much of a problem they present to a certain market in percentages and other figures. However, they offer no solutions. Well, here’s one possible solution to the skills gap that is now affecting recruitment for the growing IoT space.

Everyone out there who may have children about to enter college, tell them to stop taking selfies, don’t even think of majoring in music, fine arts, sociology, or psychology. Tell them to major in all things IoT and hope that it remains the “big thing” after they graduate when they start looking for employment.

Details

  • Newton, MA, USA
  • Sensors Online