Study: 48% of tech workers consider changing jobs due to lack of upskilling resources

Nearly half (48 percent) of tech workers have considered changing jobs because they are not given sufficient resources to develop tech skills, according to a report released by Pluralsight, a technology workforce development company based in Draper. Additionally, 75 percent of respondents agreed that their organization’s willingness to dedicate resources to developing their tech skills affects their plans to stay with the organization.

Pluralsight’s 2022 State of Upskilling Report compiled survey results from more than 700 technology learners and leaders in the United States, Europe, Australia and India on the most current trends and attitudes around skill development.

Pluralsight said there is a growing skills gap that is affecting the entire tech industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings in the tech industry are projected to grow 13 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations. McKinsey says finding tech talent will be a “formidable challenge” in the years to come.

“Companies of all sizes around the globe are facing growing pressure to attract and retain skilled technologists,” said Gary Eimerman, general manager of Pluralsight Skills. “The Great Resignation has made tech employee attrition a boardroom-level discussion. With the need for tech jobs rapidly outpacing the number of qualified candidates, it’s clear that hiring your way out of this talent crunch is not an option. Instead, organizations must invest their resources in upskilling and reskilling their current employees.”

The study also found that cybersecurity is the area with the largest skills gaps among respondents, replacing cloud computing as the top-ranking area of focus for individuals and organizations in 2022. Forty-three percent of respondents ranked cybersecurity as their top skill concern while 39 percent of respondents ranked cloud computing as their top skill concern. In 2021, 39 percent of respondents ranked both cybersecurity and cloud computing as their top skills gaps.

Similarly, 44 percent of respondents in the 2022 study listed cybersecurity as the skills gap that poses the greatest threat to their organization. Beyond cybersecurity and cloud computing, data storage (36 percent) and network infrastructure (28 percent) are some of the top skills gaps in 2022.

According to the survey, only 36 percent of all organizations are allocating dedicated work time for learning, with only 32 percent of tech companies designating work time for learning. The majority (91 percent) of respondents want to improve their tech skills to fulfill personal career goals. Additionally, 86 percent of respondents want their tech skills to align with their organization’s overall strategy.