DIGITAL STRATEGY
WE SPEAK TO LEE JAMES , EMEA CTO AT RACKSPACE , ABOUT THE ROLE THE COMPANY AND THE WIDER TECH INDUSTRY CAN PLAY IN CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP
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Agap exists in the technological skills demanded by employers and those possessed by potential employees . According to research by the Society for Human Resource Management , 83 % of HR professionals have expressed difficulty in finding suitable job candidates , with the talent gap being most visible in roles requiring science , technology , engineering and maths ( STEM ) skills such as data analysis or engineering .
The gap is not purely in skills , of course , with associated gaps in both racial and gender diversity . For the latter , the World Economic Forum ’ s Global Gender Gap report revealed that the largest gender gaps exist in the new , technological jobs driving the world ’ s economy . Duly , in cloud computing , men number 88 % of employees , in engineering 85 % and in data and AI 74 %.
The key to narrowing the skills gap , and perhaps also making a dent in other inequalities , is in education . But what form should this education take ?
APRIL 2020