How to Fix the Technology Talent Gap
A significant technology skills gap has occurred in America over the last decade or so, “causing people to not understand where the opportunities are within technology,” says Michael Kirven, who founded the IT consulting and staffing firm Bluewolf in 2000.
This gap has made it difficult for companies to fill key positions, thwarting innovation, Kirven told Big Think in a recent interview. So companies are left with three choices. “One is they can cross train their internal employees on some of these newer technologies that are coming out,” Kirven says. But this option is not ideal because many of these employees are already working at capacity. Another option is to outsource their technology infrastructure overseas. But this option is also far from ideal as it means a loss of control. “You want to control your own destiny,” Kirven says. “You want to control your own vision.”
And so Kirven, who has rebranded Bluewolf’s IT division as Mondo and launched its new site today, says that we need to create a talent funnel here in the United States. If we don’t act, Kirven says, “we’re going to be faced with significant challenges as a country within the technology innovation landscape.”
Watch the video here:
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
