73 Percent of US and Canadian IT Decision Makers Believe Data and Analytics Industry Is Facing a Talent Shortage According to Survey

While IT decision makers and influencers across the United States and Canada overwhelmingly view data as an important part of their businesses (91.2 percent), nearly 74 (73.8) percent believe the data and analytics industry is facing a shortage of talent according to survey findings released today by Adastra. Respondents working in the information technology vertical were even more convinced about the talent shortage with 79 percent in agreement.

“As data is increasingly embraced by existing and emerging industries, the demand on the labour pool is daunting”

The online survey was conducted by Forum Research between December 2–14, 2022 and consisted of 882 IT professionals throughout the United States (589) and Canada (293).

Furthermore, 89 percent of survey participants indicated their organizations will spend more (55.7 percent) or the same amount (33.3 percent) on data estate modernization in 2023 compared to 2022, a strong indication of greater reliance on data and data professionals in achieving operational efficiencies and profitability. Spending expectations increase with survey respondents from the information technology (69.3 percent) and financial sectors (69.8 percent) reporting their companies will spend more on data estate modernization in 2023.

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“As data is increasingly embraced by existing and emerging industries, the demand on the labour pool is daunting,” said Rahim Hajee, Chief Technology Strategy Officer at Adastra North America, the global Data and Analytics solution provider. “It goes far beyond data scientists, especially for larger corporations who often depend on teams of programmers, data visualization experts, project-specific coordinators and many more.”

By 2026, the number of jobs requiring data science skills is projected to grow by nearly 28 percent according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of STEM graduates every year is not in sync with the burgeoning demand and veracity in which companies are pursuing data solutions.

“Organizations that are already leveraging their data are feeling more prepared than their competitors as the talent pipeline gap becomes critical,” said Hajee.

Companies that are not moving quickly enough to align their data and analytics with their business strategy risk falling even further behind their competition as employment needs go unfulfilled in the marketplace.

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Executives not recognizing the benefits of their organization’s data

While nearly four in five (87.6 percent) IT decision makers agree that data utilization can distinguish an organization from the competition, almost 60 percent (59.8) of respondents admitted their executive teams are too old to understand the benefits of data and 65 percent agree their company is falling woefully behind their competition in utilizing data analytics. Respondents aged 18–24 were even likelier to believe their companies are behind competitors in this category, with 70.5 percent agreeing.

Moreover, according to those surveyed, 56.0 percent of CEOs are worried their competitors are moving ahead with data estate modernization faster than their organizations though nearly half (47.4 percent) of respondents believe their company is doing as well as their competitors when it comes to using data and analytics.

“The challenge in attracting new talent to a legacy business will become increasingly more difficult with each passing year,” said Hajee. “Innovative organizations will continue investing in data and analytics to leverage more value against accelerating costs in talent acquisition.”

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