The ‘Famous Five’ top IT Skills in demand

The ongoing development of digital media, in almost every aspect of life, is ensuring that various types of IT contractors are going to be kept very busy over the coming months and years. In both business to business and business to consider environments, all types of organisations are using digital technologies to connect people – whether that’s within a business, or between a company and its customers.

What this leads to of course is a need for some seriously talented people, who can get involved in all areas of an organisation, with skills to support various functions. Especially the departments that have a drive towards measurable results and finding new ways to enhance and cement their customers’ experiences with the business. Digital skills were recently identified in the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) ‘Report on Jobs’ as leading the way – with IT contractors, in particular, being in the highest demand since May of this year.

So let’s have a look at the five areas which are top of the list at the moment:

Mobile app developers

It seems like there is an app for everything these days, and that’s no bad thing, as they help us consumers in so many ways. Mobiles devices are now officially the ‘most used platform’ as opposed to desktops – and the demand for new apps is only going to increase. More specifically, the industry is seeing an increase in opportunities for mobile development contractors who specialise in Microsoft Xaramin, a tool which enables both iOS and Android apps to be developed in C#.

Security and cybersecurity experts

With the spread of these apps, and other digital platforms, comes, of course, an ever-increasing need for top-notch security. But in a recent Global Cybersecurity Status report, which was carried out across 3,500 individuals by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, 80% of those surveyed said they were seeing a shortage of IT professionals with cybersecurity skills. On top of this, there are currently more than 300,000 cybersecurity roles available in the US, and that figure is only set to rise – so there is a huge amount of opportunity for contractors with these skill sets.

User interface/experience developers

With consumer-facing apps especially, businesses just can’t afford to get it wrong. Whether an app works well or not can make all the difference to someone’s buying decision – so getting the design and development of these types of apps right is absolutely vital. Known as ‘user experience (UX) and ‘user interface’ (UI) developers – these types of contractors are becoming highly sought after – so that all types of businesses can ensure that their customers can communicate with them painlessly, whatever they need to do.

Full-stack web and product developers

What goes on behind the app interface is, of course, all-important, as it takes more than a pretty user interface to keep customers happy! Which is why we’re also seeing a demand for what is known as ‘full-stack web developers’. These are programmers who are experts in languages like PHP, Python, Java and JavaScript – whose job it is to ensure that robust back end functionality is not forgotten.

Cloud architects and integrators

The whole concept of cloud infrastructure continues to drive new IT developments, with an ongoing move towards hybrid cloud adoption. Meaning that IT contractors who specialise in this area are continuing to be in very high demand. And we have every reason to believe that this will continue to be the case for many years to come!

In summary, then, it’s fair to say that the whole digital world is making the IT industry a very good place for contractors at the moment – especially those with these top five skills. We look forward to seeing how it all progresses throughout 2017 and beyond.