We present two innovative approaches to attracting sought-after tech talent.

HR professionals, listen up! We present two innovative solutions for attracting rare tech talent with promising careers. Minor spoiler: Investing in digital skills makes invisible IT professionals visible. We think: Get out of the comfort zone - now!

New Work, digitalisation, quiet quitting or VUCA: these are all no longer buzzwords. They are conditions that have grown out of the pop-up phenomenon stage and are turning our professional world upside down. The result: a new perspective on the familiar. Even on familiar problem areas such as the IT skills shortage. A new perspective is urgently needed. Only by questioning the old, by innovative thinking and courageous questioning can real change come about. This change is currently necessary, especially in the recruiting of rare tech talents, but also for employees and, one step further, for basically every person, whether employed or in training. Because New Work, digitalisation & Co. are only the beginning of a change in our working world towards technology. This change demands more and more digital core competences from each individual and at the same time creates new digital career profiles. The motto of the hour is therefore: "Get out of your comfort zone and into new territory". This is where it pays off for HR professionals to take unconventional, future-oriented paths in personnel acquisition and training that can boost the career.

Why and where is there a shortage of tech talent?

Up to 780,000 additional tech specialists will be needed in Germany by 2026. Data analysts and AI experts are particularly in demand. In addition to technological skills, the demand for so-called "future skills" such as digital skills and technological know-how is also growing. Especially companies whose business model is not in the IT sector have a problem here, as they are regularly outbid by competitors or passed over by experienced candidates when it comes to acquiring IT professionals. This is an indication that a fundamentally new way of thinking is needed to attract, retain and nurture IT talent and their career - an approach that takes a broader view of people's potential.

Two approaches to nurturing tech talent.

Many companies offer IT professionals a particularly high degree of flexibility, because benefits like these often tip the scales. Flexible working hours, flextime, mobile working from abroad or in the home office, and modern equipment are just some of the employee benefits with which HR managers want to lure IT professionals. As a rare professional, you have great options here to shape your work-life balance just the way you like it. Sounds good, doesn't it?

1. re-skilling and upskilling: potential in one's own ranks

An accountant does not have to remain an accountant. A marketing manager can also become a UX/UI designer. The tendency to pigeonhole people based on their current job role is pronounced. This is compounded by blindness when it comes to the person right under their nose. This is where HR managers are asked to look closely and find hidden potential. Two ways to build future skills and address the IT skills shortage are upskilling and reskilling existing careers of employees.

The World Economic Forum predicts that more than half of all global employees will need upskilling or reskilling by 2025 to close the digital skills gap. The experts even speak of a sheer reskilling revolution. The reward for being a revolutionary? There are rewards for both sides: Employers and employees. Because knowledge is the basis of growth. In figures: According to forecasts, global GDP will increase by 6.5 trillion dollars by 2030.
Investing in human capital pays off. On the one hand, external tech talent costs a lot of money, not to mention the time-consuming search, and on the other hand, the bond with the company is much lower, which sometimes results in a quick change. Also, new candidates do not always fit in with the corporate culture.
It is important for the success of qualification measures to increase internal mobility, which enables employees to acquire new skills for their career. Here, it is recommended to work with external training partners who can qualify internal talents to become tech talents in a short period of time. Such qualifications motivate employees in the long term, reduce fluctuation and are a sustainable path to lifelong learning.

2. think around the "career corner" in recruiting

One-dimensional, strictly standardised CVs have a long tradition, especially in Germany. While in countries (such as the USA) professional experience has long counted more than degrees and (parental) leave is accepted, HR professionals in this country still have some catching up to do when it comes to hiring criteria. What are the really relevant (soft) skills? This question becomes even more explosive against the backdrop that a large part of the skills needed in the future will be in the technical area and will therefore have to be learned anew. People who start a job in the technical field for the first time usually increase their skills by more than 50 percent because they are motivated and enthusiastic about learning and shaping their new career. Therefore, companies need a new way of looking at candidates that allows them to judge them not only on their previous jobs, but also on their intrinsic motivation and potential to succeed in the new role. Did candidates have to be analytical in their previous jobs? Was meticulous work required? Am I looking at a problem solver and how adaptable is someone?

This is where IT career changers score particularly well! Because after a boot camp with us, graduates not only have a digital journeyman's piece to show, but also demonstrate above-average ambition, are team players and open to new things.

PS: Hidden talents on the labour market also exist in (female) midlife. People over 45 (whether male or female) should not be a no-go. Companies can benefit from considering people who have interrupted their careers due to caring responsibilities or time off, but now want to return to work. The will to change, to grow personally, is much more important. Career changers are also able to learn new skills much faster. According to a study by McKinsey, almost two-thirds of their lifetime income comes from experience capital - i.e. from skills they have acquired at work. Discovering hidden potential in oneself and in other people requires only one thing: courage; the step out of the comfort zone!

PS 2: We help with this! In our part-time bootcamps, we not only train career changers, but also anyone who wants to find their way back into a job after parental leave or time off.

Finally: IT career entry pays off (in cash)

What makes IT career changers so valuable? The list of qualities is long - but we find the "personality" seal of quality to be the most important! Because we train people who have shown courage, are team players, enjoy solving problems and are thus the best safeguard against an uncertain future. Those who have a desire for lifelong learning will always continue to develop - even under difficult conditions - and "code" innovative digital solutions. In this sense: Let's create and code the future! 🌈