05 December 2023

Almost one third (29%) of IT decision-makers believe their most substantial IT skills gap lies in AI, according to Telehouse International Corporation of Europe’s new ‘Ensuring the right skills and people exist in digital infrastructure’ report.

A wider skills and talent shortfall in the digital infrastructure industry is also hindering innovation, with nearly two-thirds (63%) citing a lack of diversity and inclusion within their IT teams, including 27% who believe the shortfall is significant. Meanwhile, more than half (51%) believe there’s a lack of interest in the digital infrastructure sector as a career.

One-in-three (33%) predict AI and data analytics to be their most substantial infrastructure challenge in the coming decade. While there has been a small improvement of 4% since 2020 to close the AI skills gap, other substantial gaps remain in areas such as cloud technologies (20%) and security (14%). To combat this deficit, businesses are taking proactive measures by initiating internal training (35%) and turning to external training solutions (34%). A further 35% are enlisting external recruitment experts and 29% are investing in sophisticated tools to amplify the productivity of understaffed teams.

To improve diversity and inclusion, 45% say they are launching educational initiatives and a further 43% are rolling out inclusive workplace policies. The era of the ‘great resignation’ and ‘quiet quitting’ also underscores the need for innovative strategies to attract and retain top individuals.

Leading the response to this challenge are flexible working arrangements (38%), opportunities for career progression (37%) and a focus on work-life balance (35%). 28% have even had to raise salary offers to attract the most suitable candidates.