Internet of things (IoT) adoption has increased the need for employees with related technical skills. Research by freelancing website Upwork found a 67% increase in demand for workers with tech skills related to IoT, including Mysql programming, data visualisation and machine learning development. Ryan Johnson, categories director at Upwork, said: “As IoT adoption becomes more widespread, companies are looking to take advantage of the connected landscape.” “However, they are also quickly realising they do not have the necessary skills in-house to support these new and exciting ventures,” he added. There has been a huge increase in IoT products in recent years, with use cases ranging from rescuing honey bees to food safety, and it is predicted the internet of things will be worth $11tn to the global economy by 2025. The UK is currently suffering from a skills gap, and statistics suggest the European Union (EU) will need to fill 756,000 digital jobs by 2020. The most sought after skill for the IoT sector is Mysql, with an 889% rise in demand for freelancers with this skill in the first quarter of 2016, compared with the same period in 2015. Skills in Autocad, 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software development saw a 309% increase in demand for skilled workers in the first quarter of 2016, compared with the previous year. Overall, in the first quarter of 2016, the need for skills in security analysis, Hadoop data visualisation skills, knowledge of algorithms, skills in machine learning, Microsoft sql server administration, embedded systems and knowledge of the statistical programming language ‘r’ saw more than a 100% increase compared with the same time in 2015. Computing is now a compulsory subject for children in the UK to study in the UK between the ages of four and 16, and collaboration between the government, business and the education sector aims to ensure children are learning the skills needed for future jobs. Recent research by Gartner has found IoT projects will take twice as long to complete as first predicted, and firms are finding it difficult to source long-term staff for the jobs.
There has been a 67% increase in demand for workers with skills relating to IoT, such as MySQL programming and machine-learning development, according to freelancing website Upwork.