CompTIA: Shortage of skilled IT personnel disrupting business plans

If you're been out of IT for a while, or if you've never been in it, but it seems like now might be the time, then at least one Magic 8 Ball is revealing a potent four-word message: Get in the game. That's right, it's time to shuck the warmups, and start telling any employer who will listen, "Put me in, coach."

Odds are good that you'll find a friendly reception on multiple fronts, according to CompTIA's recently released IT Industry Outlook 2015 report. The long-lived IT industry association takes the temperature of IT hiring every year and right now the tea leaves are saying that employers have a fever, and the only prescription is more skilled IT workers.

According to CompTIA's findings, one in five enterprises have either delayed or deleted planned IT projects because the personnel needed to staff them simply aren't available. It's a conundrum for employers, to be sure, but one man's rock and a hard place is another man's golden opportunity. If you have IT training and the certs to verify your skill level, then there's a fair to red hot chance that someone is eager to give you full-time work.

Nearly half of U.S. IT companies have unfilled openings, while many others report that they have sufficient staff on hand, but would hire more workers if they could. During the fourth quarter of 2014, CompTIA reports, U.S. organizations posted job listings seeking workers for more than 500,000 "core IT positions." With half a million openings out there, there's got to be one with your name on it right?

The sky may not be falling yet for tech employers, but CompTIA CEO Todd Thibodeaux said in a press release that the shortage of skilled workers is bound to impede IT industry growth eventually. "Companies across our industry are delivering affordable, creative technology solutions for businesses and consumers alike," Thibodeaux said, "but the persistent shortage of workers educated, trained and certified in the latest technologies threatens to stall the pace of innovation."

And while there's ongoing interest in highly specialized IT skills — such usual suspects as cloud, security, networking and data analysis are among prized knowledge domains — you don't have to have a broadly pedigreed skill set to go to the front of the hiring line. CompTIA reports that IT generalists, including technicians and "support and service personnel" are the most hotly demanded workers out there.