Why cross-training in tech is a trend that’s here to stay

There’s a direct link between technology and innovation. Without innovation, any product or company would soon go out of business, especially if they operate in the tech industry.

 

In today’s world, it’s not enough to simply build a great product. You must also invest in innovation to keep it relevant. Not only that, if you build a great product and it takes off on a global scale, you need to make sure there are enough specialists who can implement it.

 

No one knows this better than the leading cloud vendors. Having seen a rapid rise in demand for their services over the past few years, with millions of new roles having been created globally, they offer a wealth of cross-training opportunities as a solution to this problem. Many of these are funded to help tech professionals switch their career over to the cloud.

 

The need for reskilling

Technology is evolving at such a rapid pace that most of us will need reskilling in one form or another. The exact number stands at 50 per cent of all workers by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum, and other estimates are much higher. Without reskilling, we could face even bigger skills shortages than we are seeing now across many sectors, such as tech, healthcare, manufacturing and beyond.

 

CEOs worldwide have been aware of the problem for some time now. As far back as 2019, 79 per cent were already reporting being concerned about finding candidates with the skills they need, compared to just 53 per cent in 2012. And this is before the pandemic shook the world, accelerating digital transformation even further and facilitating the move towards the cloud, with SaaS-based collaborative tools being among the most popular. Take Microsoft Teams which saw a huge jump in its user-base from an already significant 20 million users in November 2019 to a whopping 270 million by 2022.

 

The rise of cloud-based solutions

As the world faced lockdowns and businesses pivoted to remote working, even the biggest cloud sceptics were forced to recognise the benefits of cloud-based services, including lower IT expenditure, better security, better scalability and greater business continuity. Migration to the cloud – just like cross-training – is a trend that’s here to stay.

 

And if you’re looking for some respite from all the uncertainty that has gripped the world over the past couple of years, then a career in the cloud is as futureproof as it gets. To put this into perspective, Gartner predicts that the global cloud industry will exceed 45 per cent of all enterprise IT spending by 2026 – a massive increase from just 17 per cent in 2021. And, according to Microsoft, the rise in cloud adoption is expected to create five times the number of tech jobs, compared with the year the pandemic started: a grand total of 190 million, compared to just 41 million in 2020.

 

But the leading cloud vendors know their services cannot function without the people who can power their “engines”. Which is why they’re investing so heavily in training, to ensure that there are enough skilled professionals who can fill the roles they’re creating. To go back to the Microsoft example, there’s Microsoft Learn which has a range of resources to help people get ahead and stand out in today’s fast-paced digital economy. Microsoft also launched the Get On 2021 campaign last year, designed to help 1.5 million people in the UK build a career in technology by 2025, showing their commitment to upskilling.

 

The rise of cross-training

Businesses today are looking for delivery-ready cloud talent who not only have the knowledge gained from passing their certifications, but who can also put that knowledge into practice. Considering the pace of digital transformation and how quickly things are progressing, organisations need talent that can bring value to their teams from day one in order to stay ahead of their fast-moving competitors. This is why cross-training in tech has become such a trend.

 

And there are some cloud cross-training programs that specialise in creating business-ready talent. Such talent creation schemes will take experienced IT professionals and cross-train them into in-demand cloud technologies. These programs put professionals in a dynamic but supportive environment, designed to help them become certified and start working in a new technology as highly paid, in-demand specialists as quickly as possible. And where the cloud is headed, there are a wealth of opportunities ahead of them.

Diversifying the tech space through cross-training

But cloud vendors also know that it’s not enough to fish in the same old talent pools. Fresh approaches to cross-training are needed. In recent years, the leading vendors have set up initiatives to fuel their ecosystems with new talent, putting a particular focus on those from underrepresented backgrounds in tech, including women and ethnic minorities.

 

The best thing about cross-training models is that many of them encourage and help people from wide-ranging and underrepresented backgrounds launch new careers – something which tech has historically struggled to do. Even today, only one fifth of all UK tech roles are held by women, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds hold only 17 per cent of tech leadership positions in the US. Not to mention people with disabilities, accessibility needs, caring responsibilities or neurodiverse individuals.

 

There’s a direct link between innovation and technology, and true innovation can only happen when you bring fresh perspectives onboard. More needs to be done to diversify the tech sector, but with the number of opportunities now available through cloud cross-training programs, the tide is about to shift.

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Interested in starting a career in the cloud? Visit the Revolent careers page to see if your skills match one of its funded cross-training programs.