Dive Brief:
- More than 2 in 5 IT workers are actively or passively looking for new roles as organizations restructure technology teams in 2025, according to Info-Tech Research Group. The analyst firm surveyed 500 IT professionals for its IT Talent Trends 2025 report published Tuesday.
- Nearly 9 in 10 respondents expect their organization to redesign IT structures in the next 18 months in response to shifts in technology demands.
- Reskilling will emerge as a top priority in 2025, according to IT leaders. More than one-third identify cybersecurity and AI/ML as key areas for skill development.
Dive Insight:
Shifting enterprise technology demands, spurred in part by AI implementation efforts, are driving plans to change IT structures, according to Brittany Lutes, research director in Info-Tech Research Group's CIO practice.
Businesses want more flexibility in how they deploy existing skills, Lutes told CIO Dive.
"A very hierarchical structure isn't necessarily as needed when we move into a more skills-aware organization," Lutes said. This shift can also help IT organizations free up resources as different departments onboard specialized workers to work on unit-specific projects.
In addition to putting new structures in place, executives are eyeing retention issues in their existing workforce. Compensation and work-life balance stand out among the factors pushing workers to weigh their options, the report found.
The possibility of higher-salaries lures tech workers to the job market, according to an EY report. Another key driver of attrition is a rise in workloads, flagged by 55% of respondents to the EY survey.
Technology workers want to work on exciting, challenging projects that aid business growth, Jason Pyle, president and managing director of Harvey Nash USA and Canada, told CIO Dive in October.
Reskilling can aid talent retention while addressing a looming disconnect between existing skills and those needed in the future. Most respondents expect IT skills to shift drastically by 2030, Info-Tech Research Group found.
"Most organizations are using a combination of formal and informal training, which is exactly what we would recommend," Lutes said.
