Dive Brief:

• With heightened popularity of cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin and ethereum, blockchain skills needed to support such systems are in high demand, reports CNBC. Freelancing firm Upwork told CNBC that blockchain is its fastest-growing skills category.
• Upwork posted 2,200 blockchain-related job openings in the fourth quarter of last year. In comparison, it had 96 such posts one year ago. And 5.5 times as many people report having blockchain skills compared to October 2013, according to LinkedIn.
• Upwork's job requests range from assistance with launching cryptocurrencies to helping an employer understand how to construct prototypes and take advantage of blockchain technology.

Dive Insight:

There's much speculation among businesses — and recruiters in particular — about what kinds of jobs technology will take away and what kinds it will create. 

Blockchain has steadily crept into business operations in the food and supply chain industries, but the ledger technology holds far more potential down the line. Multiledger systems, identity management and cybersecurity are just a few applications that blockchain consortia and companies are working on.

This explosion of blockchain tech —and subsequent need for people to manage it — reflects a challenge many recruiters face regarding the speed at which tech development is moving. Each technology advancement lays the ground for another, and employers that want to stay on the cutting-edge must be ready for the changes to come — which includes preparing for jobs that don't yet exist.

But when openings for blockchain skyrocket 200% in the course of a year, recruiters face more pressure to find qualified workers in a talent pool that is not keeping pace with the market. The current struggle for employers is finding people with the right skills and ensuring candidates can actually deliver what's on their resume. 

To that end, more recruiters are turning to personality and skills testing to better assess candidates. Soft skills and non-technical experience can also be as sought after as specific technical skills.