IT professionals[1] have indicated that in just three years, all developers will need to have the skills or experience to deliver mobile projects.
As the infiltration of mobile into life and work increases, new research from IT recruitment specialists CWJobs.co.uk has found that two-thirds (60%) of IT pros have never worked on a mobile project – but deem their current skills adequate for working across multiple platforms. The majority (78%) believe the ability to work on web development projects is satisfactory experience for taking on a mobile role.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of IT professionals shared a desire to work on mobile projects with over half (53%) of them believing they currently have the experience to do so. This comes as further reports[2] indicate a concern over the lack of technical mobile talent in the UK to meet mobile demand.
Richard Nott, Website Director, CWJobs.co.uk explains: “With the exponential growth of mobile and the commercial opportunities it presents to business, we need to make sure the UK has the talent to compete. IT professionals are demonstrating real interest in being involved in mobile projects – but there’s a requirement from business for very specific technical skills in mobile candidates which is creating a perceived ‘skills gap’”.
“In order to fill this gap, companies could consider recruiting IT pros from within the business to fulfil mobile roles, or look at a recruitment drive for candidates with existing web skills. With tech pros indicating a three-year deadline, it’s important to review these options now, or the UK may start to slip behind other competitive markets in its ability to produce and manage mobile projects.”
The desire to work on mobile is being driven by technological advances such as mobile payment platforms (22%) – in fact, 47% stated that payments will be the greatest driver of mobile roles in the future.
Drivers of mobile jobs as stated by IT Pros:
- Mobile payment platforms (22%)
- Compound apps (17%)
- Wearable computing (13%)
- Augmented reality (12%)
[1] Source: 67% of professionals believe that by 2016, all developers will need to be skilled or experienced in mobile
[2] Source: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2270852/yammer-bemoans-lack-of-affordable-uk-mobile-developers