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5 of the hottest tech jobs for 2021

14 Dec 2020

Which jobs will be in high demand next year? From the heightened need for robust cybersecurity to managing change, Hays’ James Milligan shares his predictions.

Although there has been immense upheaval across the world of work this year, tech is one of the sectors that has fortunately remained resilient. As a result of Covid-19, organisations have had to re-prioritise their technology objectives and strategies, leading to a surge in demand for certain roles in the tech space.

Digital transformation was sweeping across the world of work well before the pandemic. But Covid-19 has accelerated this, with huge numbers of professionals switched to remote working practically overnight. The new software and technology required to make this happen upped demand for professionals.

To give you an idea of areas in demand and activity in the market, here are five of the hottest tech jobs for 2021. Employers will be looking for candidates in these fields as we move into the new year.

1. Cybersecurity

The top priority for CEOs and business leaders right now is cybersecurity. For all its pros, the rise in remote and hybrid working creates a lot of security issues. These include user issues around behaviour and technical issues with people using their own devices as well as using company hardware but battling a huge volume of users.

Employers will be on the lookout for security engineers and security architects in particular in the new year and beyond.

2. Cloud solutions

Practically every organisation is migrating to cloud solutions. At the onset of the pandemic when professionals switched to remote and hybrid working, this migration was very quick in order to ensure employees could get online and continue working. However, now organisations are taking the opportunity to ensure these systems are robust.

Cloud engineers are going to be high in demand, with AWS and Microsoft Azure the primary skills employers need. Demand in this area will be acute and supply will be limited.

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3. Change management

Every customer I’ve spoken to recently is on a journey of moving from analogue to digital. Whether that’s building their own solutions, buying them in or a blend of both, change facilitators and change managers are in high demand.

As well as general change roles, developers are a key element of creating new products involved in an organisation’s change journey. Back-end developers who are building the heavier tech and front-end developers (including UX) that ensure any product is easy to use and navigate will be in demand to facilitate change – and everything that goes with it.

4. Data science

Most of us have observed or been part of the rise in demand for smart devices in healthtech, edtech and medtech over recent months. A core element of these devices and similar platforms are the data insights they can provide.

As a result of this, there is now even greater focus on those people who are skilled to develop in that space, as well as on data insights in this area. Data analysts and data scientists are two particular roles that are going to be pitted in high demand.

5. DevOps

The importance of DevOps continues. Investment in tech brought on by the pandemic means that most organisations will now have a DevOps team, which wasn’t the case a few years ago. The demand for these skills has risen throughout 2020, but they look to be even more sought after in the new year.

How do the hottest tech jobs for 2021 affect your career?

Do any of the above roles resonate with your skillset and career ambitions? If so, now could be the time to make a career move. Employers are actively on the hunt for talent in these areas so are likely to offer competitive salary and benefit packages to draw in the candidates they need.

Regardless of these specific areas, the reality is that tech is a robust and buoyant sector. We can expect to see continued and accelerated demand for good candidates as we move into the new year.

By James Milligan

James Milligan is global head of technology at Hays.

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