Cloud Skills In High Demand, Report Finds

The arrival of Cloud Computing seems to be driving industry demand for cloud specialist roles.

At least according to Wanted Analytics, a specialist in real-time business intelligence for the talent marketplace, which found that more than 5,000 cloud computing job ads were posted online in the United States in February.

Hot Skills

Hiring demand for cloud skills has grown drastically, up 92 percent, versus February 2011 and 400 percent compared with the same time in 2010. With the demand for cloud skills growing so quickly, the gap between hiring demand and talent supply across the United States is getting larger and causing more difficulties in sourcing candidates, the report indicated.

Software engineers, systems engineers and network administrators are the technology occupations most commonly required to have cloud computing skills. More than 3,400 of the ads during February were for tech talent, growing 99 percent year-over-year. Although cloud knowledge is most commonly required of computer specialists, technology jobs only account for two-thirds of cloud computing hiring demand during February. Other fields that increasingly require this experience include marketing managers, sales managers, management analysts and financial analysts.

Cloud computing skills are most frequently advertised for jobs located in the San Jose, California, metropolitan area. During February, more than 900 job ads in San Jose included requirements for cloud computing, growing 144 percent over the past year. Other metro areas with high demand for cloud skills were Seattle; Washington, DC; San Francisco and New York. While employers in San Jose placed the highest number of job ads for this talent pool, the highest year-over-year growth was seen nearby in San Francisco at more than 150 percent.

Limited Talent Pool

Although hiring demand continues, the talent pool remains limited, and companies sourcing for cloud computing jobs are likely to find them difficult to fill. According to the company’s Hiring Scale, recruiters in San Francisco are experiencing some of the most challenging conditions when recruiting candidates with this skill set. With the volume of job ads more than doubling in the past year, hiring demand outpaces the local talent pool of qualified candidates.

Employers in San Francisco are likely to compete heavily to attract potential candidates and experience a longer time to fill than other areas across the United States. The report found recruiters in this area keep job ads online for an average of eight weeks.

In comparison, the Hiring Scale also shows that the best markets for recruiting these skills are Tucson, Ariz.; Madison, Wis.; and Charlottesville, Va. Lower hiring demand compared with the talent supply in these areas means that recruiters are likely to fill job openings in as few as 5.5 weeks, faster than the national average, research showed.

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