The digital industry has seen much change in the way various businesses now operate, and how their workforces collaborate in a bid to maintain a strong cohesion, as a result, see successful outcomes. The work from home message continues to be pushed, and course success for those who wish to boost their digital skills is at a high right now. Hybrid working is being pushed – it’s a new and arguably, an effective way of working to maintain a suitable work-life balance, while also protecting workforces. 

With concerns about the current digital divide in the UK, digital leaders will be hoping that 2022 sees many more workforces adapting to the current need for digital skills, closing that gap significantly. This enables workforces and candidates to develop their skill-set and showcase their talents across various industries. 

As it’s a new year, that means new opportunities and a time to learn new skills! Whether you’re a developer looking to brush up your knowledge of coding, or you’re a blog writer looking for your next position – let’s look at the digital skills and talents that will be in demand for 2022. 

Software Developer 

One of the key skills a Software Developer must have is: communication. The ability to understand the client’s needs and create programs accordingly, will be very important in 2022. The best Software professionals are able to not only communicate effectively but also creating mobile, websites and applications that match user needs across not only desktop, but mobile and other popular platforms. 

With the introduction of remote work, developers being onboarded remotely is certainly a likely possibility. This is a positive – developers being able to work from their remote workstations. Although there is a range of collaborative tech available, we can expect developers to find other ways to achieve what they miss from in-person contact, to maintain the best of both worlds. Conferences and reformed office spaces will be very important in this transformation.

Business Intelligence Analyst 

Individuals who are able to comprehend collated data and using it in the decision-making process will be highly sought after in the coming years. As 2022 commences, we could see higher levels of automation with augmented analytics. Analysts will be assisting ecommerce businesses finding solutions to recurring problems; whilst focusing on the business needs and goals. For example, why shoppers abandon their carts or shop at a certain time, and analyse the data to understand why. 

If you have the ability to build reports using complex databases, you’ll be in great demand during 2022. According to Career Karma, employment in the Business Intelligence field is projected to grow by 14 percent between 2020 and 2030. The long term future of BI looks to be an automated one; Natural Language Processing (NLP) automating business analysis’ processes that would typically performed by data scientists and specialists. 

Security Professionals 

With current workplace trends accommodating the emergence of hybrid working, IT security professionals that can protect data from potential threats will be in huge demand in 2022 – they are vital for any business. UK & Ireland Director at Norton, Steve Wilson, says AI and Machine Learning could be a tool for scammers to exploit: “AI & machine learning will make scam ploys more believable to consumers: As deepfake technology gets better and easier to use, it will become a useful tool for criminals, scammers, stalkers, and activists,” 

The UK government wanting to take a more proactive role in Cybersecurity, by introducing the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill (PSTI), recently. As well as ensuring the safety of data and systems, the importance of security should be spread out to the whole team; helping them identify suspicious activity, that way everyone becomes a security professional on a day-to-day basis. 

Internet of Things (IoT)  

As more people than ever are connected to the internet, the Internet of Things has been touted as the next big thing in the digital landscape. We’re seeing the emergence of smartphones and wearable technology; more physical objects are being connected to the internet. As technology continues to advance, being able to work in the IoT will require certain skills. It is expected that there will be approximately 14 billion connected devices worldwide by the end of year 2022. 

Some of the skills required for IoT include: 

•    UX/UI Design
•    Cloud Computing
•    API automation and testing
•    Machine Learning  

Blockchain Programming 

With the rise of cryptocurrencies, the use of Blockchain will become much more common in 2022. Data sharing and payment processing are only amongst a few of the uses for Blockchain applications. Developers who are able to keep in touch with Blockchain’s continuous developments and the technical skills required, will be in high demand in 2022. Some of the programming languages users can consider when developing Blockchain applications include: Java, C++, PHP and Python. 

Cloud Computing 

It’s no secret that the beginning of the pandemic accelerated businesses needs to move their server infrastructure to cloud services, this is something that has been happening for a few years now. With this trend set to continue in 2022 and beyond, businesses are on the lookout for professionals who can execute the transition of company infrastructure smoothly. DevOps and Cloud Migration & Deployment are amongst the Cloud trends in 2022. 

2022 will see a range of opportunities open up across: Marketing, Ecommerce, Design, CRM, Social Media, Web Development and more! Submit your CV to be considered.