Back to School: Addressing the IT Skills Gap In Time for The New Year

September isn’t just the time when high school and college students return to the classroom. It can also be a great moment for businesses to rethink their approach to upskilling and reskilling their teams – just in time for the new year. If there’s one area you should be focusing on now, more than ever, it’s the growing IT skills gap.

As IT spending continues to grow, it’s not enough for companies to just throw cash at new tools and platforms. You need to make sure your employees are ready to innovate with the resources they have.

Recently, more than half of the companies surveyed in one study said digital skill shortages are having a negative impact on their ability to keep up with transformation demands. Organisations worldwide are missing out on opportunities, grappling with stalled projects, and even facing higher risk exposure, just because their teams are missing crucial skills.

This isn’t just an HR problem. The IT skills gap affects product teams, operations, compliance, marketing, everyone. According to the CIPD, 9 in 10 employees will need to reskill by 2030.

So this autumn, think of this article as your back-to-school revision pack: a practical guide to closing the IT skills gap before it becomes a business bottleneck.

The IT Skills Gap Today: Scope and Consequences

Everywhere, the IT skills gap is widening, and it’s causing major problems.

By next year (2026), IDC predicts that about 90% of organisations will be tackling a skills gap in one crucial tech area. If you’re currently in the process of upgrading your tech, with AI, cloud systems, or new security tools, you’re probably going to face a serious hurdle.

It might be tempting to treat the IT skills gap as a pipeline problem – blaming the talent market or lack of available candidates. But really, it’s not just an issue with finding new talent. You need to be investing in the workforce you already have too.

95% of tech leaders are having problems finding skilled talent, and if you can’t find the professionals you need in the job market with the technology skills that matter for you – you’re not alone. Digital transformation is slowing down everywhere because companies can’t find or grow skills fast enough.

The gap isn’t limited to developers or engineers either. Increasingly, organisations lack skills in:

• AI model integration
• Cloud infrastructure management
• Cyber resilience
• Data literacy across non-tech roles

And it’s costing more than productivity. A lack of internal cybersecurity expertise, for example, is contributing to rising breach costs, now averaging £3.4 million per incident in the UK, according to IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report.

Which IT Skills Should You Prioritise Today?

Honestly, there’s no single approach to addressing the IT skills gap. The training initiatives you implement are always going to vary based on the technology swim lanes you’re investing in, and your company’s specific priorities. Still, there are some skill areas most organisations will probably want to focus on right now, such as:

• AI and Machine Learning Proficiency: Implementing AI? Make sure your teams have the right skills to use it. From prompt engineering to model fine-tuning, practical AI skills are in huge demand. Get your teams ready for the intelligent era.
• Cloud Computing and Architecture: With 75% of businesses using multi-cloud or hybrid environments, skills in cloud-native development, infrastructure-as-code, and cost optimisation are now baseline requirements.
• Cybersecurity and Trust Architecture: Zero trust, identity and access management (IAM), and incident response are all hot commodities. As threats grow more sophisticated, businesses need security baked into every layer of IT.
• Software Development and DevSecOps: Agile teams need full-stack engineers who can deploy secure, scalable code. But that also includes understanding security policies and CI/CD pipelines.
• Data Analysis and Data Literacy Everyone should understand how to interpret data. With the rise of self-service analytics tools like Power BI and Tableau, frontline teams need to become “citizen analysts.”
• Task and Workflow Automation: Employees that know how to navigate low-code no-code platforms and robotic process automation are extra valuable right now. They can help your company save time and improve efficiency.
• AI Governance and Ethics: Understanding algorithmic bias, transparency, and compliance (especially with new UK and EU regulations) is crucial.

As always, adjust your strategy (and curriculum) based on your business goals.

How to Identify IT Skills Gaps in Your Organisation

Obviously, before you can really close the IT skills gap, you need to know where it is, and where it’s causing the most problems. The trouble is, a lot of companies still don’t have a good view of their internal teams, and what they’re going to need to change, both now and in the future.

The best way to start is with a skills audit. Ask yourself:

• What skills do we need to achieve our strategic goals in 2026?
• Which of these skills do we currently have in-house?
• Where are the gaps, and how critical are they?

Use multiple inputs for a well-rounded view:

• Employee self-assessments can reveal hidden strengths or confidence gaps.
• Manager reviews offer performance-based insights.
• AI-driven HR platforms like Workday, Beamery, or Gloat can automatically map skills across the business and recommend upskilling opportunities.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of project debriefs. Analysing what slowed a recent product launch or security review can often highlight exactly where skills are missing.

Strategies to Address IT Skills Gaps

It’s one thing to understand the IT skills gap. It’s another thing entirely to close it.

Thankfully, the solution isn’t hiring your way out of the problem, because you probably can’t. With demand outpacing supply, and emerging technologies like AI moving faster than traditional education can keep up, enterprises need to get smarter, not just bigger.

Here are some of the top strategies you can use to tackle the skills gap, head-on.

1.      Using AI to Help Close Skill Gaps

Ironically, the technology contributing to the IT skills gap may also be our best tool to fix it. AI is no longer just powering products, it’s helping people learn.

AI-driven learning platforms like LinkedIn Learning Hub, Coursera for Business, and Workday Learning personalise upskilling journeys for each employee. They analyse job roles, current skill levels, and learning history to serve up targeted recommendations, such as  a course on Python, a data visualisation module, or even a behavioural skills primer.

Talent intelligence platforms such as Gloat or Eightfold.ai use AI to map your workforce’s existing skills, identify hidden talents, and forecast emerging gaps. This real-time insight allows organisations to proactively reskill instead of reactively hire.

There are also AI copilots. Tools like GitHub Copilot or Microsoft 365 Copilot help employees problem-solve in the flow of work. They act like mentors embedded in your systems, offering suggestions, completing tasks, and reinforcing learning every day.

2.      Developing an Agile Talent Strategy

Although you can’t just rely on hiring new talent to address the IT skills gap, there’s a good chance you are going to need to grow your team. The best way to do this right now is with an agile strategy that puts skills, rather than roles at the heart of your plan.

This means moving away from static headcounts and thinking in terms of capability pools. Instead of asking “Do we have a DevOps Engineer?”, you ask “Do we have DevOps capability, and where is it strongest or weakest?”

Agile talent strategies use internal skills marketplaces to connect people with short-term projects, gig opportunities, or stretch assignments. This allows employees to build new capabilities in real-time, while keeping talent fluid and business-aligned.

Agility also means anticipating change. With AI, cloud, and security demands shifting constantly, agile strategies allow you to flex resources quickly, by redeploying talent, investing in micro-learning, or bringing in temporary specialists.

And don’t forget structure. Build cross-functional teams that evolve based on business priorities, not traditional reporting lines.

3.      Working with Third-Party Partners

Sometimes, your IT skills gap isn’t something you can completely fill on your own. If you need access to specific expertise fast, and you don’t have time to find a new employee or launch a comprehensive training program, you might need to look elsewhere for support.

Third-parties can be very useful when you’re dealing with short-term projects and needs. Managed service providers, transformation consultants, and specialist contractors can all bring specific capabilities into your organisation fast. For instance, instead of trying to train your team members to perform an in-depth cybersecurity assessment, you can work with an external auditor.

Remember, it’s not just a matter of outsourcing tasks you don’t want to handle yourself. Working with third parties can bring new knowledge and insights into your organization. They can even help with training teams or perform as temporary mentors.

Also, consider third-party learning providers. Many offer structured upskilling programmes tailored to industry standards or vendor certifications, ideal for training at scale.

4.      Investing in Courses and Micro-Credentials

One of the biggest reasons behind the growing IT skills gap is that technology is evolving much faster than degree programmes and traditional certification pathways. Micro-credentials and online courses offer a more agile way to address the problem.

Unlike traditional qualifications, micro-credentials are short, focused, and tailored to industry needs. Look at Google’s Data Analytics Certificate, AWS Cloud Practitioner, or Microsoft’s AI Fundamentals. They’re stackable, affordable, and most importantly, recognised by employers.

For companies, investing in micro-credentials through platforms like edX for Business, Pluralsight, or Coursera is a scalable way to upskill without pulling staff out of operations. Better yet, many platforms offer enterprise-level dashboards to track learning progress and tie it to business goals.

The trick is alignment. Work with team leads to match learning paths to your strategic tech initiatives, whether that’s moving to a new cloud environment or rolling out an AI tool.

5.      On-the-Job Training and Job Rotation

You don’t always need classrooms or courses to close the IT skills gap, sometimes, the best learning happens by doing.

On-the-job training allows employees to build new skills in real-world scenarios, whether that’s through shadowing a colleague, joining a cross-functional team, or taking the lead on a stretch project. It’s experiential, immediate, and often more effective than theoretical learning.

Job rotation is another underrated tool. Giving employees the chance to step into adjacent roles, such as allowing a systems analyst to spend time in cybersecurity, helps deepen contextual understanding and reveal hidden talent. It also boosts engagement and retention by offering career variety without leaving the business.

Remember the benefits of cross-functional collaboration too. Allowing teams to work with other experts from various departments helps to improve knowledge transfer and enhance problem-solving approaches. You could even consider forming “skills guilds” or communities of practice.

These informal networks, whether focused on data literacy, AI use cases, or cloud strategy, create a safe space for shared learning. People ask questions, demo tools, share templates, and gradually raise the baseline of competence.

6.      Explore Innovative, Versatile Strategies

Sometimes, closing the IT skills gap means getting experimental. You don’t have to stick with just one strategy, like online courses or hiring contractors. You can explore a wide range of different scenarios. For instance, you might experiment with:

• Reverse Mentoring: Pair digital-native juniors with senior leaders to help decision-makers understand emerging tech like generative AI, blockchain, or low-code platforms. This also gives early-career employees a chance to develop leadership and communication skills.
• Creating Internal Gig Marketplaces: Platforms like Gloat or Fuel50 allow employees to apply for short-term projects across departments, creating organic learning opportunities while addressing resourcing needs.
• Gamified learning: Experiment with fun hackathons, internal challenges, innovation sprints, and rewards. Get your employees actively involved in investing in their own learning with experiences that actually feel engaging.

You could even tap into hands-on learning experiences built in VR or augmented reality. The best strategy? Ask your employees how they learn best, and use their feedback to guide your approach to ongoing development and learning.

Start Closing the IT Skills Gap Today

The IT skills gap isn’t just a workforce issue. It’s a business risk, a security vulnerability, and a barrier to growth. But with the right strategies, it becomes something else entirely: a chance to strengthen your teams, energise your people, and future-proof your organisation.

Whether you’re upgrading your tech stack in 2026 or not, now is the time to start making sure your employees have the skills they need to thrive going forward.

The good news? You don’t have to dive into this journey alone. Tech Grants is here to help you access the tech, and the funding you need to power your team’s education. Want to learn more about how we can help you upskill your IT workforce?

Contact us today. Let’s figure out how to bridge the IT skills gap, together.