We’ve all heard it: The UK has a skills shortage and the country is going down the pan.

Well perhaps that last bit is an over exaggeration.

The truth is, however, that there is a big talent deficit in the UK and it does need addressing.

As a digital skills provider, it’s my job to find specialised people for specialised roles. I deal with a raft of job openings on a daily basis – some of which are admittedly hard to fill.

Want to know the type of experts that are most in demand?

Here are my ‘eight wonders of the digital world’:

1. DevOps

If you’re looking to get the fastest return on investment possible from your software investment, then you’ll need a DevOp specialist.

The DevOp methodology is all about getting your IT to work smarter and faster. It’s about bringing your IT systems, processes and products together to deliver particular business benefits.

What makes a DevOp professional such a rare and valuable thing is that they need the technical know-how to understand every aspect of the IT sphere; yet they also need the commercial acumen to know how it applies to the bottom line.

A DevOp specialist is a great thing to have on your team – if you can find one.

2. Cloud Architect

With organisations looking to move away from servers and towards a virtual working environment for hosting applications, software and services; it’s little wonder why cloud architecture is at second position on my list.

Migrating to a cloud environment requires an overhaul of processes – and a cloud architect is the person you will hire to devise the strategy and make it all go with a swing.

A good cloud architect will prevent unnecessary down-time, make security a top priority and introduce a document management process to make your working life easier. Without one, moving all your critical services to the cloud can come with risk.

3. Full stack development

When it comes to tech professionals, the full stack developer is a master of all trades – and jack of none.

They are able to jump in and develop any part of the front end or back end of a website or product, for which they will generally need to understand a broad range of coding languages.

Full stack developers have the technical acumen to seamlessly knit together the front end and back end of a website, seeing through integration and helping to create the software frameworks for other specialists.

These developers are worth their weight in gold, often working in lead roles or in smaller projects as the entire development team!

4. Automation

With competition rife, costs under pressure and the speed of change alarming, businesses and organisations are all under pressure to do things faster and cheaper.

There’s little room for error or delay.

Automation experts review, test, repair and maintain software and systems as a way of reducing cost and saving money and the highest demand is for specialists that are able to live test systems and software in an agile environment.

This is an area that is constantly evolving.

Whereas it was once the norm for testing to take place on static, stable applications – businesses need experts that can live test in business environments that are fluid and constantly changing, using tool like Selenium, for instance, making them the hottest types of automation specialists around.

5. Artificial Intelligence

From data and research scientists, machine learning and robotics engineers, the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape is quickly evolving and complex.

But what kind of company needs an AI specialist?

Well, you might be in the automotive industry and need a robotics specialist to help develop a self-drive car.

Or, you may be a software company looking for an AI expert to create a system that can take sales data and turn it into business insight for making sales forecasts.

Or, perhaps you’re working in finance and are looking for a team to develop a mew security system that is able to scrape crime data and use it to predict and prevent fraud.

Can we keep up with demand? Well it’s not looking good.

In the UK there were 2,343,095 degrees taken in 2017-18. Only 14% of these were in maths, computer sciences, engineering and technology subjects.

And with reports that there will be 2.3million jobs that need filling in AI by 2020, you can really see the dilemma.

6. Data Science

A data scientist is a sub-set of the overarching AI role.

According to one professional in the field, they generally get into data science because it’s all about “solving complex problems with cool new machine learning algorithms that make huge impact on a business.”

So, if you’re a company that’s crying out for an algorithm that can match products with customers depending on their buying behaviour; or if you want to generate tailored quotes for your business management service through online data capture; a data scientist is your guy or gal.

7. Design (UX & UI)

The design sphere is where technology meets human beings.

A good way of knowing the difference between the two is to think of UX (user experience) as the left brain logical part of website design and the UI (user interface) as the more creative right.

So, if you want to give your customers the best experience possible when it comes to interacting with your site – the navigation, the functionality etc as people move through the website – then you will need to look for a UX designer.

If you know the way that people interact with your site is as simple and straightforward as it can possibly be; and that you now want to optimise the visual appeal, design, layout of the site; then your next move is seek out an expert in UI.

8. Front End Developers

With the functionality and design of your website all worked out, you‘ll need someone to put it together for you. You’ll need a front end developer.

These coding wizards will probably have a number of skills – HTML, CSS, Javascript as well as knowledge of frameworks like Angular, JQuery and Node.

Is there really a shortage of skilled front end developers? Aren’t there just a tonne of people developing in Javascript and building websites? Well, a quick look at our job board may well prove there is still plenty of demand for front end development skills today – and that is not likely to change anytime soon. There’s always competition to find the best digital developers with experience in building engaging websites with rich content.

If you’re looking to fill a niche role:

So, there it is: My list outlining my “eight wonders of the digital world”.

Is your latest digital vacancy on the list?

If it is, then don’t despair.

Because whether you are looking for a DevOp, UX, AI or any other digital professional, we know the people that can get your digital project up and running in no time.

Contact us and let us help you kick start your digital future today.

About the author:

Darren oversees the resourcing side of the business at Digital Skills. His background is in eCommerce, cloud and data platforms and today he works with some of the most experienced and specialised individuals in the digital service industry.