The digital skills gap
The digital skills gap has gained significant attention in recent years as transformative technologies expand at pace. This is also true within the AWS community: particularly in the advent of AI and machine learning, the demand for AWS solutions is growing swiftly, far outpacing the development of qualified professionals. The effect this has on businesses seems clear—29% of organizations we spoke with have been understaffed for more than three months due to unfilled job vacancies.
There isn’t a single cause for this issue; rather, it stems from various interconnected factors, including insufficient education, poor communication about tech opportunities, and a lack of diversity and inclusion in the industry. These smaller issues have gone unaddressed for too long, contributing to the ongoing digital skills gap.
Fortunately, the industry is starting to recognize this reality, largely out of necessity, and organizations are acknowledging their shared responsibility in closing the skills gap—as well as the collective benefits it brings. With AWS, its partners, and community organizations beginning to take action, are we finally making progress? Read on to learn more.
Does an IT skills gap exist in the AWS community?
What is your organization’s biggest challenge in closing the digital skills gap?
To what extent is the skills gap affecting organizations’ strategic objectives?
Minimally
Slightly
Moderately
Considerably
Extremely
How is the skills gap impacting businesses’ strategic objectives?
| Increased workload of current staff | 86% |
| Increased turnover (e.g., as a result of employee burnout or losing staff to competitors) | 71% |
| Increased costs due to hiring contractors | 57% |
| Difficulty keeping up with demand for services | 57% |
| Less growth than expected | 43% |
| Missing project deadlines | 43% |
| Decreased profitability | 14% |
How much priority are organizations giving to addressing the talent gap compared to other tasks?
How are organizations looking to address the skills gap?
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Conclusion
It’s promising that employers are taking actions to try and bridge the gap, with building the skills in-house a clear favorite. However, this isn’t always a quick fix and AWS is expanding at pace, so this needs to be paired with other options to lighten the load, such as hiring additional staff or even looking to bring in short-term relief in the shape of contractors. Because without that additional support, more people will leave the industry than join it and the gap will continue to increase, rather than narrow.
Careers and Hiring Guide
AWS Edition 2025
Key Findings
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables to allow you to compare your compensation or benchmark your teams’ salaries or rates no matter their role in the AWS ecosystem.
