As we trip ever closer to the end of 2015, and after a year chock-full of hundreds of job announcements, we start to look forward to the jobs market of next year, and we ask ourselves, “What will be the hottest jobs of 2016?”
But, before we look at the hottest jobs of 2016, we have to ask, what constitutes a ‘hot job’?
Very simply, a hot job is one for which demand outstrips supply, or one that calls for an emerging skill set that is currently a scarcity in the market.
When we at Hays look at specifics, there are hot spots across infrastructure and support, development, project and change management and, of course, data.
And so, without further ado, the hottest jobs of 2016 are:
10. Data analyst
Quite simply, data analysis is a mushrooming market. Almost every week, there is an announcement that relates to more data jobs. Data analyst is the entry-level position that feeds the bottom of the data pyramid.
9. Business analyst
With increasing confidence in the economy – and the return of investment into the public sector – we are seeing more demand for business analysts, as projects become more prevalent in the financial services, tech and consulting industries.
8. Project manager
It has become increasingly difficult to recruit skilled, permanent project managers, as many move to the contract market for more lucrative daily rates.
7. Solutions architect
With increased spend available for organisations’ projects and change agendas, we are seeing greater demand for solutions architects. This is particularly acute in the permanent market, as most of these professionals prefer to work on a contract basis.
6. Data governance manager
When organisations initially started to invest in big data, their focus was on business intelligence and data analysts. But what they quickly realised was that there is no value to the intelligence unless the data has integrity.
The data governance manager’s role is to ensure quality of data, and to make sure that the organisation works within the legislative frameworks that are being developed to govern that data.
5. UX and UI developers
With the relentless shift from desktop to mobile, we continue to see increased demand for skills in UX and UI development.
As wearable technology and the internet of things (IoT) continue to proliferate, we expect the supply and demand mismatch to become even more acute. Often, top talent in the market will work on a contract basis, with permanent roles being increasingly difficult to fill.
4. .net developer
There has been an increase in demand for developers with the .net framework, as permanent candidates continue to be at a premium. The .net shortage is more acute in the development market than Java.
3. Security engineers
In a recent compTIA report, executives identified security as their primary concern. With growing publicity and negative connotations associated with security breaches, organisations are now investing in bringing in the right talent.
2. DevOps engineers
With the increased use of Agile and the convergence of development, QA and IT operations, there has been a shift towards a DevOps environment.
The primary issue is that this movement has been recent, and the need for talent is much greater than the number of skilled persons available. Progressive organisations are up-skilling existing staff as part of a broader cultural shift.
1. Data scientists
These are the whizz kids that work with all of the data out there and gain the valuable insights that businesses now need to maintain a competitive edge.
Data scientists are the data modellers and predictive analysts with strong academic backgrounds in mathematics, statistics and physics.
The demand is driven by financial services, consulting, pharma, FMCG and utilities sectors.
James Milligan is director at Hays IT – UK & Ireland, and is responsible for Hays Talent Solutions in Ireland.
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Main image via Shutterstock
