Upwork has revealed what the most sought-after skills currently are in the US freelance tech industry.
Freelancing website Upwork has released its latest quarterly index of the most popular skills in the US freelance job market.
The Upwork Skills Index ranks the site’s 20 fastest-growing skills, shedding light on new and emerging skills, and providing real-time trends in the current labour market and tech industry.
According to the platform’s latest report, nearly half (48pc) of hiring managers in the US agree that the increased specialisation of skills in the tech sector is disrupting their business.
“In booming cities like Boston, Denver, San Francisco and San Jose, the unemployment rate has fallen below 3pc, which makes finding qualified and highly-specialised talent more challenging than ever before,” said Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork.
“As a result, for more and more skills, businesses are relying on non-traditional talent sources to effectively engage the best workers, no matter where they live.”
The top five skills listed on the index this quarter are ServiceNow, DaVinci Resolve, social video marketing, Highcharts and PyTorch. But there are many other insights that can be taken from this report.
Digital transformation
Topping the list is ServiceNow, a digital workflow platform. Its growth reinforces that digital transformation is a real and strategic imperative for businesses, as developers who can build integrations for the platform are in high-demand.
Big data
The ever-expanding field of data science is causing more US companies to invest in solutions that allow them to harness information and reliably inform business decisions. This is reflected by a recent survey by Harvey Nash and KPMG, which reported 44pc of CIOs citing big data and analytics as the scarcest tech skill.
Video content
To satisfy the 87pc of online marketers reportedly using video content to engage their customers, demand has grown for experts who can develop social media marketing strategies that leverage video to increase customer engagement with a brand.
AI solutions
A growing number of organisations have strong feelings that AI will be essential for our future, according to a recent study by Deloitte Insights. As businesses invest more in AI, they’re increasingly relying on independent talent to explore its applications and use cases.
Mobile app development
Mobile apps are projected to have the most impact on business success by 2020, according to a new report by Gartner. Enterprises looking to build apps that allow them to connect with customers in meaningful ways are hiring specialists familiar with low-code software solution skills.
Recruitment tech
Hiring has become more difficult and access to talent with the right skills is one of the biggest hiring challenges, not just in the US but here in Ireland too. As a result, businesses are seeking professionals adept in technical recruiting to source talent and develop stronger learning and development programmes for their employees.
