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Today’s jobs require more and more technical skills, so it’s no surprise that software engineers and IT professionals (“tech pros” for the purposes of this blog) are in high demand in almost every industry. And the pace of change makes ongoing upskilling for tech talent mission-critical — but also poses a challenge to L&D pros and tech leaders who need to reskill their employees on an ongoing basis. 

LinkedIn’s new report, Closing the Tech Talent Gap, highlights the pace at which technical skills are changing and explores why continuous, holistic upskilling is vital for tech pros. The report shows that tech pros who develop one or more key soft skills (communication, teamwork, problem-solving, or leadership) in addition to hard skills advance over 13% faster than those who only develop hard skills.

Below are four courses, unlocked through December 31, 2023, that tech pros around the world have been taking to develop business-critical soft skills:

1. Communication: Communication Skills for Modern Management, with Jean Marie DiGiovanna

2. Teamwork: Teamwork Essentials: Stand Out as a Valuable Team Member, with Shadé Zahrai

3. Problem-solving: Strategic Thinking Tips to Solve Problems and Innovate, with AJ Eckstein

4. Leadership: Finding Your Leadership Purpose, with Doug Conant and Amy Federman

But what does this mean for learning and development and tech leaders working to grow their technical talent? Here are three highlights from the report to keep in mind as you upskill your technical employees:

1. Skills are evolving more quickly than ever, especially for tech pros

According to LinkedIn’s recent report AI at Work, the skills required for many jobs have changed by 25% since 2015 and that number is expected to reach at least 65% by 2030, in part because of the rapid development of new technologies like generative AI. This is especially true for tech pros, whose skills must level-up as quickly as the technology itself. We’re seeing this play out in real time: 52% of technology pros on LinkedIn who update their skills regularly do so every quarter.

To stay innovative, companies need to ensure their technical talent continues to reskill using current and comprehensive training resources.

“The average shelf life of technical skills is five years,” says Katie Bunker, the senior director of people and culture at Edifecs, “and the average shelf life of deeply technical skills is 2½ years. We need to be thinking about holistic, continuous development, especially for our technical talent.”

Read how Edifecs upskills their technical workers here.

2. Tech pros need both hard and soft skills to innovate and accelerate your business 

While keeping up-to-date on technology skills like software development is essential, tech pros are even better served when companies take a wider perspective and embrace holistic upskilling. LinkedIn data shows that investing in soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving creates well-rounded tech pros, increases retention, helps employees develop their careers, and helps companies meet and exceed financial targets. It also helps employees achieve over 13% faster advancement.

Above all, this combined hard-and-soft upskilling approach bolsters agility, which will help employees successfully navigate whatever the future brings, from leading teams to solving more complex problems.

3. AI is only accelerating the need for continuous upskilling and reskilling

Artificial intelligence is booming. Most companies are, at a minimum, experimenting with AI-driven tools that aid in automating aspects of software engineering, product development, or customer care. And according to LinkedIn’s recent report on AI at Work, 82% of leaders say their employees will need new skills to be prepared for the growth of AI.

AI is changing the way people work, and employees need new skills to be successful in the increasingly automated future. And employee appetite for AI reflects this change: LinkedIn data shows a 65% increase in learning hours for the top 100 AI/GAI courses from 2022 to 2023.

Read how LinkedIn’s most popular AI courses can shape your organization’s upskilling strategy here. 

Final thoughts: Skill building benefits the bottom line

Did you know that, according to one study, it’s 2.5x more expensive to hire a new employee with relevant skills than to reskill a current one? There is a clear business case for investing in continuous upskilling and reskilling, especially for in-demand tech pros. 

Go deeper at Closing the Tech Talent Gap and encourage your employees, both technical and nontechnical, to take the four free LinkedIn Learning courses to build the soft skills that will advance their careers — and your business.

Insights by Manas Mohapatra

Methodology: The analysis on skills leading to advancement examines the aggregated and anonymized LinkedIn data from members employed full-time who added skills explicitly to their profile and were promoted internally between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2023. As defined by LinkedIn Taxonomy, soft skills primarily affect a person’s behavior, thinking, or knowledge while hard skills primarily affect an object and include specialized domain knowledge and technical know-how. The time to promotion is measured by the difference in the start dates between an employee’s previous role and the role they were promoted into.

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