Dive Brief:
- Communication, leadership and analytical abilities are the three soft skills in highest demand among job postings for engineers according to a LinkedIn report published Thursday.
- Employers also prize problem-solving, teamwork and management skills as part of their candidate search, the report found. The company reviewed job posting data in India, the U.K. and the U.S. between May and October last year.
- Soft skills can amplify the impact an engineer can have on the job, driving employers to look more closely for these skill sets, Ya Xu, VP of engineering and head of data and AI at LinkedIn, said in a blog post.
Dive Insight:
To meet technology aspirations, enterprises need talent in ample supply. Leaders also need teams that can operate smoothly,bringing soft skills like communication and collaboration to the forefront.
"You need people who not only nod towards collaboration, but they express the behaviors of what that means," said HFS Executive Research Leader David Cushman. Companies need to instill a sense of community, he said.
The rapid development of AI is also shaping how companies address the tech labor market.
"This new technology isn’t just changing the types of products or features we can build, it’s transforming the entire complexion of the engineering landscape, resulting in the emergence of new skills, jobs and entirely new ways of working within organizations," Xu said.
Job seekers are taking note of the shifting employer priorities and have responded in kind. AI fundamentals are among the top in-demand skills to have in today's job market, according to a CompTIA survey of technology job seekers.
The deployment of AI, alongside the restart of previously deferred tech overhauls, is seen as a key driver for tech employment in 2024.