A Good Reason to Learn Cloud Computing: 7M Jobs by 2015

Looking for a new IT job in the new year? Cloud computing could be the best way to go about getting it.

Cloud-related skills represent the majority of growth opportunities in IT employment worldwide and demand for cloud-related positions is expected to grow by 26 percent annually through 2015. Yet lack of training prevents many cloud job positions from being filled.

Those looking to break into cloud computing can increase the chances of landing a new job by learning a specific technology, then taking a cloud technology specialist job. The trick is getting the initial experience.

The most ambitious candidates will begin their own “shadow IT” projects using a hot cloud computing technology, then soon find their way to a formal and high-paying cloud gig. Cloud computing is littered with stories about self-taught successes, often due to the lack of formal training offered.

Demand for cloud-ready IT workers will grow by 26 percent each year through 2015, according to a new Microsoft-sponsored IDC white paper. If that estimate proves true, there could be as many as 7 million cloud-related jobs in the world.

IT hiring managers, however, report that the biggest reason they failed to fill an existing 1.7 million open cloud-related positions in 2012 was that job seekers lacked the training and certification needed to work in a cloud-enabled world, according to an article on SciTechToday.com

The IT sector is seeing only modest growth of IT jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average growth in IT employment sits between 1.1 percent and 2.7 percent per year through 2020. But within the larger IT sector, cloud jobs are gaining major momentum, and the IDC study suggests an urgent need to retrain existing IT professionals and encourage students to pursue cloud-related IT trainings and certifications.

“Unlike IT skill shortages in the past, solving this skills gap is extremely challenging, given that cloud brings a new set of skills which haven’t been needed in the past,” said Cushing Anderson, program vice president at IDC. “There is no one-size-fits-all set of criteria for jobs in cloud computing. Therefore, training and certification is essential for preparing prospective job candidates to work in cloud-related jobs.”

Lack of training, certification or experience are the top three reasons why cloud positions are not filled. However, cloud-related skills represent virtually all the growth opportunities in IT employment worldwide and demand for cloud-related positions will grow by 26 percent annually through 2015.

“Cloud computing is crucial to the bottom line of the company — it creates cost savings and efficiencies for companies and their customers,” Anderson said. “Therefore, a cloud-savvy workforce is essential to the success of the IT industry’s financial health.”

Patrick Burke is a writer and editor based in the greater New York area and occasionally blogs for Rackspace Hosting.