It is undeniable: there is a shortage of technical talent in the managed services profession. In general there is a tech talent shortage as companies from all disciplines face increasing difficulties in finding qualified technical staff.
A recent Wall Street Journal article details the difficulty CIOs are having in recruiting qualified technical talent. This tech shortage is preventing companies from advancing their IT objectives. According to the article, 65% of CIOs surveyed said IT recuirtment is harming their IT modernization efforts.
IT Shortage Impacts MSPs Too
Although we do not have a WSJ article supporting this claim, there is an IT talent shortage facing managed service providers as well. Just talk to any MSP CEO and you'll quickly learn that finding and recruiting qualified IT talent is difficult. More importantly, it is a problem wherever you go in the world. It's not just an American problem; it happens to MSPs globally and regardless of size and discipline.
MSPs are just having a really hard time finding and keeping good people. I've even heard a few MSP owners say they will hire someone, even if they don't need them, just because it is so hard to find good people it is better to hire them when they become available.
This is a problem the MSP professional community needs to fix.
Possible Tech Talent Solutions
In numerous conversations over the last few years I have discussed a number of potential solutions to our technical talent shortage. The following are just a few of the solutions mentioned by MSP business owners:
- Recruiting from military
- Recruiting from high school
- Developing relationships with vocational schools
- Hiring non-technical personnel with cusomter service experience who can be trained by the MSP on the specific technical areas unique to that MSP
There are many options but each MSP seems to have their own solution to this problem. In the end, MSPs seem to have developed a unique approach to finding technical talent suitable for the unique needs of the MSP.
