A Look at 2018’s Most In-Demand Tech Expertise Areas, and Our Predictions for 2019

With 2018 soon coming to a close and the new year around the corner, it’s a great time to reflect on what we’ve learned about the tech industry this year. It’s also a chance to prepare for the challenges and opportunities of 2019, particularly when it comes to hiring and recruiting.  

Without a doubt, the tech industry is one that is perpetually evolving and expanding. Experts predict that employment growth in the tech sector will grow by 12 percent by 2024 — nearly twice the expected growth of other industries. That means that hiring will remain one of the biggest challenges for tech companies in the near future. It also means it will be more important than ever to make sure your company has the best skill sets in trending and up-and-coming technology expertise to stay competitive.

Some of the Hottest Areas of Tech Expertise in 2018

This past year featured significant growth and competition in several key skill areas, according to various industry analysts and experts. Here at Genium, we saw significant demand for experience and knowledge in the following broad areas (among others):

• Mobile app development.  According to extensive data from LinkedIn, mobile development skills remain one of the primary targets for recruitment in the tech world. With more than 3 billion smartphone users in 2018 and counting, it’s no wonder that companies are looking for faster, smarter and more agile ways to meet their mobile development needs. Fluency in multiple programming languages is key in today’s market too. At Genium, we saw a high demand for Java, Swift, Objective-C and ReactNative.
  
• Cybersecurity. Call it obvious or a no-brainer, but that doesn’t mean we can leave it out: information security falls on the top of many lists of in-demand tech skills, as CIO magazine and others report. As cyber threats become increasingly more complex, the skills to counter and adapt to them become all the more important. While cybersecurity encompasses many areas of IT, here at Genium we’ve seen a particular demand for skills that integrate security expertise with mobile app development.
  
• Blockchain. Blockchain technology was named one of the top three fastest growing and highest paying specialized tech skills of 2018, according to data from the tech career site Dice, among others. Although widespread use of blockchain is still a few years away, a study released by PwC in August found that 84% of companies are actively exploring how they might use blockchain in the near future. Some of the most disruptive and innovative companies we’ve seen and worked with are already using it.
  

Top Innovation Areas to Watch in 2019

We expect the areas we mention above to remain in-demand in 2019. On the innovation front, here are our predictions for some of the biggest watch areas for the new year:

• Computer vision. 2018 saw job postings for computer vision engineers grow by more than 150%, according to Business Insider. We think that demand will skyrocket even further in 2019 as the applications for these technologies continue to expand in many areas. Here at Genium, we’ve already seen some incredibly innovative ways of using computer vision to disrupt multiple industries, such as Fit3D and BodyBlock AI’s use of computer vision in the health care and fashion industries.    
  
• Machine learning, data analytics and Big Data. The job site Glassdoor named data scientists as the best job in America in 2018, largely because the high demand makes it a great skill to have if you’re a jobseeker. For hiring companies, that means the competition for skilled people will stay fierce. In 2019, this trend will continue to grow as companies build and gain access to larger and larger data sets that can help them better understand their customers, products and markets.
  
• Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR).  Industry experts have predicted that spending on AR and VR tech will double or more every year through 2021. As Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook plunge deeper into the AR and VR world with headsets, glasses and more, demand for these skills across the industry will skyrocket too. In particular, we’ll be looking out for more disruptive intersections between AR and mobile devices and apps.
  

Wrapping It All Up: It’s All About Adaptability

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it does cover many of the trends we’ve seen and think we’ll continue to see, particularly in the most innovative areas of the tech market. (Other hot skill areas include QA testing, automation, virtual reality, Javascript and more.)

Ultimately, in an environment as quickly changing as the tech industry, one of the most important skills of all may be the ability to adapt, as Forbes and others have pointed out. When hiring, companies should look for and highly value the ability to learn quickly and adapt to new challenges.

After all, we can all do our best to predict what will happen in 2019 and beyond, but we also know our industry is one filled with constant innovation and surprises. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Would you?

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Here at Genium, we specialize in connecting forward-thinking companies with teams of world-class experts in many of these and other disruptive technologies. Contact us today to find out how we can help keep your company competitive, adaptable and driven by innovation.