We’ve all heard of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills — and the difficulties of recruiting people with such competences. But what about SMAC, or social, mobile, analytics and cloud? If that term is still alien to you, it’s time to get accustomed. Here, John Salt, co-founder of the UK’s largest data and analytics dedicated jobs platform, OnlyDataJobs, explores the shift from STEM to SMAC and what it means for the talent landscape.
As businesses move forward with their digitalization plans, having experts that can access and extract value from data will become top of their hiring agendas. The decade thus far has already brought chaos and disruption to every facet of business, spurring leaders to act quickly and decisively, innovate at an accelerated pace, and digitalize almost every process. Agility and adaptability are no longer optional — they are essential traits a business must have to survive.
The missing skillset
The skills shortage has been prevalent for decades now. Employers have highly-technical positions sitting vacant because they cannot find the right talent to fill them. IBM’s latest data predicts that, by 2030, 85 million jobs are expected to go unfilled due to a lack of skills.
When the skills gap first emerged, it was all about STEM skills shortages. And while action has been taken to plug the initial STEM skills shortage, the skills gap is still prevalent. The UK economy loses £1.5 billion each year due to the skills gap.
Technological development is so fast paced that we're now seeing employers recruiting for positions that didn't exist ten or even five years ago. Traditional STEM skills are still in demand, but digital transformation has also given rise to SMAC — a new set of skills that underpins the successful digitalization so many business leaders crave.
John Salt is the co-founder of the UK's largest data and analytics dedicated jobs platform, OnlyDataJobs.
New kid on the block
Social, mobile, analytics and cloud — the new generation of skills the employers are looking for to support increasingly digital operations. Having SMAC skills in-house is indicative of an organization's all-important agility and adaptability.
Social, the first element of SMAC, is an increasingly important skill for businesses as a key tool for communication, marketing, business development and customer service. Having social media skills that can support each of these business functions elevates them to a premium level.
Mobile relates to the idea of mobile-first, a term coined by digital product developer Luke Wroblewski in 2011. Mobile-first does just that — it prioritizes the mobile communications experience. Think CRMs designed for mobile access to facilitate real-time updates, remote working and developing mobile applications to provide products and services. In essence, it's about building a business’ online presence with a focus on delivering the best experience for mobile devices first.
Analytics relates to how we can unlock actionable insights from data. It involves using technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to make all business decisions data-driven: whether they relate to finance, sales and marketing strategies, product development, or operational efficiency.
Cloud represents the overarching infrastructure that underpins all SMAC activities. A business that uses cloud-based architecture can store vast amounts of data, share it in real-time from anywhere and benefit from using Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, which are growing in popularity.
Combine all of these elements, and you have the perfect recipe for digital success. James Lupton, chief technology officer at data consultancy Cynozure, says: “When it comes to embracing SMAC within operations, it should be a no brainer. Social and mobile are quite simply channels that brands and companies cannot do without in a tech-led society while cloud activity offers businesses the accelerator they need to scale.
“All three are driven by the effective use of data analytics, which allows an organization to accurately pinpoint opportunities and inefficiencies which can be tackled to boost performance. Without improved understanding of analytics, maintaining global competitiveness is always going to be an uphill task.”
Bridging the skills
Many of the elements of SMAC are already part of many businesses’ digital strategies. But for others, the challenge of sourcing the talent with the right skills to complete these data-heavy activities remains a challenge.
So, how can businesses tap into the value that SMAC can undoubtedly bring when the skills are in short supply? The answer lies in hiring with purpose. You're never going to find hires that are competent in all areas of SMAC, but you can source talent to complete the exact tasks you need them to do. No data scientist is competent in all programming languages or has the technical knowledge to navigate every piece of software, but if you define your needs down to this level of detail, the chances of successful recruitment are much higher.
With the world of SMAC developing more every day, new graduates might struggle to find a job role best suited to them. They will likely have trained in a particular programming language, or practiced using a certain technology. And the pace of development is so fast that it begs the question of whether it's even possible to equip young people in education with the skills they might need in a job five years from now.
Companies should also consider what they can do internally to generate the skills they need. As a business evolves, it might need new skills that fall under the umbrella of data science that aren't covered by any of their existing employees. Instead, it’s worth investing in upskilling to equip your existing data scientists with an aptitude for SMAC skills and support them to learn and develop as the technology does.
STEM skills remain essential for businesses, but the SMAC skills that have emerged as the result of digital transformation are even more pressing. As many businesses look to embark on their digital journeys, having the right expertise is crucial to success. While skills remain in short supply, businesses looking for their next data expert do have options. It’s just a matter of acting with precision to attract the right talent.
We've featured the best websites for hiring niche employees.
