Lack of Skilled IT Pros Remains a Top Challenge, Says LF Tech Talent Report

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Organizations are more likely to upskill existing employees than recruit new talent.

A lack of skilled workers, along with budget constraints and security/privacy concerns, are the top challenges to adopting new technologies, according to the 2025 State of Tech Talent Report from the Linux Foundation.

This year’s report – which focused on the shortage of skilled IT professionals, the workplace transformation caused by AI, and the role of upskilling to fill technology needs – found that “critical talent gaps exist across organizations, with 68% understaffed in AI & ML, 65% in cybersecurity, and 61% in FinOps & cost optimization.”

In terms of hiring decisions, key points include:

  • Organizations are 3.2x more likely to invest in upskilling existing talent than to recruit externally.
  • The hiring and onboarding process takes 62% longer than upskilling the existing workforce.
  • 85% of organizations prioritize portfolios of practical work, with open source contributions offering proof of technical ability and collaboration skills.

In terms of AI, 94% of organizations expect the technology to deliver significant value in core activities, such as software development (54%), data analytics (52%), IT infrastructure monitoring (45%), and customer support (40%), says Clyde Seepersad, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Linux Foundation Education.

AI is also giving rise to new job roles, the report says, with 33% of organizations saying that developers now spend significant time reviewing AI-generated code, for example. Specific new AI-related roles cited by organizations include:

  • AI & ML Operations Engineer (64%)
  • AI Product Manager (36%)
  • AI Quality Assurance Engineer (33%)
  • AI Governance Specialist (29%)
  • Prompt Engineer (26%)
  • AI Safety Engineer (20%) 
  • AI Ethics Officer (16%)

Download the free report for more details.
 
 

 
 
 

07/03/2025
machine learning , optimization , Security

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