{"id":124884,"date":"2026-08-21T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T14:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realvnc.com\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=124884"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:21:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:21:25","slug":"it-skills-gap-and-training","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.realvnc.com\/en\/blog\/it-skills-gap-and-training\/","title":{"rendered":"IT Skills Gap and Training: A Strategic Response"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A priority project stalls as the people who know the legacy systems are already stretched, and newer work in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data waits for capabilities the team has not yet built. The cost reaches beyond IT: customer commitments slip, managers delay plans, and employees see fewer routes into meaningful new work.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>IT skills gap and training<\/strong> challenge is the difference between the capabilities your organization has today and the technical and professional skills it needs to deliver its business priorities. Closing it means building a continuous, skills-based talent strategy that connects development with internal mobility, succession planning, and workforce readiness.<\/p>\n<p>This article explains where technology capability shortages show up, why hiring alone does not resolve them, and how to build durable pathways through focused training, mentorship, practical experience, and responsible artificial intelligence development.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why-is-the-it-skills-gap-now-a-business-risk\">Why Is the IT Skills Gap Now a Business Risk?<\/h2>\n<p>A technology roadmap can look sound until a service owner asks who will run it at two in the morning, recover it during an incident, and improve it next quarter. When those answers depend on a handful of people, delivery plans become fragile and customer commitments feel the strain.<\/p>\n<p>Closing the <strong>IT skills gap<\/strong> requires leaders to measure the capabilities tied to business-critical services, build role-specific development routes, and validate performance over time. Course attendance alone does not show whether teams can operate, secure, or improve the systems the business relies on.<\/p>\n<p>The pace of change leaves little room for reactive planning. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/publications\/future-of-jobs-report-2023\/\">The World Economic Forum\u2019s <em>Future of Jobs Report 2023<\/em><\/a> estimated that 44% of workers\u2019 skills would face disruption within five years. That figure does not describe every IT team, but it explains why static role descriptions age quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Treat workforce readiness as a service-dependability question. The next sections set out a capability audit, a role-priority model, practical measurement, program choices, and the access controls that let people apply new skills under supervision.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why-does-the-it-skills-gap-defy-hiring-alone\">Why Does the IT Skills Gap Defy Hiring Alone?<\/h2>\n<p>External recruitment fills important roles, but it rarely resolves the whole capability problem. The <strong>it skills gap and training<\/strong> challenge includes institutional knowledge, uneven proficiency, and the time it takes for a new hire to become effective in your environment.<\/p>\n<p>That distinction matters most in security and operations. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sans.org\/white-papers\/2026-cybersecurity-workforce-research-report\">SANS Institute and GIAC\u2019s cybersecurity workforce research report<\/a> reported in 2026 that 60% of organizations lack the skills needed to defend against current threats. A vacancy plan shows empty seats; it does not show whether the people already in seats can perform critical work.<\/p>\n<p>Hiring, contracting, and managed services still belong in the plan. They work best when leaders use them alongside internal pathways that retain knowledge and build depth in priority roles. <a href=\"https:\/\/lightcast.io\/resources\/research\/quarterly-cybersecurity-talent-report-june-24\">Lightcast\u2019s <em>Quarterly Cybersecurity Talent Report<\/em><\/a> recorded U.S. cybersecurity demand exceeding available skilled workers by 225,200 in Q2 2024, a labor-market measure rather than a count of any organization\u2019s internal shortfalls.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"what-forces-turn-a-talent-issue-into-capability-risk\">What Forces Turn a Talent Issue Into Capability Risk?<\/h3>\n<p>Capability risk grows when service-critical knowledge sits with too few practitioners as the same people are asked to deliver modernization work. <a href=\"https:\/\/cybergovernancealliance.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ISC2_Cybersecurity_Workforce_Study_2023-1.pdf\">ISC2\u2019s <em>Cybersecurity Workforce Study 2023<\/em><\/a> estimated a global workforce gap of 3,999,964 cybersecurity professionals, which signals market pressure rather than a universal count of open roles.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Obsolescence velocity:<\/strong> Legacy platforms still require care and cloud, automation, and artificial intelligence create new skill demands.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hybrid skill scarcity:<\/strong> The hardest roles combine disciplines, such as identity operations with cloud security or AI literacy with data governance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Knowledge concentration:<\/strong> A single experienced practitioner becomes a service-continuity dependency when procedures live in memory rather than shared practice.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Talent-market pressure:<\/strong> Distributed hiring broadens choice for candidates and makes retention, internal mobility, and credible development routes more valuable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Legacy Response<\/th>\n<th>Capability-Based Response<\/th>\n<th>Executive Consequence<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Fill vacancies as they appear<\/td>\n<td>Map work tied to critical services<\/td>\n<td>Investment follows service impact<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Fund general courses<\/td>\n<td>Build role pathways with applied practice<\/td>\n<td>Development relates to real work<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Count headcount and credentials<\/td>\n<td>Review proficiency evidence and coverage<\/td>\n<td>Leaders see dependency points<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Replace departing specialists<\/td>\n<td>Transfer knowledge through supervised work<\/td>\n<td>Teams retain operating context<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The decision is to manage a capability portfolio, not merely a recruitment queue.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"which-capability-model-prioritizes-training\">Which Capability Model Prioritizes Training?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.realvnc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/nanobana_img3__KEYWORD_DISTRIBUTION_PLAN__1785505145615.jpg)\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A useful capability model connects business priorities to the roles that deliver them, the skills those roles require, and the evidence that proves readiness. It gives IT, HR, security, and business leaders shared decision rights without turning the exercise into a static inventory.<\/p>\n<p>Think of it like a service map in a facilities operation. Leaders first identify which services must remain dependable, then identify the roles and capabilities that keep each service running. That approach prevents a broad catalogue of skills from masking a narrow but serious dependency.<\/p>\n<p>AI illustrates the issue. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linuxfoundation.org\/hubfs\/Research%20Reports\/LFTraining_Tech_Talent_Report_Global_2026_web.pdf\">The Linux Foundation\u2019s <em>State of Tech Talent Report<\/em><\/a> found in 2026 that 47% of organizations reported understaffing in AI capabilities. Ha Hoang, Chief Information Officer at Commvault, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cio.com\/article\/4165232\/whats-holding-back-enterprise-ai-shortage-of-talent-cios-say.html\">told <em>CIO.com<\/em><\/a>: \u201cWe are seeing the biggest pain at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. You can find data scientists and you can find security engineers, but the combination is incredibly scarce, and that\u2019s where enterprise risk is moving fastest.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Business-Critical Roles:<\/strong> Identify the roles that operate services, meet regulatory duties, or support priority change.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Target Competencies:<\/strong> Define the technical, operational, and professional capabilities each role needs next.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Evidence of Proficiency:<\/strong> Set credible proof for knowledge, applied work, and sustained operating performance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Development Capacity:<\/strong> Confirm manager time, practice environments, mentors, and funding before promising a pathway.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Framework Dimension<\/th>\n<th>Executive Question<\/th>\n<th>Evidence Source<\/th>\n<th>Decision Supported<\/th>\n<th>Common Misread<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Business-Critical Roles<\/td>\n<td>Which roles affect service continuity?<\/td>\n<td>Service maps and risk reviews<\/td>\n<td>Priority investment<\/td>\n<td>Every role needs equal funding<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Target Competencies<\/td>\n<td>What work must the role perform?<\/td>\n<td>Role and workflow analysis<\/td>\n<td>Pathway design<\/td>\n<td>Job title proves capability<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Evidence of Proficiency<\/td>\n<td>What proves readiness?<\/td>\n<td>Assessments and supervised work<\/td>\n<td>Readiness decisions<\/td>\n<td>A course completion proves performance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Development Capacity<\/td>\n<td>What support exists for learning?<\/td>\n<td>Manager capacity and practice access<\/td>\n<td>Program sequencing<\/td>\n<td>Content alone creates readiness<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3 id=\"how-do-role-priorities-shape-development-spend\">How Do Role Priorities Shape Development Spend?<\/h3>\n<p>Prioritize roles through <strong>Criticality<\/strong>, <strong>Scarcity<\/strong>, and <strong>Time to readiness<\/strong>. A role deserves a dedicated pathway when its absence interrupts a critical service, internal depth is limited, and outside recruitment cannot produce capable staff in time.<\/p>\n<p>An AI-security operations role, for example, needs AI literacy, security awareness, data-governance knowledge, and escalation judgment. Raghu Srinivasan, Senior Vice President, Global Technology Services at KPMG International, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cio.com\/article\/4165232\/whats-holding-back-enterprise-ai-shortage-of-talent-cios-say.html\">told <em>CIO.com<\/em><\/a>: \u201cThe most critical expertise gap is not just in building AI systems, but in rethinking how decisions are made and executed across the enterprise. That demands upskilling leaders, product managers, and frontline staff, not only data scientists.\u201d Broad awareness has value, but hybrid operational roles need practice tied to actual decisions.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"what-counts-as-credible-skills-evidence\">What Counts as Credible Skills Evidence?<\/h3>\n<p>No single signal proves that someone is ready for critical operational work. Certifications establish foundational knowledge, and supervised tasks, simulations, manager observation, peer review, and sustained performance show whether that knowledge holds up in context.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Knowledge evidence<\/strong> shows that a person understands concepts. <strong>Applied evidence<\/strong> shows that they can use them in a lab, simulation, or supervised task. <strong>Operational evidence<\/strong> shows consistent performance in the service environment. Publish clear rules for how skills data will be used, and keep development assessments separate from punitive performance processes. Trust determines whether the workforce data is usable.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-kpis-validate-it-training-investments\">What KPIs Validate IT Training Investments?<\/h2>\n<p>Training investment earns confidence when measures connect learning activity to capability coverage and operating outcomes. The goal is to track whether critical work has become less dependent on individual experts, not to produce a larger scorecard.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pearson.com\/content\/dam\/pearson-sites\/shared\/2026-value-of-it-certification-employer.pdf\"> Pearson\u2019s <em>2026 Value of IT Certification Employer Report<\/em><\/a> found that 93% of organizations measuring certification return on investment reported positive results. That is a reported outcome among organizations that measure ROI, not proof that credentials alone caused business improvement. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forrester.com\/blogs\/announcing-the-forrester-wave-cybersecurity-skills-and-training-platforms-q1-2026\/\">Forrester\u2019s <em>Cybersecurity Skills and Training Platforms, Q1 2026<\/em><\/a> makes the related point: learning platforms matter when they translate development into measurable team and organizational performance.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Learning progression:<\/strong> Track pathway enrollment, completion, assessment improvement, and certification attainment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Capability coverage:<\/strong> Measure critical roles with validated baseline proficiency and identified successors.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Operational performance:<\/strong> Review incident exercises, change quality, escalation dependency, and time to resolve capability-related blockers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Talent sustainability:<\/strong> Track internal mobility, retention in priority roles, time to productivity, and reliance on external hiring.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Measurement Category<\/th>\n<th>Example KPI<\/th>\n<th>Decision It Supports<\/th>\n<th>Interpretation Risk<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Learning progression<\/td>\n<td>Assessment improvement<\/td>\n<td>Content and pathway changes<\/td>\n<td>Completion mistaken for readiness<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Capability coverage<\/td>\n<td>Critical roles with validated proficiency<\/td>\n<td>Succession and staffing plans<\/td>\n<td>Self-ratings treated as proof<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Operational performance<\/td>\n<td>Exercise performance<\/td>\n<td>Service-readiness investment<\/td>\n<td>One event treated as a trend<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Talent sustainability<\/td>\n<td>Internal movement into priority roles<\/td>\n<td>Retention and recruitment plans<\/td>\n<td>Mobility counted without role fit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Use a baseline and watch direction over time. Universal thresholds conceal differences in service criticality, operating model, and starting capability.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-4-it-training-program-design-choices\">The 4 IT Training Program Design Choices<\/h2>\n<p>Program design determines whether development fits the work people actually do. A course catalogue without manager time, applied practice, or a route into broader responsibility becomes an employee benefit rather than an operating investment.<\/p>\n<p>Marc Halcrow, Chief Operating Officer at DevOps Institute, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peoplecert.org\/news-and-announcements\/Upskilling-IT-2023-Report\">said in PeopleCert\u2019s 2023 report<\/a>: \u201cTo remain competitive, IT leaders and individuals must prioritize skills development, with continuous upskilling across people, process, and technology.\u201d The practical question is where depth matters most and where broad literacy is enough.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Pathway scope:<\/strong> Use foundational, role-specific, and advanced tracks instead of one generic curriculum.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Learning format:<\/strong> Balance short modules, instructor-led instruction, cohort discussion, and self-directed study against service criticality and learner availability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Applied practice:<\/strong> Pair instruction with sandbox environments, simulations, rotation assignments, and supervised work.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Career architecture:<\/strong> Connect development with internal mobility, succession plans, and career lattices so employees see where effort leads.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Design Choice<\/th>\n<th>When It Fits<\/th>\n<th>Implication<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Foundational pathway<\/td>\n<td>Broad digital or AI literacy need<\/td>\n<td>Creates a common baseline<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Role-specific pathway<\/td>\n<td>Service-critical technical work<\/td>\n<td>Requires defined proficiency evidence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cohort and mentor model<\/td>\n<td>Knowledge transfer dependency<\/td>\n<td>Requires protected expert time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Applied rotation<\/td>\n<td>Emerging or hybrid roles<\/td>\n<td>Requires manager and service-owner support<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>A specific cloud-training study offers directional evidence, not a savings promise. <a href=\"https:\/\/d1.awsstatic.com\/onedam\/marketing-channels\/website\/aws\/en_US\/training\/approved\/pdfs\/teams\/2023-esg-study-understanding-the-value-of-aws-training-to-organizations.pdf\">ESG\u2019s <em>Understanding the Value of AWS Training to Organizations<\/em><\/a> reported in 2023 that organizations whose staff consumed eight or more days of AWS coursework reported 28% lower overall IT costs than those consuming two days or less. Your own baseline, role mix, and service model determine whether the investment produces comparable results.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"training-failure-modes-that-keep-gaps-open\">Training Failure Modes That Keep Gaps Open<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.realvnc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/nanobana_img6_Section_2_1785505228644.jpg)\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Capability programs lose credibility when leaders measure activity but leave the work system unchanged. Employees complete courses, then return to full operational workloads with no protected time, practice environment, or chance to demonstrate new skills.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nist.gov\/cyberframework\">NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0<\/a> provides guidance for managing cybersecurity risk; organizations can pair it with the NICE Workforce Framework for cybersecurity work and skills planning<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Course-completion fixation:<\/strong> Completion is useful input data, yet it cannot replace evidence from applied work.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unprotected learning time:<\/strong> Development fails when managers treat it as work employees must complete around every operational demand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Opaque skills data:<\/strong> Employees need to know what data is collected, who sees it, and how it will influence workforce decisions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No application environment:<\/strong> New knowledge fades when teams have no simulation, supervised session, or live workflow in which to use it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Review these conditions before expanding spend. A smaller pathway with protected practice and clear evidence produces more dependable readiness than broad access with no operating support.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"how-realvnc-closes-workforce-capability-gaps\">How RealVNC Closes Workforce Capability Gaps<\/h2>\n<p>Role pathways and sandbox learning eventually need supervised exposure to real support, remediation, and incident workflows. Those workflows often involve distributed systems and sensitive endpoints. Without governed access, experienced staff may limit mentorship as they cannot confidently constrain trainee actions or document what occurred during a session.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RealVNC Connect<\/strong> supports controlled learning-adjacent work without replacing an enterprise development strategy:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Role-based access controls and granular action-based permissions<\/strong> let leaders limit keyboard, mouse, and file-transfer actions by role and task.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO)<\/strong> with Microsoft Entra ID or Okta apply centralized identity controls to supervised support sessions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Session monitoring, session recording, and detailed audit logs<\/strong> provide evidence for coaching, incident review, and access-governance review.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cloud + Direct deployment options<\/strong> let organizations align remote access with cloud and on-premises operational requirements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These controls give a senior technician a practical way to observe work, intervene when needed, and retain evidence for later review. The result is a clearer boundary between supervised learning and unrestricted production access.<\/p>\n<p>A workforce capability program gains credibility when employees apply skills in controlled workflows and leaders can review evidence of access, supervision, and operating outcomes. That discipline strengthens knowledge transfer and keeping access governance aligned with the services your teams support.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"final-words\">Final Words<\/h2>\n<p>Treat the IT skills gap and training as a readiness program: focus on critical roles, prove proficiency through applied work, and track whether coverage improves.<\/p>\n<p>RealVNC Connect adds role-based access controls, MFA and SSO, and detailed audit logs for supervised support. Start a free trial of RealVNC Connect to establish controlled, auditable remote-access workflows.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"faqs\">FAQs<\/h2>\n<h3 id=\"what-is-a-workforce-capability-model-for-it\">What is a workforce capability model for IT?<\/h3>\n<p>A workforce capability model links business-critical roles, target competencies, evidence of proficiency, and development capacity. It helps leaders prioritize investment by service criticality and strategic change, rather than maintaining a static skills inventory.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"what-is-the-difference-between-training-completion-and-skills-readiness\">What is the difference between training completion and skills readiness?<\/h3>\n<p>Training completion shows participation, but skills readiness requires evidence that someone can apply knowledge in the right context. Simulations, supervised work, incident exercises, and manager-reviewed outcomes provide stronger evidence than course completion alone.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"how-does-the-nist-nice-framework-support-workforce-planning\">How does the NIST NICE Framework support workforce planning?<\/h3>\n<p>The NIST NICE Framework gives organizations a shared vocabulary for cybersecurity work responsibilities, knowledge, skills, and training planning. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nist.gov\/cyberframework\">NIST\u2019s Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0<\/a> provides guidance for managing cybersecurity risk, while other IT disciplines may need complementary models.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"what-are-examples-of-skill-gaps\">What are examples of skill gaps?<\/h3>\n<p>Examples include limited cloud-operations knowledge, weak identity-management capability, insufficient cyber-defense expertise, and a lack of AI governance experience. The IT skills gap and training challenge becomes an operating risk when these weaknesses affect business-critical services.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"what-are-basic-it-skills\">What are basic IT skills?<\/h3>\n<p>Basic IT skills include using business applications, managing files and devices, following security procedures, and resolving routine technical issues. The required baseline depends on the role, service environment, and access responsibilities.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"how-does-realvnc-support-it-workforce-development\">How does RealVNC support IT workforce development?<\/h3>\n<p>RealVNC Connect supports supervised operational workflows through role-based access controls, granular action-based permissions, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, session monitoring, session recording, and detailed audit logs. These controls help leaders govern remote support, observe applied work, and retain evidence without treating remote access as a replacement for training.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Close the it skills gap and training before critical work stalls. Learn how role mapping, applied practice, and governed access build capability &#8211; before one dependency decides everything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":124880,"template":"","blog_category":[411],"class_list":["post-124884","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_category-it-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>IT Skills Gap and Training: A Strategic Response<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Close the it skills gap and training before critical work stalls. 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