There are now fewer than 10 qualified candidates for each in-demand IT and emerging technology vacancy in the US.

Speaking to Information Week, Loralie Thostenson, senior vice president and tech talent officer at insurance provider Liberty Mutual explains how we got here: "There was a demand for top tech talent long before COVID-19, but the pandemic accelerated many companies’ digital transformation strategies and remote work environments, These trends heightened the demand for software engineers needed to build and maintain new digital environments. Companies have a strong need for developers, which means that more companies are vying for the same talent."

According to Randstad Sourceright's Global Future In-Demand Skills Report, there are multiple highly competitive marketplaces globally. Some, such as Australia, were only in the top 10 once (pity the UX recruiters of Oz), while others were often in the top ranking of countries with highest candidate-scarcity across the nine most in-demand skills Randstad identified.

And then, there's the US, which overachieved consistently across all categories. The report found that the U.S. is one of the most competitive markets for all nine in-demand skills - meaning it has the fewest number of skilled workers to fill available positions - followed by India, China, and the United Kingdom.

This is nothing new, just accelerated. According to a 2018 Burning Glass analysis for the US Chamber of Commerce: "In 2012, there were just 1,061 postings for Data Scientists. By 2016, that number grew 14-fold, to 14,653. The supply of data scientists hasn’t been able to keep up. In other research, we identified data analytics as a “disruptive skill” that shakes up job markets because of its crucial nature to business success, sourcing challenges, and the lack of an established training system."

That last sentence was fed some steroids when the pandemic hit - the need for cloud, AI, etc grew exponentially. New roles and technologies appeared overnight as the technology sector shifted into a wartime footing. They went from building Buicks to building bombers. Unfortunately, the need for Buicks has come back, and we're still needing plenty of B-17s and the people to service them.

“Before the pandemic... there was a skills gap. Post-pandemic, we may be saying there’s a skills canyon,” Prudential Financial Vice Chair Rob Falzon told Yahoo Finance Live. “You’re not going to be able to hire your way out of that problem...You’re well-served to be investing in the skills of your employees."

Wiley's newly released Digital Skills Gap Index for 2021 found that:

"Most economies are failing to bridge the digital skills divide, the gap between the demand for digital skills—for a given level of industrial development—and the capacity of economies’ policymakers to respond to the talent deficit, and education institutions and corporate trainers to deliver the needed skills."

The study pointed to Singapore as an example of an economy which is managing it well. The country has a particular focus on learning. Its K12 and higher education systems rank among the best in the world. There is a focus on upskilling and lifelong education for its population - it's government policy - with their SkillsFuture Initiative both a model as well as second to none globally.

Singapore’s digital focus, reflected in the number of articles published on digital subjects, is another key strength. The city-state’s digital competitiveness is rivaled only by that of the US.

Wiley's analysis highlighted the gap between what is needed and what is currently in place, looking at survey data from 600 human resources and learning development professionals across business sectors:

• More than half (55%) of the respondents believe a skills gap exists at their organization.
• Upskilling/ reskilling employees was selected as the top way to close the skills gap (57%).
• Only 4.2% of the survey respondents were completely satisfied with the level and availability of digital skills.
• A vast majority (81%) of employers felt that having tuition assistance and support for programs is a strong upskilling/ reskilling tool. However, less than half (48%) reported having tuition assistance programs at their company.
• More traditional forms of education were found to be the most effective strategies for upskilling/ reskilling employees; and tuition reimbursement or scholarships, university-sponsored discounts, and industry certifications ranked as the top three most effective methods. 
• When evaluating job candidates, 72% view degrees from colleges and universities as very to extremely important. 68% value trade skills certificates and work experience.
• The most highly sought-after majors for new hires are technology (55%) and business (46%).
• The most challenging “hard skills” to fill include computer technology (44%), and data analysis (35%).
• The most difficult “soft skills” to fill included critical thinking (36%), communication (36%), and creativity (34%).

Upskilling/ reskilling became a rallying cry in 2020, with workers increasingly concerned about their future financial well-being if they do not adapt their skill sets. The results have not been impressive.

The US is not managing this well, with fractured approaches including offerings from community colleges, many of whom lack the financial support to offer a critical component of wide-scale talent development: distance education. A hodgepodge of corporate and non-profit offerings make up much of the rest, with no one unified hub for workers to manage through. Paying for the training adds an additional burden, hitting the unemployed and underemployed particularly hard. Recent SHRM research showed that "a majority of all U.S. workers surveyed, both employed and unemployed, reported seeking additional career development or reskilling opportunities, and 3 out of 4 reported wanting to engage in such activities. Fewer than 4 in 10 have been able to do so, however."

As a result, US workers are anxious. Prudential research from June 2021 shows that 43% say say that their long-term financial security will be in jeopardy if they do not retrain or learn new skills. Among the findings:

• Four in 10 say the pandemic has forced them to learn new skills to remain in their current job
• 46% say it has changed what it takes to get their jobs done
• 46% will have to learn new skills to do their job in the next year
• More than half will need to learn new skills in the next 3-5 years

"The continued talent scarcity and skills gaps — most pronounced in IT and emerging technology specialties — is concerning to all employers," said Mike Smith, global CEO of Randstad Sourceright. "Companies need to respond in swift and informed ways by using data-driven market insights to attract and source highly skilled candidates. Employers should also consider expanding their recruiting efforts to tap into hybrid or remote talent pools."

Any good fishing spots? Maybe. Randstad's guide to a few places to try your lures

There is the potential for companies to look much more globally now. Even as the pandemic was tightening up IT markets due to demand from employers enjoying explosive growth - Amazon, remote-enablement providers like Zoom - these companies were creating digital bridges across labor markets. Companies that can hire remote workers can source in areas where there the candidate-ratio is in their favor, have a higher chance of filling their reqs. While the US is going to continue to be a challenging spot to source local talent there are a few possibilities, based on the report, for those who can go fishing elsewhere.

Take this with a grain of salt, though - while the report does a fair job of using a variety of data sources for its methodology, some of them have their limitations. For example, LinkedIn data - relied on for one data source - is challenging at best in China, where LinkedIn recently announced it was pulling shutting down its services in the country entirely.

• Best market for Augmented reality: Brazil Turning into the world's augmented reality/virtual reality capital, at more than one hundred potential candidates available for each job, with most of the talent in and around São Paulo.
• Best market for cybersecurity and IoT: France Among the highest number of candidates in two of the most competitive categories across the globe.
• Best Market for Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning: Sweden 94 candidates per role, versus the US at 8 per role.
• Best Market for Cloud Computing: China In a surprising reveal, China is your best bet for cloud candidates, at 174:1, versus Portugal, at 3:1. India did not fare well, either.