LOS ANGELES, USA – Business Talent Group (BTG), a Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII) company and the leading talent marketplace for independent management consultants, interim executives, subject matter experts, and project managers, today released its sixth annual Skills Index, revealing the most in-demand and fastest growing skills leveraged by global companies to seize growth opportunities amid ongoing economic uncertainty and rapidly emerging technologies.
With more than three-quarters of (77%) employers having difficulty finding skilled talent, the struggle to fill organizational gaps has significant financial implications—50% of CEOs and CFOs anticipate their organizations will struggle to meet customer demand with their current talent models. This has paved the way for innovative solutions, such as high-end independent talent marketplaces, which can help equip organizations with the skills and talent they need to succeed now and in the future.
“The skills landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace and can have a pronounced impact on an organization’s ability to remain competitive and profitable,” said Sandra Pinnavaia, EVP, chief knowledge & innovation officer, Business Talent Group. “Organizations are currently working to keep up with the pace of technological and innovative change, all while navigating a shifting labor market and economic uncertainty. These equally important yet competing priorities call for a wide range of skillsets -and today’s business leaders will need to embrace creativity and agility in sourcing them.”
Key insights from the 2023 Skills Index include:
- Sustained demand for finance expertise
There is sustained demand for on-demand finance professionals, with financial controls, accounting, and audit serving as the #1 most in-demand skill, followed closely by financial planning, analysis, and modeling (#3) amid a 71percent increase in the number of requests for interim finance executives. - Embracing AI and ever-more data and technology
The impacts of emerging technologies are top of mind for organizations, with businesses seeking on-demand talent skilled in technology and systems implementation (#6), as well as AI and machine learning and data science, each with a 100 percent increase in demand. - A quest for operational excellence
Organizations are looking to streamline their processes and boost efficiency with help from on-demand talent skilled in organizational design and workforce planning (#5), operational excellence (#9), supply chain (#10), and organizational transformation (#13).