The business world is experiencing a dramatic skill shortage. Two figures are emerging as key for innovating effectively and staying competitive in a digital job market racing to attract the best talent.

The relentless pace of digital innovation is being felt globally by companies of all sizes. This has made digital transformation a priority for any business willing to be competitive. By and large digital transformation efforts are leading to positive results. However, many companies are still struggling to reap the full benefits of their investments. Mainly because, in spite of the catchy punchlines on being disruptive, transformation is hard work. Becoming a digital business may require huge internal changes, a lot more than implementing a new website or creating a mobile strategy. Going truly digital cuts much deeper as it requires adopting flexible IT infrastructures and cybersecurity solutions, learning how to use data, implementing automated workflows and, often, turning many of your processes on their head. And, last but not least, as a company you need to train your employees and hire new talents. Technology goes only so far without the right people and skills. Organizations need training programs to focus on digital competences and talent models to rapidly access in-demand skills and to move fast. The EU Commission estimates companies will have to fill between 500.000 and 700.000 vacancies in the Union’s digital job market within 2020.
Among the new figures companies need the most is the Chief digital officer. The CDO is the main driving force behind an organization’s digital transformation strategy. His key responsibilities include mapping internal innovation priorities as well as redesigning business processes. To be effective a CDO needs a diverse background, ranging from finance as he also needs to evaluate returns on investments, as well  as IT and data science. Your ideal candidate may come from different backgrounds: from engineering to business school or IT, also depending on your company structure and setup.

Data engineers are also in high demand. Basically, a specialist from the field of software engineering and backend development. But what exactly does a data engineer do? For example, if a company – it can be an insurer or a health-care organization – generates large amounts of data from different sources (transactions, traffic, sensors), a Data Engineer organizes the whole process from the collection of information to its processing and storage.

RGI, for instance, is aiming to recruit a Big Data Engineer who will be working on the technological evolution of internal data platforms used for business intelligence and predictive analytics providing new capability leveraging cloud and big data technology. The candidate will also work with the data science team to develop robust production solutions for data science projects. The perfect match for this position is a skilled engineer also capable of creative thinking and able to work in team. Soft skills such as positive attitude, good communication, time management abilities, and problem-solving are definitely a plus.