Need for Agile Developers Far Outpacing Number of Qualified Candidates

 Looking to improve delivery speeds and better consumer value, many companies are ramping up their search for agile software developers, but a study conducted by CareerBuilder’s Yoh has found that the number of jobs posted for agile developers outnumber candidates by over 4.5 to 1. The Agile Development: Who’s Hiring Who’s Hirable report found that a widening skills gap is mostly to blame for the difficulty companies are having with quickly sourcing talent even as agile professionals are experiencing their own struggles finding programs that fit their skills. The report tallied a total of 558,918 agile jobs posted from 2010 to 2012.

During this period, just 121,876 active candidates were seeking agile jobs; that’s less than two candidates for every 10 jobs. Of the active job seekers, over half had over 10 years of experience but less than 2 percent had between one and two years of experience. Some states, such as Florida and Texas, reported a higher number of candidates with a job to candidate ratio of 4 to 1, but states with wider gaps, such as California and Washington, saw a ratio of 10 to 1.

“These discrepancies can hurt the hiring companies in the form of increased costs, salaries, and turnover,” said Don Hanson, Senior Vice President, Eastern Region at Yoh. “When companies hire the wrong candidate, they jeopardize employee engagement as well as potentially damage their reputation in the agile community, hurting future recruiting efforts. More than ever, a thorough vetting and hiring process is crucial for both agile employers and jobseekers. To that end, Yoh is currently using its expertise in agile methodology talent to help companies source the talent they need while connecting agile professionals with the roles and companies best-suited to their abilities.”