Navigating a talent shortage induced by sovereignty and geopolitical tensions with tech and education

We’ve never been faced with such a demand for skilled workers

Features By Craig Hale published 27 October 2024

The labor market is in a strange position right now – on one side of the coin, companies are being forced to cut costs by making sections of their workforces redundant.

Thankfully, this trend has slowed since its 2023 peak - but on the other side, businesses are still struggling to employ workers with the right skills to move forward.

Continuing geopolitical tensions and emerging sovereignty requirements, exemplified by the number of cloud hosting providers and cloud computing services that are now offering more localized options, have only amplified the talent shortage across all industries, from tech to manufacturing.

Sovereignty and talent scarcity

The global talent shortage has been amplified by a growing trend toward national sovereignty in two, totally different ways. One one hand, companies are looking to locate workers within specific boundaries to comply with evolving regulations, but elsewhere, they’re looking to migrate tech closer to home, too, resulting in surged demand for highly skilled tech workers across the entire supply chain.

While these moves are aimed at reducing dependence on foreign supply chains, they have also highlighted a critical issue – the US alone faces a shortfall of approximately one million experts in various high-tech fields, with Europe likely in a similar position.

Geopolitical tensions are adding to the problem

Tensions between the US and China have further complicated the global talent landscape. Deteriorating relations between two of the world’s biggest economies have led to restrictions and total limitations not just for advanced hardware, but other elements of the supply chain, too, including talent.

The knock-on effect of this is that countries all over the world, allied with the US, China, or other interests, have been increasingly reducing reliance on other nations by moving processes closer to home.

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