Innovate@UCLA held the 3rd installment of its continuing virtual series focused on ‘The State of the SoCal Tech Jobs Market’. The event was broadly attended by a number of member senior IT leaders, tech professionals; and other corporate, public sector, entrepreneur, and investor executives across the western region.
Speakers from Korn Ferry and the UCLA Anderson Forecast provided rich insights on both global and regional trends shaping the current tight tech jobs market, and how companies and professionals can best position themselves for the continued growth.
Korn Ferry topics began with the evolution of the tech organization, and the high-demand skills needed to support the new digital model. Speakers then discussed current tech talent acquisition challenges, and leading retention considerations that companies may consider in their own efforts. Lastly, Korn Ferry noted the impacts of both digital acceleration, and technology diversity and inclusion, on the current global tech talent supply deficit; and how companies must evolve to compete for highly-coveted tech talent.
The UCLA Anderson Forecast contribution provided unique insights on the State of the SoCal Tech Jobs Market through a number of compelling lenses. The segment examined, pre and post-pandemic impacts to tech jobs in the region; and, longer term trends in tech jobs, and specific skills growth in Southern California and the US. Key among the insights were key growth and contraction trends of tech jobs across the Top 40 metros in the US. The segment provided an intriguing view of the larger shifts in the tech jobs landscape, and SoCal’s role in the evolving ecosystem.
Facilitated by Trent Johnson, Head of Corporate Ventures at Cie; the discussion included forward-thinking contributions from Korn Ferry’s Tarun Inuganti, Senior Client Partner, and Gus De Camargo, North American Leader, Technology Officers practice. UCLA’s own Dr. William Yu, an Economist from the Anderson Forecast, added a rigourous view of the data underlying these larger marketplace trends. Lastly, Venise Crawford of the UCLA Extension, provided needed content on how tech and other professionals can upgrade their own digital skills through the curriculums and offerings of the UCLA Extension.