Blockchain technology is one of the hottest technology trends right now. But discovering the right talent with the required skills for mastering blockchain technology and new tools is a daunting task. So what type of skills should firms be looking for and how can they discover the right talent?
Blockchain Talent Demand Is High
There isn’t a shortage of activity around the distributed ledger and blockchain technology. In a poll conducted by IDG Connect which 516 European IT experts across several industries including retail, health, and finance participated. 38 percent of the respondents said blockchain would have a very big effect on them as experts. Other research shows that blockchain technology could transform other areas like supply chain management.
Major firms such as Baidu, Microsoft, and IBM offer blockchain-as-a-service, while companies such as Samsung, FedEx, British Airways, and Maersk are looking for ways to take advantage of blockchain technology in the processes of their business.
Challenges of Finding Blockchain Talent
The market is trying to fill in the gap for this new demand. Skills index of upworks – which rates the fastest developing skills freelancers are adding to their collection – blockchain is the second while Bitcoin is the third fastest-growing skill last year.
Because this is a new and highly required skillset, it will be difficult for supply to meet up with demand. With new technology comes a new set of development tools, and blockchain is not left out. For instance, building Dapps for Ethereum requires the use of Solidity (a new Java-based language) plus its own development environment, framework, compiler, testing and scripting tools.
Finding Blockchain Talent and Skills
What skills should you look out for when searching for someone to lead your blockchain-based project? They need a fundamental knowledge of the technology, they have to understand what blockchain is: what are blocks, what’s in the blocks, what’s a transaction, and how transactions are carried out – said Trew. You also need to look for developers that understand your industry, your product, and your market.
Princess Ogono is a writer, lawyer and fitness enthusiast. She believes cryptocurrencies are the future. When she's not writing, she spends time with her adorable cat, Ginger and works out often.
