In the ever-evolving world of data analytics and technology, skillsets are the compass guiding businesses toward success. More often, companies sell ingenuity through ideas, features and virtual products rather than physical goods.

It is imperative, therefore, to discuss the intersection between the supply of capable talent and commensurate market demand — in the immediate term and into the future.

“I think it’s been about a year of discussions, and I think a year of real change from that kind of post-COVID crazy market, where people can’t hire enough to the kind of point we find ourselves now, which maybe is a bit more normal now versus maybe six, seven months ago,” said Alex Hutchings (pictured), co-founder of Dataworks Group Ltd.

Hutchings spoke with analyst Rob Strechay, during the latest AnalystANGLE segment on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed evolving trends in the data market’s skillset needs, highlighting shifts in hiring dynamics, the resurgence of hybrid work models, demand for niche specializations and prospects for the future.

The skillsets in demand: Niche specializations and emerging roles

A changing enterprise landscape has turned the hiring focus toward certain in-demand data skillsets. One key trend is the increasing need for machine learning engineers with experience in fine-tuning language models. This niche skillset has become pivotal as companies seek to adapt pre-existing artificial intelligence models to their unique needs, according to Hutchings.

“We’ve seen a big push towards the infrastructure-led data roles — DataOps is becoming a thing; ML ops is hugely in demand,” he said. “I think it’s been a realignment — companies and teams got too big, and their analytics and data teams got too fat. But now companies have taken stock and think, ‘Hang on a minute. Do we need three engineers for that?'”

Additionally, there’s a shift from the broad title of “data scientist” to more specialized roles, such as experts in computer vision and AI. Candidates with deep domain knowledge within their respective fields are now at the forefront of demand, he added.

The road ahead: Anticipating trends for the future

Being an analyst segment, there was a back-and-forth of educated guesses and insights regarding future skills and hiring trends in the data industry. First, there’ll likely be a more confident market in the coming months, with companies increasingly willing to hire and grow their teams. However, the caution learned from the tumultuous past year will likely lead to a more measured approach to hiring and a focus on innovation, a point agreed upon by both Strechay and Hutchings.

Second, the hybrid work model isn’t going anywhere, despite companies grappling with the decision of whether to mandate a return to the office or embrace a hybrid approach. The consensus, however, is that hybrid work is making a strong comeback, catering to both employees’ desire for flexibility and companies’ need for in-person collaboration.

“It’d be interesting to see where this lands though,” Hutchings noted. “There will be those companies that will sweep up by saying fully remote, high comp, amazing benefits, but a lot of candidates as well. I think it’s worth saying they want to come into hybrid offices.”

Here’s the complete AnalystANGLE segment:

Photo: SiliconANGLE