CIOs set talent strategies for a future-ready IT workforce

Years ago, when he transitioned an IT department from an on-premises data center to the cloud, CIO Jaime Smith anticipated the disruption his workers would face.

He saw it as an inflexion point, where workers would have to make a leap from managing traditional tech infrastructure to a code-first environment. He put some 70 engineers through an internal boot camp to help them make the shift. But only a third succeeded in “crossing the chasm,” Smith says. About a third left right away, and the other third tried but ultimately didn’t succeed.

“With the emergence of AI, I view the moment we’re in in a similar way,” says Smith, now CIO of the University of Phoenix.

So he’s getting himself, his leadership team, and his workforce ready for a future that will require different skills, perform tasks in different ways, and take on new roles.

He started in May, holding a planning session with his senior people and an HR partner, where they strategized about “getting the workforce AI ready” — a discussion prompted in part by seeing a slower-than-expected embrace of AI tools for everyday work.

They also talked about how to know “what good looks like in people who thrive in an AI world.”

And they discussed how to move faster, cultivate a growth mindset, and teach the competencies needed in the future.

This summer Smith hosted a two-day, onsite, AI-focused training program dubbed “Technopalooza,” with a track for “makers” (those who spend most of their time in development) and for “shapers” (product managers, agile people leaders, UX professionals, and others). The second day featured a hackathon where teams made up of workers from both tracks collaborated — a move reflecting Smith’s belief that in the future “the siloes between roles will become more porous and evaporate.”

In the coming quarter Smith is requiring every staffer to spend four hours a week in training.

“This is the investment we’re making in staff as a whole,” he says, explaining it’s part of the university’s EmpowerAI initiative that aims to elevate the AI literacy of every worker.

A work landscape in flux

The World Economic Forum in its Future of Jobs Report 2025 predicts that there will be a net creation of 78 million jobs globally by 2030 — good news for those who fear AI will lead to mass unemployment.

But the report also predicts a rocky road ahead, as technology will also displace existing roles. Researchers predict that five key drivers, of which technology is one, will create 170 million jobs but will displace 92 million jobs.

It also estimates that nearly 40% of workers’ core skills are expected to change by 2030.

Tech is among the sectors set to gain jobs: The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that “overall employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations from 2023 to 2033 [with] about 356,700 openings each year on average in these occupations due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupations permanently.”

CompTIA also predicts job growth in the space, with positions within IT growing at varying rates. In its 2025 State of the Tech Workforce report, the IT training and certification organization estimates data scientist and data analysts roles will grow 414% above the national average, while tech support specialist jobs will grow at 28% above the national average.

But like the World Economic Forum, CompTIA also notes how technology — AI specifically — will impact the types of jobs: “Mirroring the pattern of prior disruptive technologies, there are three primary dimensions of AI-induced change to the workforce: 1. New jobs will be created, 2. Jobs will be displaced, and 3. Jobs will change,” the report states.

That can make it hard to plan.

“The future is uncertain, and that makes it hard to say this is what we need to do to prepare,” says Sibyl McCarley, chief people officer at tech company Hirevue. “The important thing is making sure your people are curious, agile, and adaptable and really focusing on skills development, especially in technology where everything is evolving at such a rapid pace.”

Forward-looking CIOs share similar outlooks on what the IT workforce of the future needs to be, and they have a range of strategies to help them get workers who will have the attributes, competencies, and skills they believe they’ll need.

Building and buying tomorrow’s skills and talent

Consider Jennifer Manry’s take on what’s ahead and the strategies she’s using to ensure her workforce is future ready.

“The future of IT requires a mindset shift that blends technical fluency with curiosity, adaptability, and ethical awareness; beyond pilots and experiments, organizations must redesign work by forming a cross-functional team to target high‑value use cases and ask the right questions, building acumen with robust change management to avoid ‘organ rejection,’ and aligning incentives and performance systems to sustain responsible AI adoption and continuous improvement,” says Manry, divisional CIO for corporate systems at investment company Vanguard.

She envisions a future state where “development will increasingly be a collaborative, AI-assisted process where business and IT co-create solutions.”

“AI will accelerate coding through intelligent suggestions and autonomous agents, while low-code/no-code platforms will empower business users to build and iterate quickly. This ‘vibe coding’ model — where teams work side by side in real-time — will blur traditional roles and speed up innovation,” she explains. “Our workforce will need to be fluent in business language, capable of shaping strategy, and ready to govern AI responsibly. The lines between IT and business will blur, and that’s a good thing. Success will depend on AI/ML fluency, prompt engineering, API integration, and a stronger understanding of data governance across roles.”

She says workers “will need to be adaptable; excited by new tools, techniques, and ways of working; and willing to pivot quickly as technology evolves.”

They will also still need the problem-solving, stewardship, and collaboration skills essential for IT jobs now.

Manry, like other CIOs, is focusing on getting employees trained, notably in gen AI skills. She’s also seeking to embed continuous learning into the company’s culture, noting that Vanguard uses technology to recommend personalized learning journeys based on demonstrated skills and aspirations. The company is also “fostering communities of practice where crew can learn from each other and experiment safely.”

Part of her strategy also includes bringing in new talent, noting that the company is “recruiting product managers, AI specialists, and cross-functional technologists who can bridge business and tech.”

A shift from specialization to an architecting mindset

Todd Hale, CIO of software company ConnectWise, believes, like Smith, that the work world is at an inflection point. “We’re in the middle of a shift,” he says.

He believes that the days of IT needing, rewarding, and promoting IT specialists are waning. He envisions a future where IT will instead value technologists who can work across disciplines using AI and other tools.

“We’re still in the space where we reward that specialization, but there is a recognition that specialization is going to be commoditized,” he says. “So we will need someone who understands what needs to be accomplished, not someone who can only work to produce a piece of the outcome. We need to look for someone who understands the end-to-end process, versus their specific piece of the process.”

That will require people who are collaborative but also who have a collection of skills that are siloed today. He expects to shed the multiple titles that populate the IT department and have more workers hold a broad, encompassing title such as engineer.

He also sees fewer developers on IT teams, replaced by a small number of architects or engineers who oversee AI agents producing code.

Hale believes the workers who will do well now and in the future are those who are intellectually inquisitive and who focus more on desired outcomes and how best to get there, rather than the existing processes.

He’s building to that future state by “seeding the organization with these architect roles,” with the expectation that these workers who have broader skill sets will show others how to work across IT disciplines. He’s also leaning on traditional workforce development tactics, such as bringing in emerging tools and training workers on them as well as leveraging partners to help upskill his employees.

Multipronged approach to being future-ready

Beth Clark, CIO of Harvard Business School, also sees the IT worker of the future needing a blend of competencies, specifically technical fluency, business acumen, and adaptability.

Clark believes tactical, repetitive work in IT will someday be a thing of the past, with technology augmenting or fully automating it. “What remains is the work that requires human judgment, context, and creativity,” she says. “IT teams should be co-creating business outcomes and experiences alongside domain experts.”

She sees the rise of gen AI and agentic AI, the convergence of IT and business strategy, and the acceleration of cloud, data, and security demands as the factors driving the evolving competencies that IT workers will need to have in the years ahead.

To ensure the HBS IT team has what it will need, Clark says she’s taking several delivery steps.

One is upskilling her current team.

Second is evolving roles and structures. “As we introduce new capabilities across campus, we are proactively reshaping roles and organizational structures to align with where the institution is headed, not just where it has been,” she explains. “At the same time, we are shifting our focus beyond static roles toward flexible capability ecosystems by prioritizing the core competencies and cross-functional agility that will enable us to adapt continuously.”

Third is advancing the talent roadmap, which includes intentional career pathing, internal mobility, and succession planning.

These translate into concrete actions, Clark explains.

For existing staff, it means personalized learning plans based on skill gaps and interest areas; stretch assignments across departments and functional units; and experimentation and learning.

And when hiring, Clark is increasingly seeking hybrid skill sets, “people who combine strategic thinking and a deep understanding of customer experience with strong technical acumen.”

Clark is also taking steps to increase AI and data literacy among her team members, promote cross-functional collaboration, and encourage agility and continuous learning.

“In an environment defined by constant change and growing ambiguity, we need technology professionals who are eager to learn, unlearn, and re-learn throughout their careers,” she says. “Curiosity and adaptability aren’t nice-to-haves; they’re core competencies. The most valuable staff are those who see change as an invitation to grow.”