30.9% of Software Engineers cited Web 3.0 as one of the hottest trends in their industry.
They aren’t alone – Web 3.0 is one of the most anticipated changes permeating multiple industries.
As multiple digital advances continue to impact the way we work, they also impact the skills that will rise in demand and the areas of interest for tech candidates, changing the way that many tech businesses recruit.
After all, in such a competitive industry, tech businesses want to be ahead of the curve rather than waiting for the change to mature and the interest to increase the already significant competitiveness of the current hiring market.
What is Web 3.0, and how is it impacting your tech recruitment efforts?
You might not have heard specifically of Web 3.0… but you’ve probably heard of plenty of areas related to it.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrency, blockchain-based technology, Machine Learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) - these are all areas of Web 3.0.
Web 3.0 is a new iteration of the World Wide Web, based on blockchain technology and incorporating decentralisation and token-based economics.
Put simply, while Web 2.0 relied on a form of centralised database to deliver data and functionality, Web 3.0 will use a decentralised blockchain with the potential for technologies and communities to operate under a form of self-governance, rather than a central authority.
There is also the role of cryptocurrency, with the ability to pay for goods and services through decentralised forms of payment being another key component of Web 3.0, alongside the use of IPv6 due to the massive growth of the web and the necessity for more internet addresses.
Skills associated with Web 3.0 – though this development is still in its infancy and expected to take at least 10 years to fully implement, much as with Web 2.0 – are in high demand, with over 20,000 Indeed vacancies for skills associated with Web 3.0 in the UK alone.
Though the changes resulting from Web 3.0 may take years to materialise, the demand for candidates with Web 3.0 skills is only increasing.
The Web 3.0 developer community is currently small, with 18,000 active developers working on open source Web 3.0 and crypto projects today, with 65% of active developers in Web 3.0 having joined in 2021, and 45% of full-time developers having joined in 2021.
Demand for Web 3.0 candidates has increased 67% since the start of 2021, according to Hired, with an upward trend for Blockchain Engineers as a sub-role, seeing the greatest year-on-year growth and the highest increase in salary.
Though these trends show a definite increase in the interest in Web 3.0, the available talent isn’t increasing quite as quickly, meaning that those who want to hire talent in this area will have to offer a comprehensive range of benefits and know exactly where to look.
In the past, experience was the cornerstone for any good tech hire.
Whether through academic background or previous roles, experience was often the primary deciding factor for finding an ideal tech candidate - but this could be set to change.
Academic background is still considered an important element of tech recruitment, for both hiring managers and tech employees themselves, with 85% of professional developers feeling that formal education is somewhat important.
However, change is occurring.
Many tech employees are self-taught to some degree, and Gen Z tech employees are more likely than previous generations to learn skills from bootcamps, rather than on-the-job training.
Smaller companies are also more likely to hire developers without a degree, following significant changes such as tech giants like Google, Apple, and IBM lifting their 4-year degree requirements.
32% of developers at small companies haven’t obtained a Bachelor’s degree, in comparison to 91% of developers at large companies who have obtained a Bachelor’s degree or higher. As Web 3.0 continues to garner interest, it is likely that more employers will focus on skills rather than traditional academic backgrounds to be able to secure the best, and often self-trained, talent.
For candidates across industries, the potential for growth and continual learning is beneficial, but for tech candidates, it’s practically a must.
For such a fast-paced and frequently changing industry, continual learning and a growth mindset are absolutely critical.
According to the 2021 State of Tech Salaries report by Hired, tech talent with four or less years of experience list professional growth as the fourth most important factor in accepting a role.
\
New challenges were also ranked by tech job seekers as a top reason to leave a role in the next 12 months, showing that in the pursuit of growth and opportunities, candidate priorities are shifting.
Unlike many other industries, tech is also built on a foundation of continual learning – rarely will an employee enter the industry with a skillset and not expand on and adapt it later on.
With Web 3.0 only rising in popularity, it is likely that even more candidates will value work that challenges them and promotes their growth even more.
Millennials and Gen Z are soon to make up a large percentage of the workforce, and their priorities, ways of working, and values are vastly different from the generations before them.
The way that Web 3.0 companies will operate aligns with many of these values – collaboration, reciprocity, feeling valued – and thus will attract a different generation of candidates.
This also opens the door to a new range of employee benefits that employers can implement to attract Millennial and Gen Z candidates, such as shared equity tokens to act as an incentive.
As the first true digital natives, Gen Z will undoubtedly impact the trajectory of Web 3.0 and how tech grows and adapts, and thus, will also be a key target for companies looking to hire Web 3.0 talent.
Though it will be some time before the full extent of Web 3.0 is uncovered, the demand is high for talent with Web 3.0 skills to move with the trend early, rather than join ‘too late’.
For tech companies looking to recruit, this means a few significant changes, such as the stiff competition for Web 3.0 talent, the necessity to hire for skillsets rather than just traditional academic backgrounds, and the generational shift in tech.
Regardless of which route companies take toward Web 3.0, it’s clear that the demand is only going to increase, so it’s better to take action sooner rather than later if you want to stay ahead of the competition.
Get in touch today to discuss your tech recruitment needs with the Remit Resources team.