Blockchain is the Most Requested “Hard Skill” for 2020, LinkedIn Report

From research recently carried out by a LinkedIn branch dedicated to training, blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) will be the most requested hard skill this year (2020).

Fresh arrival in the list of the highly requested hard skills published annually by LinkedIn Learning, DLT or blockchain tech was immediately positioned in the first position and managed to outperforms other bigger technologies including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) in this year.

DLT-as-a-skill has overcome the hard skills historically highly requested by employers around the globe, such as the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, AI, analytical reasoning, plus user experience design.

The researchers had published an analogous ranking also in 2019, in which blockchain technology was not even present. And at that time, cloud computing was ranked in the first position "The skills that companies will greatly hunt for in 2019, and how best they can be learned."

A Question of Supply and Demand

According to the report, the actual request for these skills in the field of work was calculated by examining supply and demand. Particularly, the demand was determined by finding the services and skills recorded on the LinkedIn profiles of the individuals best frequently hired.

The article further underlined the enormous potential of the DLT, that allows users to create extremely secure, fast and cheap distributed databases. A lot of high profile companies, including IBM, Oracle, JPMorgan, Amazon and Microsoft, are actively trying to implement the blockchain and other distributed technologies within their systems.

In addition, LinkedIn advises employers to seriously consider blockchain technologies for their businesses. The DLT arose from the once dark world of cryptocurrencies, becoming a corporate solution in pursuit of teething troubles. This means that it is not necessary to operate in the financial services sector to seek new employees with experience and expertise in the use of the DLT.

Therefore, employers must familiarize themselves with the functioning of the blockchain, with the potential benefits offered by it and with the most suitable individuals to help the firm delve into this new groundbreaking technology.