SolarWinds: Challenges, Opportunities for MSPs in Tech Skills Shortage

… carve time out for the additional training and professional development they need to keep pace with enterprise technology. Eighty-three percent say their day-to-day IT tasks eat into time they set aside to learn new skills.

Expedient’s Jon Rosenson

Time is certainly an issue for many MSPs, whose founders and CEOs often wear too many hats to devote precious hours to additional, time-intensive training. But for those shops that can make it work, there’s real opportunity in the skills development frustrations of both in-house IT professionals and competitor partners as businesses look for sources of advanced capabilities. Making investments in existing staff professional development can often be far less expensive than hiring talent with the desired skills, as well, adding one last big incentive for MSPs to buckle down and smarten up.

Training and skill development is an important attribute of the workplace experience at managed service provider Expedient, which is also No. 7 in the 2018 MSP 501 rankings.

“We’ve established a robust learning and development program that encourages our team members to participate in training and certification that’s relevant to their current role, or to one for which they aspire,” says Jon Rosenson, senior VP of strategic initiatives at Expedient. “We also have a tuition reimbursement program for individuals pursuing a degree while they’re working. We find that some of our most successful leaders in the organization adapt well to continuous change and embrace the opportunity to explore new technology and approaches to challenges.