National Tech-Training Nonprofit, NPower, Releases Survey of CIOs and Tech Executives that Forecasts Hiring Trends, Corporate Investments and Work-from-Home Practices


“This feedback from our board members and advisors is encouraging. Technology will lead the economic rebound, providing much-needed job opportunities for the communities we serve.” ~Bertina Ceccarelli, CEO of NPower

One of the country’s largest free tech training programs, ​NPower, has released a survey of CIOs and executives from a wide swath of sectors, detailing their views on the tech labor market, hiring, corporate investments and work-from-home practices over the next 6-18 months.

The survey involved 75 CIOs and tech executives from the financial services, consultancy and technology industry. Survey participants sit on the national board or regional board of NPower.

The CEO of NPower, Bertina Ceccarelli, said the purpose of the survey was to anticipate future hiring needs of entry-level tech talent across industries as the economy enters the next phase of COVID-19 and recovery.

The survey revealed that cloud support and cybersecurity will be the tech jobs most in demand over the next 6-18 months, followed by remote trouble-shooting IT and IT generalist positions.


  • 100 percent of participants need for cloud support skills will be very important.
  • 98 percent said need for cybersecurity talent will be important or extremely important.
  • 95 percent of participants said remote troubleshooting IT will be important.
  • 91 percent believe IT generalist positions will be important or somewhat important.


Other findings in the survey include:

  • 96 percent expect more Americans to work from home post pandemic.
  • 64% agree or strongly agree that they will look to improve business continuity by diversifying their outsourced IT services to include both domestic and overseas providers.


“We are already seeing major tech companies like Google and Amazon offer their employees the option to remain remote for the rest of 2020, our advisors believe this trend will become more commonplace across industries” says Bertina Ceccarelli. “We are fortunate to have engagement from companies as diverse and Dell, World Wide Technology, Citi, Accenture, Bank of America, Deloitte and Broadridge. This engagement is critical for our training and job placement model.”

Nearly 70% of survey respondents report there will be continued or increased corporate investment in upskilling and training for new IT skills post-COVID. Most executives acknowledge that hiring for entry-level IT positions will be slow for the remainder of 2020.

“The health crisis has significantly impacted companies around the world,” says Matt Horner, Senior Vice President, Global Enterprise Sales at World Wide Technology and NPower Board Vice Chair, “but all signs point to a pick-up in hiring for technology positions in first half of 2021.”

“All of our NPower board members and advisors have their pulse on the economy, labor market and the future hiring practices,” said Ceccarelli. “We wanted to hear directly from them on what their tech-related hiring needs will be over the next 6-18 months. NPower also wanted to learn which IT jobs will be most in demand post COVID-19. The results give us a deep perspective on where the tech jobs are headed for different industries.”

The survey also looked at future hiring trends from both domestic and overseas vendors. Roughly 64 percent of US-based companies said they strongly agree or agree that their company will increasingly look to mitigate risk and protect business continuity by diversifying IT services firms to include both domestic and overseas vendors.

Ceccarelli said the survey results will help NPower adapt their approach to tech talent placement from their current class of young adults and veterans across the country.

“NPower listens intently to the business community in order to train for the most relevant, in-demand skills,” said Ceccarelli. “This feedback from our board members and advisors is encouraging. Technology will lead the economic rebound, providing much-needed job opportunities for the communities we serve.”

About NPower

NPower is a national nonprofit on a mission to move people from poverty to the middle class by training youth from underserved communities and veterans in a range of tech skills and placing them in quality jobs. Students who enter their free, six-month program, earn industry-recognized certifications and graduate with the competencies of an IT professional with one to two years of experience. NPower also places students in paid internships with corporate and nonprofit organizations. Eighty percent of NPower graduates get a full-time job or continue their education. Not only is NPower changing life trajectories for individuals from vulnerable communities but they are also strengthening the overall competitiveness of U.S. businesses hamstrung by today’s limited pool of IT talent. NPower’s free tech training programs for under-served communities are located in Brooklyn, Harlem, Baltimore, Jersey City, Newark, Detroit, Dallas, St. Louis and San Francisco. To learn more about NPower, visit http://www.npower.org.

Media Contact

Mark Macias

Email: mmm@maciaspr.com

Phone: 646-770-0541

Share article on social media or email:

Leave a Reply