tech_talent.pngMany companies’ main technology-related challenge involves a lack of qualified tech candidates — which organizations need on hand, according to a new report, to fully benefit from advancements ranging from robots to artificial intelligence.

The workplace’s digital talent woes may continue for more than a decade, according to a Boston Consulting Group forecast.

To meter the affect, the consultancy recommends companies build new pools of potential digital hires and work to help current employees add new digital skills.

Employees with marketable digital skills stand to have the biggest impact in six distinct operational areas, according to BCG, including digital business, which involves experts generating ideas for new digital business models; digital marketing, in which professionals identify the ideal digital channels to use to approach customers, and digital development, which involves building those channels.

Digital talent will likely also play an important role in advanced analytics work in which professionals aggregate data to assess what customers want; industry 4.0 work, which involves partnering with the manufacturing side to create new products — and in finding new ways of working that improve overall efficiency and transform organizational culture.

To recruit qualified workers, BCG suggests it’s crucial companies understand the entrepreneurial, creative and collaborative mindset of the digital employee. For more on anticipated digital business needs and future digital skills demand, download the full report.