How to use tech career roadmaps to identify skills gaps and empower growth

There’s a wide range of tech jobs, career entry points, and development opportunities. Keeping track of it all can be a challenge. That’s why we created the tech career roadmaps.

These job guides—organized by domain—list major career paths, including each role’s key responsibilities, required skills, salary information, and promotion opportunities.

While we created these roadmaps with individual contributors and aspiring technologists in mind, they’re also valuable resources for managers, learning and development (L&D) or HR professionals, and anyone responsible for talent development in their organization. Here’s how they can help upskill employees.

• AI career roadmap

• Cloud computing career roadmap

• Cybersecurity career roadmap

• Data career roadmap

• Software development career roadmap

• L&D career roadmap

If you create or support your organization’s tech skill development strategy, you can use the career roadmaps to:

• Build a skill taxonomy. Use the information listed in the roadmaps to compile the capabilities, qualifications, and experience each role in your organization needs to achieve business goals.

• Uncover skills gaps. Note any capabilities your current teams are missing and develop tailored upskilling initiatives to fill those gaps.

• Create career ladders. Use the roadmaps as a reference when designing your organization’s promotion pathways.

Most employees want growth opportunities, but they don’t always know where to start.

The job guides can show them a way forward, helping them identify new interests or promotion pathways. If someone doesn’t know what their next move should be, share the roadmaps with them as a jumping off point for deeper discussion. 

When you meet, ask follow-up questions like:

• What role is most aligned with the work you’re currently doing? What career promotion pathways are available? What lateral moves can you make?

• Are there any skills, tools, or technologies that you’re interested in learning?

• Do any roles sound like a good fit for your skills or experience? Which ones? 

• Which roles do you want to learn more about? 

Based on your discussion, work with them to set an achievable goal aligned with their interests. Then come up with an action plan together to help them take the next step.

In most cases, upskilling current employees is the most effective way to fill open positions. But sometimes, you need to hire someone new. If you don’t have a technical background, developing accurate job descriptions can be a challenge. 

The career roadmaps list core competencies and experience needed for each role. While you’ll still need to consult with internal experts and conduct market research, you can use this information as a starting point to craft accurate job postings and find qualified candidates.

If you or your employees aren’t sure how to turn the roadmaps into concrete action, consider using skill assessments.

There are different types of skill assessments, but in general, they identify an individual's strengths, weaknesses, and skills gaps. This allows you to create custom skill development initiatives that address those needs. It also helps employees understand their current skillsets and what they need to achieve their goals or take the next step along these career roadmaps.

Learn how to assess your team’s technical capabilities without stressing them out.

Career roadmaps are handy tools for people looking to break into tech, snag a promotion, or transition to a new role. But they’re also helpful references for managers and L&D professionals who create or support employee growth and development initiatives.

If you’re ready to turn the career roadmaps into an actionable upskilling strategy, check out the Tech Upskilling Playbook. Inside, you’ll find seven strategies to align skill development with business goals and deliver measurable results.