The recently released Info-Tech IT Talent Trends report outlined how AI is changing the game for hiring and training IT talent in ways that MSPs experience every day.
“The year 2025 brought unprecedented rapid change, from surging skills gaps to the rise of embedded AI, forcing a re-evaluation of how IT organizations attract, develop, and retain talent,” the report said.
In its report, Info-Tech Research Group pointed to an IDC stat that said 90% of organizations will feel the impact of the IT skills shortage by this year. As a result of this shortage, it now takes more than three months to fill most IT roles and more than five for critical roles such as AI and cybersecurity.
New IT hires take 6 to 12 months to reach full productivity. Some may take up to three years. Most (54%) of the CIOs in Info-Tech’s Future of IT survey said staffing/talent deficits impede strategic goals, and 94% identify staff sufficiency, skill, and engagement as their top pain point. The report said IT leaders need “future-ready talent strategies” to address these shifts.
We spoke to some of the largest MSPs about how the AI era has changed the ways they hire and train staff. They emphasize the importance of training employees to learn new roles and also finding the right type of employees for today’s IT world.
“Upskilling is huge, it's almost an expectation,” TPx chief marketing officer Adeel Omer said. “And we're just hiring differently, we're not hiring the same kinds of people. The structures of the teams are different, the hierarchy is different, the makeup is different. People are thirsty for growth and development. That's the kind of employee you want in your organization anyway. We live in the tech space, which is constantly changing anyway. That's just par for the course.”
“AI is this force multiplier in terms of certain skill sets,” New Era EVP and CTO Jaie Solis said. “It lets us shift our priorities from specific roles to focusing on the folks that are really more on the model building side of the business. That's where the challenge is -- finding the folks there. We can shift [priorities] to these roles that are more urgent in the AI space.”
Scott Steele, COO of Thrive, said Thrive’s frequent acquisitions help bring in new talent but the MSP also places a great deal of emphasis on employee development.
“We have a 95% retention rate over the course of the first 12 months [after an acquisition] and we utilize that as a funnel,” he said.
But he said Thrive also counts more on younger employees to step up faster than in the past.
“Historically, you'd see a longer runway for them to learn the business,” he said. “Now we see some really talented people very quickly get up to speed, and whether it's for deployed engineer or other kind of capability sets as we move into AI. The skill sets are slightly different.”
Abacus Information Technology is another MSP portfolio company that has relied on M&A. Abacus CEO Anthony D'Ambrosi calls M&A “one of the more expensive ways to acquire talent” but he agrees that AI has changed skill sets that MSPs require.
“We are service providers first and foremost,” D’Ambrosi said. “Critical thinking is becoming as important if not more important than IQ and technical certifications, especially in an AI-driven world. Finding the right service outcome to align with what the client is looking for is becoming more and more critical in our world as we move forward with the MSP model.”
Vinod Paul, president of managed services for Align, said his company emphasized AI expertise early on.
“We've been able to identify great AI talent early on in our journey and we’ve made sure to develop those individuals,” Paul said. “We make sure that strong systems engineers can elevate themselves, become security analysts and become business analysts through leveraging AI. One of the things that we're really proud of is our low attrition rate.
“AI consultants are the big missing pieces for a lot of MSPs because that role didn’t exist a few years ago. We’ve enabled individuals to fill that AI business consultant role.”