PREDICTIONS 2015: IT WORKFORCE

2015 promises to be a banner year for IT workers. Experts weigh in on the biggest trends, technology and strategies that will make an impact on hiring and recruiting in 2015.

Every new year brings a unique set of challenges and opportunities for IT workers as existing technologies evolve and new technologies emerge. The first half of 2015 looks promising based on these six predictions from career experts.

Prediction 1: Expect Hiring Explosion in Q1 and Q2

The forecast for the first half of 2015 looks bright for IT workers. Eighty-seven percent of 2,400 CIOs say they will add more staff, whether to fill vacant roles or new positions. With that expected hiring boom, it's likely salaries will increase for existing workers, or they'll receive a bevy of new benefits.

Prediction 2: Companies Will Leverage Mobile and Social Networks to Recruit Passive Talent

"Social recruiting is yesterday's news -- all serious recruiters are already deeply networked through social channels. If Facebook unveils rumored job search function -- the so-called 'Linked-in killer' -- this could change, but for now even new anonymous job search tools aren't likely to change the landscape in favor of one network or another. The new paradigm for 2015 is using social networks and mobile tech to increase connections with passive candidates, which will also serve to drive up salaries.

Prediction 3: Increased Focus on Employee Engagement and Retention

The upward pressure on salaries and benefits will make it necessary for companies to employ better engagement and retention strategies, at least if they want to hold onto elite talent already in their ranks. "[Rising salaries and benefits] will likely lead to a lot of 'job hopping,' and, as we've seen before, to avoid this, companies are going to start emphasizing retention as well as placing a premium on potential employees who display loyalty and longevity.

Prediction 4: Emphasis on Education and Training

Education and training will be a major focus for 2015, especially for millennials. "When you invest in training your people, you're providing them with skills and tools they can not only use today, but also continue to draw upon throughout their career.

For the newer generation entering the workforce, engagement isn't just about having a ping-pong table in your office or hosting happy hours after work. "It's about knowing that as the company grows, so will they. It's about creating an environment that encourages active participation and engagement. It's about providing rewarding opportunities like being selected to serve as campus ambassadors to represent the company at their alma maters and teaching training courses that give back to the employee community.

Prediction 5: Employees Shift Focus from Full-time Work to Contracting/Freelancing

"During the last hot employment market, we saw an increase in IT contracting and we expect that trend to return. "A strong IT professional can do very well contracting -- making a higher hourly rate than they would make as a full-time employee -- and they can move from project to project every few months and take time off in between. It's a very attractive model for some employees. Employers would be smart to consider laying in some contract staff in addition to their full-time employees, especially for very hard-to-find or niche requirements.

"The global economy in general is moving to a contract or freelance workforce. It's now a $1 billion worldwide market, and projected to be $5 billion in the next five years.

"The flexibility benefits for both employees and employers are hard to beat; the ability to find exactly the talent you need for exactly the job you need them for is one of the drivers, as well as the desire for specialization without having to pay a premium long-term for a full-time employee.

Prediction 6: HR Department Turn to Big Data

Big data will play a big role in the employment landscape in 2015 as HR departments try to leverage data and translate it in ways that are meaningful to employees.

Using Big Data from employees can be helpful in determining who they should be connecting with on their career path, what skills and education might be valuable to them, what information they need and how better to improve their performance.