About a year ago, the world came to a standstill as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe. Around this time in 2020, a national lockdown was announced in our country, changing the world as we know it.
To facilitate minimum human contact, everything went digital. From ordering groceries and medicines to meetings and weddings, all could be done from behind a screen.
With such massive digital transformation, the demand for skilled IT professionals rose, and is at an all-time high today, resulting in a robust demand for IT professionals with expertise in various skills and frameworks.
So, we used Skills Trends to identify the trending IT skills that are in high demand in the current scenario and found some skills that emerged victorious amidst the pandemic.
In this blog, we discuss 9 IT Framework Skills that have seen a skyrocketing demand in the past year and are highly sought after by IT recruiters.
These skills had a minimum growth of 30% in Feb’21 viz-a-viz Feb’20 and have the potential to be your next career move.
Let’s get started!
1. NET Core
An advanced version of the .NET framework, .NET Core is an open-source development platform developed by Microsoft.
It is a free, general-purpose, cross-platform framework that is compatible with operating systems like macOS, Linux, and Windows.
This framework is used in building various types of applications like web applications, cloud applications, game applications, mobile applications, microservices, machine learning, etc.
The main reason behind its creation was to have a framework that can function on all platforms, and be used as a server backdoor or a front-end platform. Since .NET Core is written from scratch, the framework can function across platforms, is quick and lightweight.
Among its top features, .NET Core flaunts robust base class libraries, easy-to-use async pattern, automatic memory management, language-integrated queries, package management, shared binaries across multiple frameworks, etc.
This framework is extremely popular in the IT sector. According to a survey on popular frameworks by New Dev, .NET Core ranked 3rd, and we are not surprised.
We witnessed a massive 194% increase in the number of searches for the .NET Core framework amongst recruiters as we recorded 74,533 searches for candidates with this skill in February 2021, contrary to a mere 38,434 in February 2020.
With such impressive numbers, it's safe to say that the .NET Core is a great skill to learn, and with expertise in it, increases your chances of getting a great job manifold.
2. Vue.js
The second framework skill that withstood the test of time in the past year is Vue.js, a progressive Javascript framework used for building user interfaces.
It can be used to develop one-page applications, desktop/mobile applications, and web interfaces.
Vue.js, unlike other monolithic frameworks, is designed to be highly adaptable and has a core library based on the view layer, making it simple to choose and integrate with existing projects and libraries.
But this is not the only reason behind the popularity of Vue.js. It is designed to make development easy and problem-free and has a gentle learning curve.
It displays high performance and is lightweight, flexible, and modular. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that 43% of Front-End Developers want to learn Vue.js, and we think it is a great idea.
Based on the Skills trends report, there has been a 54% increase in recruiters looking for candidates with expertise in Vue.js.
Anyone planning to upskill must consider Vue.js as it is a great framework to learn and can reap several benefits in the current scenario.
3. Spring Boot
One of the best skills to develop for software engineers and developers is Spring Boot. It is a Java-based framework with an open-source, used to create a microservice.
Spring Boot can help you build stand-alone spring applications that are ready for production. But the main function of the Spring Boot framework is to minimise the time spent in development, and increase efficiency through a default setup for unit and integration tests.
Spring Boot is a popular framework, and there are many reasons for it.
It follows a dependency injection approach that enables developers to write testable codes. It is easy to use and can carry out powerful database transaction management.
With simplified integration with Java frameworks like ORM, Struts/JSF/, JPA/Hibernate, Spring Boot seems to be the popular choice amongst recruiters as the searches for candidates skilled in Spring Boot witnessed a magnificent rise of 52% in February 2021, viz-a-viz February 2020.
4. FLASK
Flux Advanced Security Kernel, commonly called FLASK, is a microframework written in Python. It is a third-party Python library that enables web application development.
Unlike other frameworks, it is categorized as a microframework since it does not need any specific libraries or tools to function.
The microframework supports extensions and application features and is based on its template engine- Jinja 2 and Werkzeug.
This web application framework is used to compile various libraries and modules, enabling the developers to design web applications without low-level codes.
With popular companies like Netflix and Reddit using this framework for their operations, FLASK has gained tremendous popularity over the past year.
No wonder the career prospects demanding employees skilled in FLASK have also grown exponentially over the past year.
According to recruiter searches on Naukri, there is a 50% rise in the demand for people skilled in the FLASK framework, with a whopping increase in recruiter searches in the domain rising to 19,621 in February 2021, from just 13,065 in February 2020.
5. Kubernetes
Irrespective of your knowledge about the IT sector, the one name you must have probably heard of is Kubernetes. The reason behind its popularity is that it is one of the fastest-growing skills for software engineers.
It is an extensible and portable open-source container that enables you to deploy containers to a scalable cluster and automate containerized workloads.
Kubernetes can be used to handle data center outsourcing to cloud service providers and large-scale web hosting. It facilitates declarative automation and configuration and has a large ecosystem that is rapidly expanding.
Due to its popularity, the support, services, and tools for Kubernetes are widely available, which is why it has attracted major interest from both employers and interested job seekers.
According to Connor Gilbert, Senior Product Manager at StackRox,
Kubernetes can be complicated when you first approach it, so recruiting someone who already knows Kubernetes can help your whole team get up to speed faster.
And if you're already using Kubernetes, your new hire will integrate into the existing team faster if they already have experience.
This is probably why the demand for people with specialization in Kubernetes has increased by 139%, with a colossal increase of almost 78,000 searches- currently standing at 1,34,211 recruiter searches in February 2021, from 56,062 searches back in February 2020.
The roles demanding specialization in Kubernetes are DevOps engineer, software engineers, architects, developers, Cloud Engineers, etc.
Kubernetes has made a great name for itself and deserves all the appreciation it is getting from recruiters and job seekers.
6. Docker
Docker is known to make complex tasks easy for developers as it allows them to package all application contents and deliver them as one package.
Docker containers are faster, smaller, and more agile than traditional containers, reducing labor and maintenance costs.
Mostly used by developers and system administrators, Docker allows developers to focus on writing codes without stressing about the environment of deployment.
System administrators can learn Docker for a smaller footprint and minimum overhead, minimizing the number of systems for application deployment.
A crucial skill for software engineers and developers, Docker saw a significant rise in demand as recruiter searches for February 2021 were recorded at 1,34,903, marking a 78% growth since February 2020.
It's a valuable skill for software engineers to have, and studying it could open up a lot of doors for you.
7. React native
React Native is an interesting platform that allows web developers to use existing JavaScript skills to build scalable and functional mobile applications.
It enables faster mobile production and effective code sharing across iOS, Android, and the Web without compromising the end users’ experience or the quality of the app.
The code in React native minimizes the overhead, allowing the developers to access APIs of the latest platforms. It has emerged as an innovative and economic solution that offers reasonable UI-UX requirements and enhances performance.
React Native is used for developing applications for Android, iOS, Windows, Web, and UWP, allowing developers to use React’s framework with native capabilities of the platform in question.
Over the last year, the demand for IT professionals skilled in React Native has seen tremendous growth. Compared to last February, there has been a 58% growth in the recruiter searches for the skill, rising to 49,688 in February 2021, from 31,380 in February 2020.
8. React.js
React.js is a JavaScript library with a simple, interactive, and user-friendly interface that requires little programming.
It allows developers to create scalable and manageable web applications, which is one of the main reasons for the skill's high demand.
Developers can use React.js to build massive web applications that can alter data without reloading the page.
Its main goal is to be fast, scalable, and easy to use and it only operates on the application's user interfaces.
The main goal of the Framework is to have the best possible rendering output. Its power stems from the fact that it concentrates on individual components. Rather than focusing on the whole project.
React.js has a sizable following and allows the developers to create VR and mobile apps through the framework. It simplifies app development and supports JavaScript.
To top it all, React.js has the potential to get you a high-paying job as per the industry standards.
Being the 4th most searched skill by recruiters, according to the Naukri Pulse survey, React.js developers are in high demand, with 59% of tech recruiters looking for them.
In fact, over the previous year, the framework has seen a 55% rise in recruiter searches, indicating that more and more jobs now require people skilled in React.js.
It is a great skill to learn if you're a JavaScript developer because recruiters are increasingly searching for candidates who specialise in the framework.
9. Flutter
Flutter is a similar SDK Framework to the Android SDK. It's Google's UI toolkit for creating easy, natively compiled social, mobile, and desktop apps from a single codebase.
Flutter includes a framework, widgets, and tools to make it easy for developers to create and execute aesthetically engaging, efficient mobile apps for Android and iOS and makes developing cross-platform mobile apps simple, painless, and easy.
It removes any restriction the developers may have with a single platform or operating system, enabling smooth and easy app creation on both Android and iOS.
With app development gaining momentum, tech recruiters are looking for people skilled in Flutter. As per our report, the framework has seen a growth of 184% in recruiter searches, with 12,588 recruiter searches in February 2021 alone.
Compared to other Frameworks, this number may seem underwhelming but, the rate at which the framework is gaining popularity is impressive and is the reason why it is the perfect skill to learn for software developers and engineers looking to widen their horizons.
Conclusion
During the lockdown, technology became a lifeline, forever changing attitudes and behaviors by establishing new realities through industries. For the IT industry, the impact of the pandemic has been quite positive.
It is important to identify and appreciate the tools, platforms, programming scripting languages and methodologies that withstood the test of these difficult times and have emerged victorious, defying the influence of COVID-19.
So, go ahead, explore more about these frameworks, and get started with efforts to upskill to get better, more lucrative career opportunities in the IT sector.
All the best!
