Main post-COVID trends in the STEM industry
By: Sthree Belux
Tags: Post Covid, Trends, Recruitment, STEM, Staffing And Recruiting

It’s no longer a secret that Covid-19 has changed our lives. The world we used to know will never be the same… But more precisely, what are the trends impacting the STEM world?

1. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has been particularly in demand and will continue to be in the future. For good reasons, our dependence on the internet, whether for work, our long-distance social relations or for our online shopping.

The number of cyber-attacks during these lockdowns has increased dramatically. The reason is that many companies have made homeworking available very quickly but they were not prepared for such a rapid deployment. Employees are simply too poorly informed about cybersecurity risks. Looking at this crisis not all companies are equally well-protected, but everyone is likely to be affected; even the ones prepared best.

In the future, whether it’s for upgrading or maintaining good cybernetic hygiene, the cybersecurity talents will be in high demand. This is also quite worrying since this market was already in a talent shortage before this crisis, which therefore raises the question of how to meet these needs with a talent shortage.

2. Big Data in the retail sector

With Covid-19, the use of Big Data in retail has enabled brands to cope with these various shortages by ensuring regular replenishment and sufficient quantities.

Data in general allows any company to get closer to its customers by getting to know them but above all to be able to meet their needs thanks to a strategy of products and services in sync with them. Consumer habits have undergone significant changes during this crisis, and Big Data will allow retailers to continue to understand and learn from these changes in order to improve their product and logistics choices.

What needs to be taken into consideration is that the profiles of experts in this sector, such as Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Data Business Analyst and all skills around Business Intelligence were already in high demand before the crisis. It’s more likely that Data Analysts will choose to position themselves in sectors of activity where their knowledge has a strong added value for the company, but also where they can have an important impact according to the level of recognition that this sector can bring them.

3. New regulations for medical devices (MDR)

Before this health crisis, the health and medical world prepared to implement new European regulations on medical devices. This regulation, called 2017/745, was adopted in May 2017. Before the crisis, manufacturers were busy passing audits so that by 26 May 2020, all medical devices would comply with the new MDR requirements.

Although some audits continued by videoconference, most had to be postponed for several months due to the Coronavirus. The current situation has forced the market to focus more on the immediate production of devices to meet the needs of the pandemic.

The objective of this European regulation is first of all to review the technical files of the various medical devices and to make the level of regulatory, quality and clinical requirements stricter when entering the market in order to ensure the safety and protection of patients and users. Another very important objective is to set up a European database on these medical devices in order to offer more transparency to health professionals and patients.

We should start talking about this new regulation of medical devices again in the near future, but can already consider that the consultants trained on this new regulations will be the most in-demand at the end of this crisis.

4. Re-evaluation of risk analyses

If this health crisis seems endless, it’s mainly because of the significant economic repercussions that we can already anticipate. We are all concerned by the financial impact of this pandemic, whether for small, medium or large companies, self-employed people, employees or individuals.

Almost logically, it turns out that the common factor of all these impacts converges around the analysis of financial risks. Whether in terms of loans or financial investments, the calculations need to be re-evaluated so that banks are able to respond to the situation while protecting themselves at the same time. As we have seen, several governments have called on the banks to push and set up more loans at minimal rates. Many businesses had to call on financial aid to survive. The banks are called upon to continue to grant loans and must proceed with a relaxation of allocation standards so that businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals can face the crisis.

However, banks are obliged to strengthen risk analyses related to all these types of credit but also agree on the compliance of their offers with regulations.

To meet these urgent needs, banks need to call on highly mathematical candidate profiles specialised in quantum calculations, but also financial analysts and experts who will be able to respond to next world standards.

5. The evolution of design office professions

The construction sector is in full transition with the arrival of BIM (Building Information Modeling) and smart cities. The positive point of this health crisis is the opportunity to accelerate the digital transformation of many companies, particularly in this sector and profession. Many design offices that did not believe in the benefits of homework have been forced to make the transition, which has led to a considerable change in mentalities. Not only has homeworking become a necessity, but in order to survive this crisis, these consultancies have also had to introduce short-time working. This additional time has enabled their employees and service providers to take advantage of it to train in the latest fashionable software in order to develop their skills.

The big winner of these training providers is REVIT; innovative and in line with current smart city trends, this software is more intelligent in view of technological evolutions such as smart tech to meet the needs of smart cities. Making this software a reference and having an alignment in its use represents a great opportunity for this sector. Indeed, being able to have the majority of the players in an industry-aligned in terms of software and mentality can only be beneficial for the development of future projects with high added value for society.

SThree wants to be part of the solution in the future of work. While focusing on the STEM market where there is a shortage of experts we are able to support companies to remain competitive and reach their goal.

If you are looking for a new job opportunity or new talent, get in touch with our recruitment experts in the STEM sector: