Skill Sourcing 2025: Navigating Governance, Availability, Innovation, and Value

Employers expect 39% of the global workforce core skills to change in just five years.?

According to the World Economic Forum, analytical thinking is the single most-needed skill, but it’s no surprise that the need for AI and big data skills have grown the fastest, per 88% of those surveyed. Cybersecurity is next (72%), followed closely by technological literacy (71%).??

In the US, while hiring for many positions may be in a holding pattern, there are still 8 million open positions for just 6.8 million available workers, per the US Chamber of Commerce in February.?

Pair that with the fact that 94% of US firms expect AI and data processing to transform operations within the next five years and that 67% of US workers will need upskilling or reskilling by 2030 (far above the global average), and it’s easy to see why so many businesses are struggling to find qualified talent in AI, big data, and cybersecurity.

In today’s PTP Report, we cover the options for staffing these hard-to-get skills, from domestic to offshore to nearshore, considering changing government priorities, technological impact, training and resource trends, and value in 2025.?

A Look at the Skills Gap for 2025?

Our CEO recently wrote about the growing trend of American companies hiring and firing at the same time. This skills-shifting process reflects the urgent need for key skills, potentially in cases where reskilling or upskilling existing employees is not an option.?

The Big Data, Cybersecurity, and AI Skills Demand?

The biggest skills shortages are currently in artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and cybersecurity. And with demand expected to grow for these skills some 88–95% over the next five years globally, these areas should remain hot even as workers adjust to demand.

Areas like cloud computing and DevOps are deeply integrated into these fields and project to also top supply even as AI continues to automate with greater capacity.?

The US Labor Shortage?

Reskilling is underway and growing fast, both for workers independently (where more than half see AI skills as important for their career future, per LinkedIn and Microsoft) and at workplaces, where some 85% of organizations indicate they’re prioritizing upskilling in 2025.?

Despite this, it’s not happening fast enough to meet demand.?

As Harvard economist Lawrence H Summers told the Harvard Gazette while discussing his newly released paper:

“Everybody should be thinking about AI, no matter what they do for a living.”

Studies from MIT, Stanford, and the Harvard Business Review have all shown that AI can help offset a lack of skills, by providing the biggest boost to those with the least experience, at least in skills needed by traditional consultants.?

Separate 2023 studies showed an average 15% boost to all workers using AI but gave a 34% boost to those who began with the least experience.

Even more strikingly, a study released in January showed even bigger movement from skills leveling with AI when comparing onshore and offshore workers assigned to complete the same tasks.?

In a study published in the Harvard Business Review, offshore workers (being paid 50% less) ended up delivering 40% more value than onshore workers, and a striking 80% more value than onshore workers not using AI.

Human judges could also no longer differentiate between the work of onshore and offshore contractors working with AI, a testament to its capacity to aid with language issues and help bridge cultural sensitivities.?

Check out our recent PTP Report for more on how AI appears to impact less-skilled workers most.

A Look at the US Policy on Outsourcing?

Offshoring may look like an obvious solution to fill these skills gaps, but this is complicated by a strongly expressed desire from the US government to reduce outsourcing over the next four years.?

Unique Offshore Outsourcing Challenges?

The target for regulating US outsourcing has been most directly place on Asia, and China in particular. With a renewed focus on prioritizing domestic production, reshoring jobs, and restricting trade, the expressed goal is to reward companies who manufacture domestically and penalizing those more reliant on global supply chains.?

This includes most notably tariffs on China, which could directly impact businesses dependent on overseas supply, leading to higher costs for materials as well as services sourced from offshore locations.?

In tech, we’ve recently seen Apple pledge $500 billion in domestic investments over the next four years, including a pledge to hire some 20,000 onshore workers. This comes at least partly in response to tariffs which could increase the cost of iPhones made in China.?

But note that a similar result occurred in 2018, when Apple promised onshore investment and jobs in response to tariff threats, and ultimately did not end up being impacted by tariffs.

This increased trade tension also leads to affected nations launching their own reciprocal initiatives, such investigations in China against American tech companies and the banning of certain services (such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the iPhone) which have complicated sales.?

Overall, it is of note that despite a similar commitment in 2016, Reuters found the actual impact on offshoring was not as significant as feared.?

Using the measure of Labor Department cases of worker petitions for jobs lost to offshoring, they found only a slight decrease in offshoring actually occurred (petitions down to 2095 from 2170; 209,735 workers from 202,151 in these cases).

The Impact on Nearshore Outsourcing?

For nearshore outsourcing of skills (as from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina), there are unique complications to consider.

In Mexico, the June 2024 victory of Claudia Sheinbaum has shown a continued commitment to economic growth and development, including its role as a nearshoring hub for the US, according to the Wilson Center, a US think tank, as reported by Forbes.?

And as discussed below, the investment in skilling and the availability of capable tech workers is only growing in these regions.

This is complicated by the uncertainty around tariffs with Mexico and how the expressed commitment to American workers will play out on the nearshore.

(Mexico is also covered by United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is up for review in 2026).

For technical contract workers where skills are in short supply domestically, these impacts are likely to not be severe. In addition to a strengthening dollar, there appears to be an understanding of the need in the field.

President Trump has backed the position of Elon Musk, for example, over the use of the visa program for foreign tech workers, calling the H-1B a great program.

Also in response to reporting on ProPublica profiling Trump Media’s nearshore sourcing of developers, board member Eric Swider stated:

“President Trump maintains an America First policy, which includes prioritizing American workers. Trump Media, however, is a global multi-media company. For a global multi-media company to utilize subcontractors, which in turn may utilize coders located in a foreign country, is a practice common to the industry.”

Regardless, the proximity of nearshore solutions provides greater flexibility, shortening supply chains.?

And while there’s no doubt of a renewed commitment to using American workers, nearshore solutions prove a safer alternative than offshore for badly needed roles.

The Increasingly Tech-Ready Latin America Workforce?

Regardless of regulatory pressures and distance, the workforce in many of the countries in Latin America continues to show skills growth well above the global average, according to research by the World Economic Forum.?

Investments in STEM education and an increasing volume of college engineering graduates at universities in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia are helping to increase the labor pool, alongside skilling initiatives at companies.

Active Workforce Reskilling?

With a recognition of the importance of AI and the economic power in remote work, institutions are more heavily invested in skills development than ever before.

Some 84% of businesses in these nations are actively upskilling, in many cases in partnership with US firms.?

By the numbers, technological readiness, skills development, and access to AI is above the global average in these nearshore countries:

How Offshore and Nearshore Talent Compare??

Traditionally offshore sourcing has not only brought the greatest savings but also a far larger talent pool than nearshore.?

But this dynamic is rapidly changing.?

In 2025, there are unique benefits and drawbacks in each of the sourcing locations for tech skills:

Despite this, in 2025 the nearshore is gaining ground in several key areas of need while providing a flexible, ready, and safe alternative to traditional offshoring.??

Conclusion: Finding Cybersecurity, AI & Big Data Skills with PTP?

Obviously, we have a horse in this race. With 27+ years of experience in technical recruiting, PTP has long been a best-in-class provider of onshore and offshore tech talent, and in the most in-demand areas.?

Since the COVID years, we’ve also massively increased our talent development pipeline in the nearshore and continue to nurture great people with the most highly needed skills.

?While no one solution is right for everyone, the shortage of qualified workers and tremendous skills-leveling capacity of AI has made the nearshore an increasingly attractive option for many at present.

If you are trying to find the skills you need to take your business to the next level, consider PTP and our allshores capabilities.

References??

Future of Jobs Report 2025, World Economic Forum

Understanding America’s Labor Shortage, US Chamber of Commerce

Is AI already shaking up labor market?, The Harvard Gazette

Research: Gen AI Changes the Value Proposition of Foreign Remote Workers, Harvard Business Review

Apple announces $500 billion investment in US amid tariff threats that could affect the iPhone, AP

How offshoring rolled along under Trump, who vowed to stop it, Reuters

Preparing For the Future of Nearshoring in the US and Mexico, Forbes

Trump backs Musk in MAGA-world rift over visa program for skilled workers, CBC World

Trump Media Outsourced Jobs to Mexico Even as Trump Pushes “America First”, ProPublica

FAQs

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Where can companies find top tech skills at the best quality for price in 2025?

70–73% of companies are already struggling to hire for skills in big data, AI, and cybersecurity. When you pair this with the fact that there are more open jobs than skilled workers in the US, the answer we’re seeing again and again is nearshore. It’s hard to match for the combination of availability, quality, and price, versus a notably reduced risk compared with offshore nations.

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What steps should companies take to begin nearshoring??

A good first step is to identify your most critical skill gaps.?Resolving this is essential to finding the right partner, as not all providers cover these areas equally, especially across the spectrum of nearshore, offshore, and onshore.

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How should companies incorporate nearshore talent??

For integration, nearshore workers are typically an easier fit than offshore on account of close or matching time zones and cultural affinities. Establishing cross-border teams in real-time can help accelerate this process, as with POD teams.?

[Check out this article by PTP’s founder and CEO on the potential benefits of POD teams.]

- Doug McCord

(Staff Writer)

Check out other articles from PTP on Talent Acquisition?

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