Tech talent shortage is the government’s “most significant modernization barrier”

Close to half (44%) of federal decision makers surveyed by EY cite “workforce skill gaps” as the top challenge to modernizing the federal IT infrastructure by Intelliworx “One of the most critical bottlenecks to federal goals for modernization, efficiency and scaling AI is not a technological gap but a human capital gap.” That’s according to the 2026 EY Federal Trends Report, based on a survey of 131 federal decision makers. When asked about the top barriers to modernizing government technology, respondents identified the following: 44% cite workforce skill gaps; 32% say slow procurement processes; 32% say escalating cybersecurity threats; 30% say regulatory requirements; and 30% say inadequate data storage. (Click for larger image) Solving the talent shortage While the survey identified the top barrier, it also identified some ways the government is going about resolving it.   1. Upskilling existing staff Most respondents surveyed give their agency high marks for […]