Survey finds 1,250+ IT/software jobs coming to Roanoke/New River Valley

Published October 22, 2019 by Richard Foster

More than 1,250 IT and software-related jobs are being created over the next 18 months in the Roanoke/New River Valley region, according to the results of a newly released survey of 315 area employers conducted by the nonprofit Valleys Innovation Council. 

The jobs are being created by more than 40 employers with workforces ranging from very small businesses to the region's largest employers.

“We must be proactive in our outreach to show people living outside our region that there is an excellent depth of IT and software development professional opportunities in our region, which offers unparalleled beauty, affordability and cultural amenities. VIC will now turn its attention to working with stakeholders on devising strategies to identify and attract the needed talent,” Greg Feldmann, interim executive director and CEO of the Valleys Innovation Council, said in a statement released Tuesday.

Council co-chiair Doug Juanarena, said,“We wanted hard numbers to better understand the near-term outlook in this sector, so that we can work with regional employers, support organizations, and communities to devise strategies to help develop and recruit this talent. … We’ve been hearing for some time now that regional employers have a growing, unmet need for IT and software talent. For example, the Advance Auto headquarters move to Raleigh, N.C. for better access to talent should serve as a wakeup call for the region on this issue. Almost no business today can grow and scale without IT and software development talent.”

Designed by Valleys Innovation Council with input from regional employers, the survey was distributed by the council and other groups, including Onward NRV, the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council, Roanoke Regional Partnership and the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center.

The council plans to release a full report on the survey data by the end of the year.