The Internet of Everything (IoE) will connect people, data, processes and things into a vast web of communication that is already dramatically changing how we live and work. Cisco projects that by next year, 25 billion devices will be connected, and that number will double by 2020. This expanded and enhanced connectivity carries tremendous opportunities for organizations and individuals as job roles and networks change.

An irony exists, though, in the midst of all this new opportunity. There are over 11 million unemployed people in the US today, yet 45 percent of employers cannot find qualified candidates for open jobs. Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum, encapsulates our current dilemma: "We have entered a global economy where talent and skills shortages challenge economic and business growth around the world."

The debate about whether the skills gap exists is over. It is real, and it is serious. The 2014 Cisco Annual Security Report indicates a shortage of more than a million security professionals across the globe in 2014. Employers are facing challenges finding people with the necessary skills for new industry jobs such as data scientists, cybersecurity specialists, industrial network engineers, mobile app developers and network programmers.

The business outcomes, productivity gains and organizational efficiencies that are attainable through IoT can only be achieved with a skilled and competent workforce. There is a need for reskilling the existing talent pool and bringing new employees into the workforce to align with the skills needed for the future.

A skills gap of this magnitude must be met head-on and as quickly as possible. It's too big for any one entity to tackle; it requires a group of dedicated stakeholders. Toward that end, the IoTWF Steering Committee is introducing an Industry Talent Consortium It's a gathering of employers, academia, industry change agents and human capital solution providers to connect talent who have pre-requisite skills to employers -after necessary training and certifications.

Key players in each of these areas will bring their subject matter expertise to the table:

• Academia(The New York Academy of Sciences, MIT, Stanford) will help prepare students through degree programs, professional development and in partnering with companies to provide training for the jobs of the future.
• Human Capital Solution Providers(Careerbuilder) will help identify top jobs, regions, supply/demand and skill gaps.
• Employers(Rockwell Automation, Davra Networks, GE) are looking to hire individuals for the new job roles.
• Change Agents(Cisco, Xerox, Rockwell Automation, Udacity, Pearson, Knod) will create education curriculum, training and certifications that will help train and validate the skills needed for the new jobs.

Working together, we will identify skill gaps, find talent with the right background to up-skill or re-skill, create and implement the needed training and certification programs, recruit them into appropriate degree or certificate programs and hire that talent for the jobs that will power the Internet of Everything. The Industry Talent Consortium is, in a real sense, a battle stance on behalf of our collective, connected future. The Consortium will continue to evolve, adding new contributing partners as its scope and scale increases.