According to a new report, United States tech companies are facing a hiring skills gap.

The IDC’s Futurescape 2019 report suggests that by 2022, the demand for workers skilled in artificial intelligence, blockchain, cybersecurity and the internet of things (IoT) will outweigh the available supply of skilled workers.

Authors of the report predict that by 2022 the shortfall will translate into an estimated 900,000 unfilled jobs and 1.4 billion hours of lost productivity as well as more time and resources devoted to acquiring talent and less devoted to pursuing new technologies.

Estimates from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics reveals that the country's colleges and universities would need to increase STEM-degree production by 415% to fill those predicted vacancies.

Such estimates have tech company hiring managers exploring alternatives for filling the gap. Consequently, digital badges are becoming an acceptable alternative for many tech companies looking for employees skilled in technology.

Online course curriculums are offered by a handful of companies including Salesforce.com, where enrollees receive a digital badge, certifying that coursework in a particular subject has been completed. The badge recipient can embed a link to the digital badge on their LinkedIn page or in resumes submitted to Indeed.com.

Although many hiring managers are embracing this alternative as it makes achieving such credentials quicker and less expensive than earning traditional four-year degrees, there are no industry standards governing the quality of the courses available.

Yet, according to a study by tech company iCIMS, 45% of the 1,000 technology hiring executives surveyed said they believed “in the next two years a coding boot camp certificate will be as meaningful a qualification for skilled technology degrees as a college degree.”

For more of IDC’s predictions, visit IDC Futurescape 2019.