Owen Hughes
| November 12, 2021
| Topic: Hardware
The CIO’s guide to Quantum computing
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Quantum computing has the potential to fundamentally transform the technology industry by applying the weird effects of the quantum realm to complex business problems. But right now, quantum computing faces a more mundane problem itself: finding enough recruits.
Demand for digital skills in the workplace has been on a steady upward trend for years, but the sudden increased reliance on technology since the start of 2020 has made competition in tech recruitment even more fierce.
Universal Quantum runs a three-month internship scheme that’s open to graduates who hold a master’s in physics or mathematics. Typically, interns take on a specific project that they are given total responsibility for, with Universal Quantum providing support though one-on-one mentoring and drop-in sessions with quantum physicists.
SEE: What is quantum computing? Everything you need to know about the strange world of quantum computers
The internship culminates in them presenting their work to a large section of the company. “Typically, we’ll speak to them at the beginning and get a sense of what their interests are, and then we’ll match that to a company need we have,” says Edmondson.
“They’ll often say, ‘I don’t know anything about quantum’ or ‘I’ve never worked in quantum,’ and we have to reassure them and say ‘that’s completely fine, we’re happy to teach you that when you come here.’ That’s quite exciting to them.”
Liscouski too believes that deep quantum expertise isn’t is necessarily a requirement for enterprises to begin taking advantage of quantum computing, although he acknowledges that not all companies have the resources to offer comprehensive training programmes. “It’s very hard for small companies and it’s very hard for medium-sized companies, because you don’t have that luxury of taking 10% of your workforce out and putting them in training for a period of time,” he says.
“Typically, you hire people because you need them now, not because you need them in six months.”
One alternative is to target students at university, college or even school: something that QCI previously offered with its own quantum computing clubs, where participants learn to use the company’s software, Catalyst.
“We’re moving into actually the academic instructional program, where professors are using our software as part of their curriculum, and we’ve got a whole curriculum development programme for that,” says Liscouski.
“We’re trying to push this down to the lowest common denominator in terms of who can access it. We’re even trying to get into high schools to help that workforce development.”
Catalyst is a quantum application accelerator that enables end users to transform real-world problems into quantum-ready requests, and then it processes those requests on a combination of classical computers and cloud-based quantum processors, including Ion-Q, D-Wave and Rigetti.
SEE: Quantum computing: Getting it ready for business
The underlying concept is it enables businesses to make use of quantum applications without needing to have their own quantum computers or specialists.
“It’s intended to try to put that technology in the hands of folks who are trying to solve business problems without having to be quantum programmers,” says Liscouski.
“Our focus on our platform and the development that we’ve done to connect to any number of quantum platforms, is to disintermediate, or de-emphasise, the need for this high-end talent that’s going to make a program run on a quantum computer.”
In many ways, CQI proposes a technical solution to a shortage of specialist skills – though Liscouski acknowledges that technology on its own is not the be-all to end-all. “We still have this shortcoming of all of this talent that’s going to make this stuff work at scale,” he adds.
“Quantum programmes are different than classical programmes. The way you look at a problem classically is different to the way you look at a problem from a quantum point of view…Thinking about those problems requires a different level of thinking than classical computers.”
Rethinking the message
Given the scant interest in technology careers shown by Generation Z, outreach is going to play a significant role in putting burgeoning, next-generation technologies like quantum computing on their radars – undoubtedly the first step to addressing any skills gaps.
Edmondson says tech organizations need to become involved in attracting young people at a grassroots level within schools, as well as getting more creative in how they portray opportunities in the tech sector. “It’s definitely a responsibility of businesses to try to nurture the talent pool coming forward and undertake outreach that will assist with that – and that’s just getting young people excited about things,” she says.
SEE: Tech jobs have an image problem, and it’s making the skills shortage worse
“We set up a lab in Spitalfields Market in London in a huge shipping container and were giving live demonstrations and experiments. People would come in and we’d talk to them about what we were doing and get them excited. That’s relatively small-scale right now, but if somebody goes away and because of that becomes excited to learn something or do a new subject, that’s a win.”
Liscouski says that exposure to new technologies from an early age will also play an important role in equipping the next-generation workforce with key digital skills, and have them working on real-world problems. “I think there has to be either post-high school training capability, or post-college training capability, or colleges have to extend and think more broadly about what they’re preparing students to do,” he adds.
“Because, at the end of the day, quantum computing – like any computer that we know of – unless there is end-user adoption, unless there is a focus on what problems can be solved, it becomes a science experiment and is just going to stay in the research world.”
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