There is a shortage of Salesforce talent, but it does not occur in the same way across all roles, regions, and experience levels. In many cases, the main challenge is not the absolute absence of professionals but rather the gap between the knowledge available and the ability to independently execute complex projects.
This discussion has become even more relevant with the rise of Agentforce, AI agents, and data-and automation-based architectures. As seen at Agentforce events in Lisbon and São Paulo, technological development is raising the bar for companies and professionals. It is no longer enough to know the platform’s features: it is necessary to connect them to processes, governance, and business objectives.
At the same time, initiatives like BALF 360 show that strengthening the ecosystem depends on practical training, community participation, and the creation of real development opportunities. The question, therefore, needs to be expanded: is there a lack of Salesforce talent, or a lack of more efficient ways to prepare these professionals for the market?
The Growth of the Salesforce Ecosystem
The Salesforce ecosystem continues to create opportunities on a global scale, driven by the expansion of CRM, cloud computing, automation, data, and business-applied artificial intelligence. However, this growth does not mean only an increase in job openings for titles such as Salesforce administrator, developer, or consultant.
According to an IDC study released by Salesforce in 2023, the so-called Salesforce economy, driven by artificial intelligence, could generate a net gain of 11.6 million jobs and over USD 2 trillion in business revenues worldwide between 2022 and 2028.
The research identifies the talent gap, data governance, risk management, costs, and AI reliability as the main barriers to adopting these technologies. This shows that the expected economic growth does not automatically translate into the availability of prepared professionals.
It is also important to correctly interpret the concept of “jobs generated by the ecosystem.” These numbers cover functions created or transformed by adopting the platform across technology, sales, customer service, marketing, operations, data, and consulting. Therefore, it does not mean millions of open Salesforce technical positions at the same time.
The most relevant data is another: as the ecosystem grows, so does the need for people capable of connecting technology, processes, and business objectives.
Sales Cloud and Service Cloud remain relevant, but now coexist with Data Cloud, Agentforce, Slack, Experience Cloud, industry solutions, integrations, and multi-cloud architectures. The market is no longer just looking for professionals who know features, but rather for those who can build sustainable, integrated solutions aligned with business needs.
The Salesforce Talent Market in Europe and Brazil
Regional data shows there is no uniform shortage of Salesforce talent. The reality varies according to market maturity, project volume, professional seniority, and the skills required by companies.
According to an analysis published by Salesforce Ben based on the 2025 Salesforce Talent Ecosystem Report by 10K, the global demand for Salesforce professionals grew again by 8% in 2025 after two years of decline.
However, this recovery did not happen the same way in all regions. According to the same analysis, demand in Europe fell by 15%, while North America and Australia/New Zealand saw a stronger recovery.
This does not mean Europe no longer needs Salesforce professionals. The data indicates that the European market is more competitive and selective. In mature environments, companies tend to hire more carefully, prioritising specialisation, experience in complex projects, mastery of different clouds, consultative skills, and understanding of specific sectors.
Generalist professionals still have space, but face greater competition. Profiles capable of working with architecture, integration, data, governance, and artificial intelligence remain harder to find.
The Growth of Supply in South America
According to the 2024 Salesforce Talent Ecosystem Report, also by 10K, South America was among the regions that saw the largest year-over-year increase in supply of Salesforce talent, growing 29%.
This number indicates that more professionals are entering the ecosystem, studying the platform, and seeking certifications. However, increased supply does not necessarily imply a balance between candidates and opportunities.
It is possible to have more people available for entry-level positions while still facing difficulties finding professionals prepared to lead projects, design architectures, conduct integrations, or make business decisions.
This difference helps explain why companies claim to face shortages while many professionals report difficulties landing their first opportunities. The supply is growing, but not always at the same rate, in the same roles, or with the level of experience demanded by the market.
The Brazilian Scenario
In Brazil, there are still few publicly available and up-to-date surveys that specifically count the number of active Salesforce professionals. Therefore, economic projections should be presented with caution.
An IDC study released by Salesforce in 2021 estimated that the company and its ecosystem could generate 1.2 million jobs and USD 64.6 billion in new business revenue in Brazil by 2026.
This projection does not represent 1.2 million technical job openings for Salesforce professionals. It reflects the broader economic impact of the platform, involving clients, partners, suppliers, consultancies, and roles transformed by technology adoption.
Still, the survey highlights the market’s scale and the need to develop professionals ready to support its expansion.
A more recent perspective appears in the ISG Provider Lens Salesforce Ecosystem Partners Brazil 2025 study. According to the report, demand for qualified labour has influenced company and talent acquisition strategies, known as acquihiring. The study also highlights that providers investing in training, certification, and retention are achieving growth and recognition in the Brazilian market.
This analysis brings the discussion closer to the current reality. Brazil does not just need to increase the number of people who know Salesforce. It needs to accelerate the development of professionals capable of participating in real projects, understanding business processes, and delivering quality solutions.
Where is the main bottleneck today?
The main bottleneck is the misalignment between the available professionals’ profiles and the maturity level required by companies.
At entry-level positions, a growing group of people are studying via Trailhead, joining communities, completing courses, and earning certifications. In intermediate and advanced positions, however, companies seek professionals capable of working with architecture, integrations, data quality, governance, security, and process design. Between these two points lies a gap in practical experience.
Beginners need to participate in projects to develop autonomy, but many companies want someone who has already faced complex scenarios. Organisations require experience, while candidates need opportunities to acquire it.
Without entry programs, technical support, and development tracks, this cycle continues to fuel the perception of a shortage.
Market data reinforce this difference. According to Salesforce Ben’s analysis of the 10K report, the global supply of Salesforce administrators grew 47% in 2025, while demand for these professionals advanced 14%. The result is a more competitive market for entry-level positions, especially when candidates have only certifications and little practical experience.
At the other end, technical architects accounted for only 1% of the global Salesforce talent pool. At the same time, demand for these professionals increased by 27%, while supply grew only 4%.
Thus, the market may have a relative surplus of candidates in some roles and critical shortages in others. To merely talk about a “lack of Salesforce professionals” oversimplifies a much more complex reality.
The Concentration of Experience Also Influences the Market
Another relevant factor is the concentration of the most experienced professionals in a few organisations. According to the 2024 Salesforce Talent Ecosystem Report from 10K, around 60% of certified experts linked to partners were concentrated in 1% of the largest companies in the Salesforce ecosystem.
This concentration can make it harder for smaller companies to access highly specialised professionals. It also reinforces dependence on a few talents, increases competition for seniority, and limits the distribution of knowledge across the market.
The problem, therefore, is not just how many people are certified. It is where experience is found, how it is shared, and what opportunities exist for new professionals to advance.
Hard Skills and Execution Capability Are Not the Same Thing
Hard skills remain indispensable. Administrators, developers, consultants, and architects need to know the resources relevant to their roles, including configuration, Flow, Apex, SOQL, APIs, integrations, data modelling, permissions, tests, and deployment.
However, knowing a feature does not mean knowing how to apply it correctly within a business operation.
A professional may master Flow and still build automations that are hard to maintain. They may know Apex and create solutions that increase technical debt. They may know how to configure Service Cloud without understanding the customer journey or the solution’s impact on users and indicators.
Certifications demonstrate familiarity with key content and concepts but do not replace experience, applied reasoning, and decision-making ability.
Execution capability appears when the professional can:
- interpret the problem before proposing a solution;
- understand business objectives and limitations;
- recognise when a declarative solution is sufficient;
- assess impacts on security, data, and performance;
- document decisions and facilitate maintenance;
- communicate risks clearly;
- collaborate with users, managers, and technical teams;
- Prioritise sustainability over just speed.
These competencies become even more relevant as Agentforce advances.
Creating AI agents does not depend only on prompts or configurations. It requires clear processes, reliable data, proper permissions, integrations, supervisory criteria, and an understanding of each agent’s operational limits.
The professional needs to know not just how to automate an activity, but also what should be automated, which information can be used, and in which situations human decision is still indispensable.
The Role of Practical Training
Practical training is one of the main responses to reduce the gap between knowledge and employability. It allows the professional to understand not only how each resource works, but also the consequences of their decisions in a real environment.
Trailhead played an important role in democratizing Salesforce learning. The platform made technical and functional content more accessible and helped people from diverse backgrounds learn about the ecosystem. However, completing trials and earning certifications is only part of the preparation.
Business projects involve incomplete requirements, inconsistent data, shifting priorities, technical limitations, interdepartmental conflicts, and deadline pressure. The professional needs to learn how to interpret these scenarios, evaluate alternatives, and justify their choices.
A practical training program should include:
- solving problems similar to those found in companies;
- technical review and feedback;
- contact with business processes;
- documentation of decisions;
- solution presentations;
- collaborative work;
- discussion on governance and scalability.
Practising without guidance can also reinforce mistakes. Therefore, mentoring, evaluations, code reviews, case studies, and supervision by experienced professionals are important elements for technical growth.
BALF 360 as a Practical Training Initiative
This is exactly where BALF 360 connects to the Salesforce talent debate. According to content published by Biz2People about the program’s launch, BALF was founded in 2023, with meetings focused on practical learning. In 2026, the initiative included 110 selected professionals for a journey of 14 meetings held between May and July.
The program covers topics like Flow, automations, Data Cloud, Agentforce, Slack, and Apex. Besides attending meetings, the program requires deliverables and assessments, bringing learning closer to the demands found in professional environments.
This approach is relevant because it addresses the gap between theoretical content and execution capability.
By supporting BALF 360 as a master sponsor, Biz2People turns the talent development discussion into concrete action. The sponsorship goes beyond institutional visibility. It is tied to the commitment to contribute to a more prepared, connected community capable of keeping up with ecosystem changes.
The program also continues the conversation started at Agentforce events. If the adoption of AI depends on more mature data, processes, and governance, the market needs to prepare professionals who can build and sustain this structure.
Agentforce does not lessen the importance of Salesforce talents. It changes and expands the skills these professionals need to develop.
How Companies Can Help Accelerate the Market
Talent development should not be treated as the sole responsibility of professionals, educational institutions, or Salesforce itself.
Clients, partners, and consultancies also directly influence the availability and quality of talent. When all job openings require experience, but few organisations create supervised opportunities, the shortage becomes a problem fueled by the market itself.
Creating Real Entry Opportunities
A junior position should consider that the professional is in a development phase. This requires controlled scope, guidance, and objective evolution criteria.
Teams with varying seniority levels allow new talent to participate in deliveries without taking on responsibilities beyond their experience.
Structuring Mentoring and Technical Reviews
Mentoring should not be limited to occasional conversations. It can include solution reviews, decision analyses, project monitoring, feedback on communication, and discussion of best practices.
This process accelerates development and reduces the likelihood of error reproduction.
Assessing More Than Certifications
Certifications are important, but they need to be evaluated alongside reasoning, learning ability, communication skills, portfolio, and practical experience.
Case studies and scenario-based interviews help identify potential and execution capacity more accurately.
Supporting Communities and Training Programs
Communities create connections, share experiences, and bring talents closer to more experienced professionals. By supporting initiatives like BALF 360, companies contribute to a more qualified base connected to real ecosystem demands.
Bringing Professionals Closer to the Business
Salesforce talents need to understand how sales, customer service, marketing, data, and operations work. The greater the business understanding, the greater the ability to propose useful, scalable solutions that users adopt.
Biz2People’s Salesforce Expertise
Biz2People’s involvement in this discussion goes beyond sponsoring a training initiative.
The company acts as an end-to-end Salesforce consultancy, with the team holding more than 20 certifications — covering Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud, MuleSoft, OmniStudio, and Agentforce. This breadth enables support for operations at different maturity levels, from initial implementations to multi-cloud architectures and applied AI projects.
With active clients in Portugal, Brazil, the United States, and the Netherlands, Biz2People has experience in sectors as diverse as healthcare, telecommunications, logistics, horticulture, industry, public sector, and consulting. This diversity of contexts is, in itself, a way to develop professionals: each sector imposes different restrictions, processes, and requirements that broaden the team’s execution capability.
In practice, the success of a Salesforce initiative does not depend just on finding someone with the right certification. It depends on combining technical knowledge, business vision, governance, and experience accumulated in real scenarios, which is exactly what Biz2People brings to every project.
Is There a Shortage of Salesforce Talents?
The most accurate answer is that there are different imbalances within the same market.
There is a shortage of architects, integration specialists, professionals with multi-cloud experience, and talent prepared to work with data, AI, governance, and specific sectors.
At the same time, there is a growing supply of entry-level professionals, especially in emerging regions. Many of them have training and certifications, but have not yet found opportunities to develop practical experience.
The data show that the market is going through a period of reorganisation. Supply is growing, demand varies by region, and employers are becoming more selective.
Professional value is no longer concentrated in the number of certifications and is increasingly dependent on the ability to execute, understand the business, and build sustainable solutions. Therefore, it is not about choosing between a shortage and a lack of preparation. Both challenges coexist.
There is a lack of professionals in highly specialised areas. There are beginners without access to experience. There are companies looking for ready-made professionals without investing in their development. And there is a growing need to create bridges between learning, practice, and opportunity.
Conclusion
The growth of the Salesforce ecosystem alone does not guarantee a balanced market. The expansion of artificial intelligence, data, and integrated architectures increases opportunities but also raises the bar for the skills needed to take advantage of them.
The data show real imbalances: critical shortages in senior and specialised profiles, a growing supply of entry-level talents without access to practical experience, and a market that often requires what it has not helped build.
This cycle does not resolve itself. As long as companies continue to require experience without creating conditions for acquiring it, the perception of a shortage will persist, regardless of how many people enter the ecosystem.
Responsibility is shared. Consultancies, clients, and partners play a direct role in shaping the market: by creating entry programs, structuring mentoring, supporting community initiatives, and hiring with criteria more connected to potential than to background.
It is with this conviction that Biz2People combines its role in projects with support for BALF 360. A stronger ecosystem is not built only with new technologies. It is built with professionals prepared to apply them and with companies willing to invest in that preparation.
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FAQ
Is there a shortage of Salesforce talent?
Yes, especially for specialised profiles — architects, integration specialists, and professionals with multi-cloud experience. In entry-level roles, supply is growing, but there is a lack of practical experience to convert candidates into market-ready professionals.
Is there a lack of Salesforce professionals in Brazil?
There is consistent demand for qualified profiles, especially in specialised roles. The main challenge is the gap between certification and the ability to execute in real projects.
Is the Salesforce market growing in Europe?
The European market is mature and selective. In 2025, demand in the region fell by 15%, while North America and Oceania recovered. Opportunities are concentrated in specialised profiles with experience in complex projects.
What are Salesforce talents?
Professionals working in the Salesforce ecosystem, including administrators, developers, consultants, architects, and specialists in solutions such as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, MuleSoft, and Agentforce.
Is Salesforce certification enough to enter the market?
Not on its own. Certifications demonstrate knowledge, but the market values those who know how to apply it in real scenarios, with process vision and business impact.
What skills does a Salesforce professional need to develop?
Besides the platform’s hard skills, essential skills include process analysis, governance, documentation, communication, and decision-making with business impact.
Why is practical training important in Salesforce?
Because real projects involve incomplete requirements, inconsistent data, and decisions under pressure—scenarios that theoretical learning cannot replicate.
How can companies help develop Salesforce talent?
By creating entry programs, structured mentoring, supervised opportunities, and supporting community initiatives like BALF 360.
What changes with Agentforce for Salesforce professionals?
Agentforce requires a more strategic vision: reliable data, clear processes, governance, and understanding when human decision-making remains indispensable.
How does Biz2People contribute to the Salesforce ecosystem?
With end-to-end Salesforce consultancy, more than 20 certifications in the team, and presence in Portugal, Brazil, the USA, and the Netherlands, as well as direct support for training initiatives like BALF 360
