IT skills gap

[Video] Plugging the IT Skills Gap – Education

[Video] Plugging the IT Skills Gap – Education 150 150 Simon Randall

The IT skills gap has been subject to much discussion over the past few years and is something that makes it difficult for many companies to find people with the right skills that they need in order to help their business grow.

So what is being done to address it? There are plenty of programs around for adults to gain certification in many areas of IT, from Microsoft Engineering certification, to various Google programs that are aimed at improving on existing skills. But what does this mean for the future of the industry? Is it enough?

Computer Science and the UK Curriculum

Of course, in some schools around the country, Computer Science has become part of the curriculum, but for the most part, education around the sector remains lacking. Even the degree level course of the same name doesn’t really address the high-end skills that the industry lacks even now.

Without addressing this, it’s likely that we will see more and more skilled jobs remained unfilled and desperate employers casting their net around the world in search of the top IT professionals. This is true of a range of skills that are needed, such as:

·         Security

·         Big Data

·         Programming

·         Computer engineering

And more …

Is Security Really so Important?

Of course, more sophisticated attacks are occurring daily and a portion of these are carried out by states, not just cyber criminals. This means that it’s necessary to ensure the safety of the web infrastructure, as the consequences of an attack on the main nodes could prove to be fatal in numerous ways. Just think about how much of our lives, both working and personal, are now controlled by technology, from the National Grid to Emergency Services.

However, security is far from the only skills that are needed overall, as technology continues to charge swiftly onwards, changing the way we work almost on a monthly basis. It’s become so important it almost defies belief that it’s not yet been effectively addressed.

Some large IT organisations are addressing this and helping both kids and adults to better improve skills. One of the problems many companies find is the cost of training, so it really is something that needs to be addressed at more of a ‘grass roots’ level. Take a look at the video below to find out what’s needed and what companies like Oracle are doing to address the problem.

Quadratek People

Bearing all of this in mind, now is an ideal opportunity to introduce you to Quadratek People, our innovative solution which helps the private and public sectors to find highly qualified IT professionals through a pro-active approach to recruitment.

As members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, we’re a trusted resource for both IT job hunters and employers. Our consultants work hard to match the right people with specialist skills with the right job.

Interested in finding out more about how Quadratek People can help fill your IT gap? Looking for a high-end position in IT, either permanent or temporary?

Give us a call now on +44 01252 849 006 to see just what we can do for you.

[INFOGRAPHIC] IT Skills Gaps

[INFOGRAPHIC] IT Skills Gaps 150 150 Simon Randall

Technology is advancing at an incredibly fast rate to the point that many of those in business feel that they can’t keep up. This poses a big challenge to enterprises, both large and small, as they work to stay up-to-date with rapidly evolving technology that helps to make business processes easier and more automated.

Where this challenge is most pronounced is in the work force. As the infographic shows, a group of three hundred IT leaders in the U.S. were polled and 63% of them projected that the impending IT skills gap would have a negative impact on their business.

Preparing for the future

Whilst many businesses have made plans for the future and the hiring of new IT talent for their officers, over a quarter of the businesses polled did not have a plan in place to improve their work force through new hires. Perhaps more alarmingly, 60% of these businesses don’t have a plan to retrain their current work force in new IT techniques and technologies.

More than half of these businesses have conducted research to identify the future needs of their workforces however, and hopefully that will see those numbers drop as they begin to plan for their future. Only a little more than 20% of businesses feel poorly prepared as a result of their current research.

Short-term planning

Those businesses that do plan for the future, place an emphasis on planning for the next 1-3 years. Whilst this allows them to respond to problems in an agile manner, it doesn’t do much in terms of providing a long-term solution. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the statistic that 78% of IT leaders believe that a flexible work force (that is, a workforce made up of temporary, contractual or independent workers) is very important to them if they wish to achieve their current goals. 

Flexible work forces are often cheaper in short run, but in the long term businesses may end up paying a lot more for these flexible workers than they would have for directly employed workers who received the correct IT training. As it stands over 30% of the total IT workforce is made up of flexible workers, and that number is most likely going to rise unless businesses begin training in-house employees.

Be prepared

Perhaps the biggest change which businesses could make to slow the growing skills gap would be to keep their IT leaders alerted to any major changes in business practice, or any upcoming initiatives so that they can prepare their workforce more effectively. As it stands, only 25% of leaders are always alerted to these changes, with 74% receiving little to no warning ahead of time.

The four areas that most demand IT skills currently are:

·         Security

·         The Cloud

·         Business intelligence

·         Mobile Technologies

All of which are growing sectors that will likely make up a large chunk of the future economy. If they want to stay in touch, businesses are going to have to begin to consider training their in house staff up with new systems and technology, as well as keeping their IT managers more in the loop with upcoming events and clients for the company.






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