By Steve Ranger, 20 July 2005 16:45
NEWS Increasing retirement rates combined with a drop in new IT graduates will leave companies struggling to recruit enough staff with business and technology skills, according to analyst group Forrester Research.
And as companies outsource more routine activities, they'll need fewer technicians and more staff with business-oriented skills.
But Forrester predicts the educational system won't be able to train the IT/business analysts, architects or programme managers needed fast enough.
Forrester senior analyst Richard Peynot said: "All the evidence indicates that Europe faces a serious risk of a shortage of IT skills and Forrester believes that companies need to take action now to support long-term IT competency needs and to pay close attention to the implications of renewed competition for the best talents."
Forrester predicts companies will place a greater emphasis on training and education, saying that European companies plan to "significantly" accelerate spending on training between 2005 and 2007.
They are also looking to engineering schools and technology universities to provide more content on subjects such as business, management, finance, architecture and contracts.
Nine out of ten respondents to a Forrester survey said the education system fails to cover these newly important areas in enough depth.
And turning to outsourcing won't help, the analyst house warns.
"Companies that opt for global or selective outsourcing can't afford to move all responsibilities and decisions to service providers," Forrester said.
Decisions about security, technical architecture and new technologies need to be made internally by people with high skill levels, it said.
Peynot added companies won't be able to wait until the universities get into gear. "These high-level positions require experience and a relevant background. The educational system may take some time to align its programs with demand - so companies should seriously evaluate the possibility of training adults either internally or through partnerships with universities," he said.
Comments
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1. techie
Who does this kind of survey !!! The programmer get out dated as fast as the s/w tools itself. The reason there is shortage is, too much specilization. It is like having so many size of nuts and bolts but they just don't fit. Sales, marketting, management move from industry to industry, but techies are tied to the tools.
The most tragic is there is n differnce between 5 years exp and 50 years hard working guy. So the experience doesn't add, so my conclusion is "being techie" is a job not a career.
Too bad, I don't see any solution to this.
2. Dave Hunter
Outsourcing lost many experienced people to IT for good. I had over 30 years when my IT work dried up in 2001 but I have been unable despite trying to get work in IT so I've moved to pastures new.
I got fed up with being told I was too experienced therefore companies thought I would move on as soon as more money came along. Instead I just moved to another business. I still apply for IT work as I would like to get back to decent money but my skillset is out of date now.
Pity accountants and human remains weren't the first one to be outsourced perhaps we might still have home grown IT people.
3. anonymous
I've worked on Mainframe systems and PC's developed in COBOL C++ and Java to name but a few. I covered procedural programming and OO and most of the business analysis and development paradigms that go with them. I done it with the help of home study and on the job experience. If the home study element was replaced with more formal training I'm sure the majority of competent technical staff could do the same. Experience does count, it lets you understand new technology quicker and to put it into context.
Once again you have to say there is no skills shortage. Just a lot of predjudice around age (not just against older workers either) and a lot of misconceptions on the part of managment who don't understand the issues and are unwilling to pay for training. It's true many older workers are unwilling to retrain but that's mainly because they feel that they probably won't be taken seriously if they try to move to newer technology. These things have to change. We don't throw lawyers out of their jobs at 40 why do we do it with tech staff.
4. anonymous
What a bull...it!, Outsourcing is done not for expertise but for lowering cost base or to reduce opex costs for non core activities
There is certainly no shortage of IT expertise, as a matter fo fact there is a surplus. Regarding above 50 there is a large pool available that could potential go on for next 20 years if companies harness there availability without prejudices.
5. anonymous
When I started in the industry punched paper tape was still a valid medium, 8 inch floppy disks were used to load operating systems and it was advisable to have memorised a bootloader program and know how to enter it via the front control panel of the computer.
I haven't been able to get on a course since I turned 30, I was usually given he system manuals and told to get on with it, consequently my paper credentials suffered while my actual skills increased. When our company was bought out this placed me in the position of being junior in qualifications to a lot of people I was actually senior to. Needless to say the new company would not invest in me either.
I have lost count of the number of job applications I had rejected due to being overqualified. And eventually more out of desperation than anything else I started my own company to pay the bills.
This option is available to everyone but it is daunting and very easy to get wrong.
Don't write people off because of their age or gender, I now write and sell my own software, if I was as enfeebled due to age as I apparently should be I wouldn't be able to do that.
6. anonymous
Outsourcing will not help, as outsourcing, generally, is the root cause of this problem. Any students or prospective IT workers only have to see that jobs and skills in this field are being "exported" abroad and therefore offer very little future. Once again, short term profits based on supposed benefits are undermining national IT skills needs. The staff required for higher level IT or technical levels have to start from a base of knowledge, which is being passed abroad. This knowledge and technology must start from somewhere to evolve to the level facing future shortage. Essentially, short term greed has undermined long term, commercial and national need. Will we see the higher level and possibly overall business functions follow, due to a dearth of skills at this base level? Should we be questioning the logic employed by management in seeking outsourcing as a blanket panacea to base level skills and to produce supposed "value for money"? Are the universities and colleges suggesting these "solutions" when training management at the root of this potential "brain drain"?
7. anonymous
I'm not sure I agree with this story. There is no need for a skills crisis at all. The reason for a lack of the skills is an insistance on recruiting new staff that have the skills rather than train them.
Managers and directors often refuse to invest in training staff because they believe that once qualified, they will leave the company etc. Not only is this not necessarily the case but its a short sighted look at the costs.
Recruitment costs are far higher than training costs. There are costs of company time in the recuitment process, the time it takes the person to get up to speed on company procedures and the project they work on, plus the fact that an advert will be needed at the current market rate.
The morale of the story is that it is cheaper to train existing staff who want the skills than go outside the company to search for the few skilled staff there may be.
8. anonymous
These surveys seem to assume that it is the software engineers / coders etc that require business knowledge. As a software engineer / coder it is my experience that it is the exsisting managment that lack the necessary business skills and leadership qualities to benefit the communities that they are supposed to serve. More often than not I have seen individuals that hold the title 'manager' but whose existing managerial talent is dwarfed by their ambition. Their lack of professionalism and courage is also a visible fault line.
Short-termism trends a long-term decline.
9. anonymous
Good to hear about the shortage. However companies continue to use agism to screen out experienced IT professionals. What are corporations doing about this?,especially in England. The problem does not exist in North America. Projects are failing because of inexperienced IT personnel being put in to the wrong jobs. I see it every day. As they say, Bull-Shit baffels the brain.
10. anonymous
In full agreement with the article, there are thousands of us IT workers who cannot find roles. When applied via recruitment agencies, the CV is matched for skills learnt 3 years ago, but is put away when it is realised that the skill or experience is not recent.
Similarly when the programming skill is learnt on a course, but does not count because it is not backed up by commercial experience.
I believe strongly that there should be investment in upgrade training in the skills required, as part of 6 months to 1 year probational contract arrangement, for which, if/when the applicant passes the period of probation, they can continue permanent. On condition that the applicant is also prepared to buy relevant books from Amazon or a computing shop to carry out own learning.
At present it is not even possible to gain an interview, in order to inform that I could upgrade my skills. Languages this applies to include SAS, Cobol, MS Access, Visual Basic, and the web technologies including Javascript, Perl, PHP, ASP and database languages SQL and DB2.
I could even begin to learn Java or ASP.Net.
I am hopeful that the costs for this to industry, is outweighed by the ability to employ people, of any age, as well as graduates. Thank you.
11. Rob Wortham
Businesses are now paying the price for undervaluing IT competance and expertise. Even when businesses are critically reliant on their IT, they still cut corners. It's because all technology is now seen as 'cheap', just because PC's are so cheap.
If you want to make money today, then you'd be better off being a manicurist or 'holistic therapist'. The Indians and Chinese have the future, we only have the capital base, but that won't last long.
12. Terry C
A neighbour of mine was made redundant 2 years ago. He is an exceptionally experienced and qualified IT specialist. Since then he has applied for over 300 positions. He has managed to get only 3 interviews. None of which were successful. He now says that he's had enough of the IT industry - he's going to drive a taxi. So, if there is such a skills shortage (or imminent shortage) - why do I keep hearing these same stories?? And I DO keep hearing them.
13. anonymous
I dont know how much Europe is lacking IT skills, but if it really lacking then its making a mess of it by how it's treating the international students spending so much money, with companies not being able to use their technical skills by just putting in a statement at the end of an online application form requirements saying " ONLY UK STUDENTS APPLY, INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE" and more importantly, the government playing with the future and time of many technical international students by fiddling out with the SEGS Scheme Course list at certainly WRONG times!!!!!!
14. anonymous
IT employers have only themselves to blame. There are plenty of graduates out there, including myself. I have been attempting to change careers into IT for three years, with no luck whatsoever. The main reason is my lack of experience, a catch 22 situtation as without experience you can't get a job and without a job you can't get experience. Then there is always the ageism problem where an IT manager won't employ a subordinate older than him/herself.
15. Gonzalo
The other issue not mentioned here is the fact that IS/IT is not a career. I have been in the IS/IT department since 1987 and I am tired of being treated like the Red Headed Step Child. Computer professionals are held to a different standard than any other department. It is no longer worth it to be a computer professional. The reason productivity levels are up is because people are asked to perform more with less. Back in the day, one had an army of internal profesionals with knowledge on any subject. This is no longer true in the West as Asia and India will dominate. One can not compete against 10 or more highly skilled workers.
16. anonymous
If there are really ads saying "only UK students need apply", report them- it's illegal. As long as someone is a citizen of an EU country, they have a right to work in the UK.
For someone from another part of the world, it's less clear. If you don't have the right to work in the UK, the employer is now liable if you're found not to be eligible.
17. passerby
Who does this kind of survey? That's who:
Managers, who start to bellyache about labour shortage whenever any less than 250 desperate losers apply for their job opening.
18. anonymous
Who does this kind of survey?
Folks who starts bellyaching about labor shortage as soon as any less than 250 desperate losers apply for job.
19. anonymous
So why was it not possible for me to break into IT/business analysis with a joint degree in Business Studies and B. Information Systems; obtained in 1999?
20. anonymous
There is no skills crisis because pretty soon their will be no need for skills of any kind.
I am an experienced Business Analysts with a "techie" background. Over the last 7 to 8 years the only projects I have worked on are projects that "de-skill" a certain task or remove the task all together, either so it doesn't need doing or gets outsourced completely - both in the name of efficiency and cost saving.
There is only one result though, a very dumb workforce incapable of looking after itself and ultimately no future either. Unfortunately that future will be with us in the next 5 years.