2011 JCSE/ITWeb Skills Survey Report
ICT Skills – a 21st Century Paradox
The global economic situation that has been developing since 2008 is contributing to a confusing and confused picture of the ICT skills balance around the world. Headlines appearing in the third quarter of 2011 strongly suggest that there continues to be demand for ICT skills. A report from Dice.com[1] in the US said there were nearly 83 000 vacancies there, as at 1 September, suggesting this was fuelled by the demand for mobile applications. Singapore’s ICT sector reported 16 100 vacancies in 2010 and the Singapore Computer Society indicated that unattractive pay packages and lack of career advancement opportunities are key reasons why the sector is short of professionals[2].
An article in ITWeb headed “No end to ICT skills crunch”[3] gathered opinions from a number of local and regional employers who felt that the demand for skills is growing in response to an increase in approvals for new projects and highlighting the scarcity of such roles as mid-level to senior business analyst, experienced software developers and testers. The article also highlighted the complaints from employers that the education system does not produce sufficient matriculants to study computer science or electronic engineering at university and that graduates are not “work ready” when they enter the job market. In the article, Madelise Grobler of Bytes People Solutions commented on the lack of coaching and mentoring programmes for new employees, combined with the expectation that new arrivals should hit the ground running.
Some of the measures adopted to close the skills gap may well be exacerbating the problem for the next generation. These include poaching skills trained elsewhere, multi-skilling and cross-training existing staff. We have commented on this latter phenomenon in each year of our Survey. As noted in the Singapore example, skills retention is a major issue, with career development and skills upgrading as important as pay/benefits in keeping the loyalty of key staff.
If you would like more information, a copy of the report or a discussion about the survey, please contact research@jcse.org.za.