A
Technology crisis is facing small and large businesses
across the country but the solution is in our hands.
The crisis consists of a shortage of information technology
(IT) professionals. About 346,000 IT positions remain
unfilled, according to a joint study conducted by the
Information Technology Association of America and Virginia
Polytechnic Institute. With the nation's economy becoming
increasingly dependent on high-tech processes, this gap can
slow our country's economic development.
Experts at PC Age, a computer training school in Edison and
Parsippany, have theories on the problems and solutions
regarding the IT shortage. The IT shortage itself is only
part of the problem, they say.
And the
suggested solutions, which usually center on expanding visa programs
to enable more foreign computer professionals to enter the United
States, only provide a bandage instead of a cure.
As evidenced by a number of studies, the shortage of IT
professionals is firmly rooted in the relatively low number of
people who are entering the field-or, more accurately, the large
number of men and women who are not studying IT. For example,
studies conducted by the federal General Accounting Office indicate
that only about one-quarter of the employees currently in IT-related
positions have a degree in the field. Many were originally trained
in engineering, mathematics and other disciplines.
The long-term solution involves increasing the pool of
available programmers, systems analysts, computer engineers, and
other IT professionals. It is therefore the mission of companies
such as PC Age to bolster student interest in IT as a profession.
Experts at PC Age suggest the answer lies in expanding the
methods of IT education and, equally important, in
broadening the categories of candidates who are deemed
eligible for IT training.
Traditionally, colleges and universities have tried to track
math and science students for computer-related courses.
Limiting the applicants to math and science majors, however,
tends to diminish the pool of IT candidates. By contrast,
some IT training centers and schools tend to admit
applicants indiscriminately. Although this has the desired
effect of broadening the pool of IT candidates, it also
means that many of the people who sign up may be
disappointed when they complete the course, because they
really were not a good match for the profession to begin
with.
The key, then, is determining whether an individual is well
suited for IT before he or she actually begins the training
process. But doing that involves disposing of some old
beliefs, and developing a new approach. It is no longer
enough to take a group of individuals, herd them into a
classroom and assume that everyone who passes a course will
go on to a fruitful career in computers.
While no one should ever be discouraged from trying to rise
to the top, there are intellectual and psychological
guideposts that can suggest where a person's efforts are
best placed. An aptitude test, properly designed, can
indicate the IT level that is best suited for an individual.
A
Technology crisis is facing small and large businesses
across the country but the solution is in our hands. 
