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You either
have IT, or you don't
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11th, 1999
The Star Ledger
Zafar Khizer Guiding a StudentA 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.
An aptitude test, properly designed, can indicate the IT level that
is best suited for an individual.
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