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Help wanted finding more IT students
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Location: Blogs News |
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| Posted by: ITNovaScotia Admin |
Thursday, May 25, 2006 |
| By JIM STANLEY
MOST PEOPLE LIKE a good mystery. However, the mystery I am about to describe is one that I don’t enjoy and, try as I might, I just don’t understand it.
Across the country, many colleges and universities are facing significant declines in the numbers of students entering information technology programs. As the dean responsible for this area of skills development and learning at the Nova Scotia Community College, this decline in IT students is happening at a time when most of our other program areas are expanding their enrolments.
I recently attended a Nova Scotia Business Inc.-sponsored conference titled Geared for Growth, where an expert from the Branham Group (specialists in IT and communication technology in Canada) enthusiastically informed the audience that the sector has very positive growth prospects in Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada.
Most of the evidence I have seen or heard will back up that claim. Statistics Canada reports almost 13,000 jobs were created in the computer and telecommunications sector in 2005 — the first gain in four years — bringing the total to 597,600 jobs. The Software Human Resources Council’s national survey of IT occupations reports that 32.7 per cent of workers in the province are involved with the IT sector, a rate higher than anywhere in the country. That means the highest concentration of IT professionals in Canada is right here in our own backyard.
In Nova Scotia, IT industry leaders and supporters tell us they are all concerned about finding the growing numbers of qualified new IT employees they require to accomplish their projects. These are employers who pay competitive wages, offer good working conditions and are willing to make positions available in communities across our province. Employers are hungry for new talent. A recent Globe and Mail article stated most IT graduates today will likely see four or more job offers from employers who are willing to outbid the competition.
Thus the mystery: Why aren’t people lining up to receive training so they can hand-pick their job of choice?
See the full story at The ChronicleHerald.ca |
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Comments (5)
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Re: Help wanted finding more IT students |
By SS on
Thursday, May 25, 2006 |
Although I agree that the local IT job market has improved, the issue now is that most employers are looking for experienced people these days, not those fresh from school. This makes for a tight market but one that is hard to enter if you are new to the industry.
Also with the demand for trade jobs, especially in Alberta that pay as much or more than most IT jobs, people are now looking at other options. Lets also see how the new higher Canadian dollar impacts the industry. We are not the cheap near shore IT Mecca that we once were, and I expect we may see a downturn from the big multinational players in the province, which could lead to a glut of experienced IT people into the job pool.
What I also fear from the authors comments is the drive to get everyone into IT. This is what happened in the 90s before the bubble burst. Schools were churning out IT grads by the truck load and we ended up with an over saturated market. This then lead to why the job market became so tough, too many inexperienced people looking for too few jobs. Lets not let that happen again. What we need is steady but controlled entry to the industry so that it grows, but in a controlled and managed manner where companies can keep up with the new supply of workers. |
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Re: Help wanted finding more IT students |
By ES on
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 |
I agree with SS that it can be difficult for an inexperienced IT person to gain entry to the job market. Back in the 80's the organization I work for had a training program whereby they hired a certain number of newly graduated students each yera and put them through a program of training and mentoring specific to our needs. Most of the people who went through that program still work here and will retire from here.
I think that more organizations should get back to doing that - the long term benefits far outway the initial period of low productivity. That could even be extended to sponsoring students in their education which would provide a better match between numbers of graduates and positions. |
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Re: Help wanted finding more IT students |
By RF on
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 |
| Re: Skills and Experience: It is possible for students to get the IT skills, currently in demand, and some experience as well. MSVU offers a co-operative education based degree in Information Technology. Students earn a university degree with a blend of IT skills, communication skills, and business process understanding - and 3 co-op work terms (equal to one full year on job experience). Re: The current market and the boom/bust of the past. All indications are that we are NOT in the same economic climate as the first IT boom, yet we are see continuing strong demand for IT skills both within and outside the IT industry. |
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Re: Help wanted finding more IT students |
By ac on
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 |
I think having a coop based program is a must now. It is a great opportunity to get some real world experience and better prepares the student to enter the work force. Employers also get a chance to "audition" potential employees with reduce cost and risk. I think NSCC also has the same style of coop program for IT.
I think the current market is taking a much more planned approach to growth than what we seen in the .com boom times, which is a good approach. During the boom everyone rushed ot get into IT as they seen it as a money grab, now people more look to it as a longterm career. |
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Re: Help wanted finding more IT students |
By BM on
Friday, June 02, 2006 |
| The IT industry looks for youth and experience in one package. It requires constant relearning and if you are not in management by the time you are in your 40s the going will get tough. At least with most other trades you will have a much better chance of finding employment later in your working career. Industry may also paint a picture of a skills shortage to pressure government to subsidize more training and allow more immigration to keep their cost down. |
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