Image Courtesy: bit.ly/1HWzkr7 More and more young people are now planning to start their careers in IT and computing. As the IT industry is expanding substantially, this can be a great idea for you to advance your career. But do you have what it takes to make it big in this industry? The fact is many aspiring IT professionals lack the necessary skills and knowledge that businesses require. According to a new study by CompTIA, an IT skills training body, around 45 per cent of businesses in the UK are currently suffering from an “extensive” dearth of skilled IT professionals. This is adversely affecting the productivity of UK companies.
Effects of IT Skills Gap
The International Technology Adoption and Workforce Trends Study recently surveyed over 1,500 executives in the IT sector and discovered that 44 per cent of the respondents are concerned that digital skills gaps is negatively impacting staff productivity. About 30 per cent of the respondents claimed that inadequate skills are affecting customer services.
According to the survey
More than 28 per cent of the surveyed IT executives reported that in order to reduce the skills gaps they are planning to recruit more information technology professionals in 2015, which will be up from 14 per cent in 2014. Apart from this, cyber security is also a serious concern for UK firms, as almost 63 per cent of professionals believe the risk of cyber attacks is growing. Around 48 per cent think human error is the main reason for the rise, along with growing usage of social media. 58 per cent of IT recruiters claimed that technology security will be one of the top priorities in spending next year.
Need for Effective Training
Rob Partridge, Head of BT Security Academy, thinks that it is now time for the sector to focus on vocational qualifications like apprenticeships and online learning, instead of university degrees. Director at IT consultancy Vanti, Mike Brooman, said his company found it difficult to recruit skilled staff.
He said “With such a disruptive IT market, we fully appreciate it is difficult for the education sector to keep up with the pace of technological innovation on its own. We are testing a number of alternative hiring routes, including apprenticeships and industry certifications, so we can train people to our standards in-house rather than try to compete in an over-inflated and ill-equipped graduate market.”
Estelle Johannes, CompTIA UK director for member communities, said “The impact of the skills gap threatens the livelihood of businesses across the country, from information security to customer service, and more needs to be done to tackle this growing problem. But building and managing talent requires a concerted effort, resources and time. There is rarely a quick fix to addressing skills gaps.”
A Practical Solution
As you can see, simply earning a university degree is not sufficient for career in this sector. If you wish to build a thriving IT career, then you will need not only the right qualification, but also the right skills and experience. As Partridge suggested, online learning is one of the most feasible options for you. You can find several accredited online information technology courses that offer you quality education, recognised degree and also the opportunity to gain experience by doing internships or full time jobs. This is perhaps the biggest advantage of pursuing an online IT degree. As these courses do not have any scheduled classes, you can work and study simultaneously. You will have utmost flexibility to study at your own pace from the convenience of your own home. Hence, you will not only develop theoretical and technical knowledge from your course, but you will also gain the necessary practical skills needed for an IT job.
Moreover, if you earn a diploma in information technology online, you will get the best employment opportunities from around the world, as more IT firms and other businesses are looking for the right talent with the right qualification and skills.
The bottom line
Online learning undoubtedly offers a feasible solution in reducing the skills gap in the IT industry and empower aspiring professionals to build lucrative careers in this field.
What do you think? Do you have the right IT skills? Share your thoughts and ideas with us by commenting below.
Source: bit.ly/1J0z4IR
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