(2 votes, average: 7.5 out of 10)
Loading ...Those in the field don’t want to hear about a skills shortage
Mari-Len wrote a story in the latest CWC about labour issues affecting the IT market, but not in the usual way. Instead of just trotting out the same old facts and figures (which are always dire, for some reason), she tried to address the concerns raised by readers who get angry every time we publish articles about how many companies are looking for good IT people. We tend to get letters, for example, from people who say they have been looking for months, or that employers’ expectations are uninformed and unrealistic. Hopefully this balances out the various points of view.
September 5th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Read the article and I’m not impressed. Why can’t anyone write an informative article that deals with the entire reality of what is out there, instead of cherry picking “problems” and “solutions”? No one seems to want to answer the question of why experienced [soft skills and tech skills] IT workers are unable to find work.
September 21st, 2007 at 1:46 pm
I have been looking for employment in IT for a number of years, I have a number of certifications, and a track record of proven success in both IT and other fields. One employer told me I was to old to work in IT. In another circumstance one employer informed me I did not have he required experience for an entry level job and for virtually an identical job later in the week another employer informed me I was too experienced to work for them
The inconsistency of job requirements/pay and expectations between employers is the biggest problem in the industry. Too many employers are so focused on paying as little as possible that of course anyone working for them will jump at a better job, these employers do not seem to grasp there is a big cost in training a new employee and keeping an employee for more than 2 years will benefit their bottom line.
Many employers demand experience and training that only a mature worker has had the time to acquire and at the same demand the person be under 35. Realistic expectations on the part of employers will go along ways towards solving their hiring crisis. Rather than demand a grab bag of qualifications employers should properly look at their requirements and not demand every combination of qualification they have heard of. The number that have demanded qualifications in non existent applications or 5 years experience in an application that has been available for only a year astounds me .