RIM recently announced the creation of their BlackBerry Certification Program. Many organizations today use BlackBerry smartphones to access corporate email and schedules. As a result, many email administrators have had to install and configure BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) to allow the BlackBerry Infrastructure servers at RIM to communicate with the Exchange, Lotus, or GroupWise email servers within their organization. BES is a complex technology - by using IT policies, you can restrict the settings remotely on BlackBerry smartphones. In addition, BES can be used to remotely configure applications on BlackBerry smartphones or remotely wipe all data if the BlackBerry smartphone is lost or stolen.

For years, BES and BlackBerry support was missing from the Exchange Server components of our college curriculum. When I talk with graduates who work with Exchange Server, BES and BlackBerry is often mentioned. As a result, the introduction of BlackBerry Certification is good news since it allows companies who use BES to use BlackBerry certification as a benchmark when hiring email administrators.

There are three main BlackBerry designations that I think organizations will find useful when hiring:
BlackBerry Certified Support Specialist (BCSS), which covers BlackBerry device and security support
BlackBerry Certified System Administrator (BCSA), which covers the configuration of BES
BlackBerry Certified Server Support Specialist (BCSSS), which covers advanced BES support

You can view the details of these certifications at http://www.blackberry.com/certification. My college has recently partnered with RIM to provide academic course offerings geared towards these certifications, and I am involved in creating the academic textbooks for the aforementioned certifications. You can find more at http://www.trios.com/career/index.aspx?section=Whatsnew19.

Even if you are already an email administrator that works with BES, it is probably worthwhile investigating or pursuing BlackBerry certification to expand your skillset and marketability.

The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) recently celebrated its 50th anniversary at a conference in Toronto.

Kelly Gotlieb – professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, Order of Canada award recipient, and one of CIPS’ founding members – was in attendance and graciously sat down with our IT World Canada cameras.

The computer science pioneer discusses the importance of CIPS, the evolution of the IT professional, and the heavily publicized IT skills shortage.

But only for the right company, of course.

The study found that two of the top five places to work were tech companies: Google and Apple. According to DECODE partner Eric Meerkamper, “The brands that were chosen are considered to be authentic and innovate; part of some new and important values emerging in the workplace. All of these organizations are places that resonate as being stable and secure. This is an important variable considering the substantial debt load many students will carry upon graduation given rising tuition costs.”

Students also want to work for these companies because they offer advancement opportunities and good work/life balance.

The project is being run in partnership with the Ottawa Centre for Research and the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and will focus on sparking an interest in computer science and engineering specifically. (Students will receive a laptop to work with during the program, which is in line with the high school curriculum and post-secondary requirements.)

Nestor E. Arellano brings up some good information in his article “Skills shortage? You must be joking,” at ITBusiness.ca. While many still argue that there is an IT skills shortage (for example, at the recent Tech Week convention in Toronto), Nestor points out that the reader response to one of his articles arguing that same issue has been entirely different. Many of Nestor’s readers argue that there is little evidence of an IT skills shortage in Canada and blame the perceived skills shortage on companies that have poor hiring practices or set hiring standards that are too high. In addition, two talent specialists agreed with the reader’s responses.

From my perspective (in the Kitchener-Waterloo area of Ontario), there is definitely a great deal more IT hiring than before, and in a wide range of IT jobs that are well suited to the students that graduate from my college. However, at the same time, companies are definitely getting leaner and meaner with regards to IT:

• Business and communication skills are now a must-have for all IT people
• Outsourcing is becoming more rampant (last week’s InformationWeek magazine even had an article listing the successes of one company’s outsourcing to China)
• Cloud computing and SaaS eliminate many current IT job roles in place of fewer centralized development roles

Overall, I think that the IT industry is growing, but it is also changing dramatically. Perhaps this change is the real reason that many of Nestor’s readers don’t see the skills gap. Perhaps the IT skills gap is mainly caused by the new skills that companies require in the future. Or perhaps the skills gap is exaggerated by media and organizations for publicity (think Al Gore).

I think that there is a bit of all three.

The human capital management service and software package is geared toward users looking for improved workforce trends and metrics, along with demographics, compensation, attrition, and costs information. (It will include IBM Cognos 8 Workforce Performance software.)

Based on its on-demand application platform, the Talent Grid will include third-party background checks, assessment and salary data, and customer talent pool content.

This would allow recruiters to recruit more efficiently by leveraging social networks, and to track employee performance against other companies.

The layoffs will give the company a one-time restructuring charge of $2.8-million  in the fourth quarter.

Interim CEO Kris Hagerman said, “The actions we are taking today will enable us to expand our sales and marketing activity in emerging markets and enhance our eCommerce offerings – just two of the areas where we believe incremental investment will improve both our financial performance and our long-term competitive position in the market.”

Canterris CEO Phil Klassen sees the new locale as a growth opportunity due to the area’s reputation as a “dynamic technology hub,” he said in a press release. The Regus Business Centre in Kitchener will house the new Canterris outpost.

Some development, marketing, and finance staff will stay in Calgary. Some development, and sales and business development will be shifted to the Waterloo office.

The survey queried almost 3,000 IT staffers from over 100 countries about their presidential preference, and 52 per cent chose Obama, while  21 per cent went for Republican nominee John McCain.

The North American numbers were slightly closer, although Obama still had the edge, with 45 per cent over 31 per cent for McCain.

When it came to issues, Obama scored three sevens (out of 10) on the economy, the environment, and international relations, while McCain nabbed two sixes (the economy and environment) and a seven out of ten (international relations).

You can check out the rest of the Obama lovefest over at ITtoolbox.