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June 30, 1999

IT Skills Gap Demands Action

continued...page 2 of 3

Related links:

Labor Intensive

The Age Factor

Interview: Secretary of Commerce, William Daley

sidebar: Goverment Recommendations

U.S. Department Of Commerce's Descriptions of IT Worker Job Categories

Go For IT!
The U.S. Dept. of Commerce's public resource website for IT hiring and training.

Other findings in the report:

Between 1987 and 1998, the unemployment rate for IT workers was approximately 2%, compared to a 42-year low of 4.2% for all workers in March of this year.
From 1996 to 2006, the number of core IT workers--computer scientists, computer engineers, systems analysts, and computer programmers--will have grown from 1.5 million in 1996 to 2.6 million in 2006; add another 250,000 or so to replace those exiting these professions.
Between 1983 and 1998, the number of IT workers increased 190%, to 2.1 million, more than six times the nation's job growth rate.
Women are still underrepresented in the IT labor force, accounting for only 12% of the IT population in 1998.
Minorities, including African Americans and Hispanics, are also underrepresented in the IT labor force. African Americans represent 7.2% and Hispanics account for 3.6% of computer systems analysts and scientists; they represent 6.4% and 4.9% of computer programmers, respectively.
Traffic on the Internet is doubling every 100 days, propagating the need for hardware, software, and skilled IT workers to implement and manage Internet systems.
The mix of knowledge and skills varies from one IT position to another, making it difficult for employers to find and hire employees with the right mix of skills, such as Java programmers, and computer security and E-commerce specialists.
75% of computer systems analysts and scientists, and nearly 80% of computer programmers, are under the age of 45.
The IT industry is increasing its use of temporary workers. Total wages paid for assigned technical workers--a category that includes computer programmers, systems analysts, designers, drafters, editors, engineers, and illustrators--grew from $1.9 billion in 1991 to $4.7 billion in 1998.

The report points out that in a rapidly growing industry, "vacancies are a normal part of business." In addition, getting the right individual with just the right combination of IT skills is especially challenging. "Many companies are demanding IT people that are an exact fit with their job descriptions," says Kelly Carnes, assistant secretary designate for the Department of Commerce. "These companies need to train and retrain individuals and help to equip them with the combination of IT skills that they're looking for."

Daley recommends that government, industry, and the education system create comprehensive education programs to teach students information technology from kindergarten to the Ph.D. level.

The report cites many IT vendors and businesses that have partnered with education institutions to encourage IT talent. The result: a modest but steady increase in the number of computer science degrees. From 1995 to 1998, across-the-board enrollments in computer science and computer engineering rose 104%; enrollments in bachelor degree programs rose 108% in that period; in masters degree programs, 106%; and in Ph.D programs, 71%.

There are approximately six students for each computer in K-12 schools, according to the report. Access varies, however. In addition, about 51% of public schools had access to the Internet in 1998, up from a mere 3% in 1994. But high school boys still represent the majority of secondary students participating in computer science courses. Approximately 6% of boys take computer applications courses, as opposed to 2% of girls.

At the professional level, enrollment in certification programs is also increasing. For example, this year Microsoft says it expects to train about 1.2 million IT professionals in its technologies, and Oracle expects to train 520,000 IT employees through instructor-led training programs.

Despite the progress, there's much work to be done, says Daley, who admits federal, state, and local governments as well as the education system should have recognized the need for IT training years ago. "One of the hallmarks of this administration has been a serious reaching out to the private sector to try to solve these problems. The mistake of 10 years ago was that a lot of people didn't see what was going on in the business world. There were dramatic changes taking place and [government] wasn't responding."

Moreover, Daley says, strong disincentives exist for businesses and the IT industry to invest money and time in training America's IT workforce. Workers who receive training become more marketable after acquiring "hot" combinations of technology skills, such as Internet, ERP, and application development. These employees command higher salaries and are often lured away by competing companies. (See related story, 1999 National IT Salary Survey: Pay Up!.)