Computer Training - The IT Skills Shortage at the Top of the Spectrum

The IT industry is one of the fastest movingmarket, and the fittest are those who are most willing
marketplaces in the world. Continuous productto commit to continual career development through
development, both in software and hardware, makes itmulti-discipline training.
hard for today's IT technicians to keep up with theMany senior figures within the IT industry are now
latest developments. The only way to stay at the topopenly questioning the validity of training that does not
of the ladder is through continuous careerelevate candidates to more advanced levels, and the
development via skills training and vendor-specificonus is now very much on multi-vendor skills sets. Put
qualifications.simply; those with the right level and spread of
However, once ensconced in a nice, cosy IT job, it canqualifications are more likely to succeed in an
be tempting to just assume that the level of trainingincreasingly competitive marketplace than those who
you have is adequate for your position and that nojust have entry-level qualifications. The business world
additional training is necessary. The current economicmay have stagnated because of the global economic
climate also means that every penny has to berecession, but the IT development industry marches on
accounted for and people are reluctant to spendrelentless. Those who match their vendor-specific
money on training advancement or developmenttraining with the latest developments are going to be
unless their employer supports it. The financialbest placed to succeed once the wheels of industry
commitment of taking vendor-specific qualifications orstart turning again.
'upgrading' your skills-set can slip down the list ofNow that the initial panic of the onset of the worst
priorities. Employer commitment to contributing torecessions in years is dying down, businesses are now
vendor-specific training is also being downgraded as aactively looking at ways of building their way out of
priority because of the current economic problems.recession and back into growth. That includes IT skills
Everyone is feeling the pinch and the concern withindevelopment amongst employees and as a result of a
the IT industry is that this will lead to a stagnation ofconcerted campaign amongst accredited IT providers,
skills levels within the jobs market.financial assistance is now becoming more available
All of these combine, to leave an industry that isfor companies that are forward-thinking enough to
increasingly concerned about a skills shortage at thesupport employees who want to increase their skills
top of the spectrum, particularly amongst those whoset. Raising your game doesn't have to cost the earth,
have multiple qualifications for different vendors suchand the hope is that the skills shortage at the top of
as Microsoft, Adobe and Cisco. The age of singlethe spectrum can eventually be filled by people who
vendor systems has passed - businesses now usehave higher levels of training and a greater ability to
multiple vendor systems and the best IT engineers andkeep pace with technology development. With a
programmers have to have a comprehensivewealth of training (both generic and vendor-specific)
understanding of a variety of vendors, as well hasavailable, it's never too late for a few old dogs to learn
how they integrate within a single system. Multi-usersome new tricks. As a result they will be better placed
systems and networks bring their own, specificto cope with the onrush of new technology that will
problems and if an IT professional doesn't have thelaunch the economic turnaround that many now
specialist knowledge to be able to manage thebelieve could be as rapid as the onset of the
system, they are very likely to find themselvesrecession was.
replaced by someone who does. It's a dog eat dog