Career Advisory Board Reveals Growing Lack of Tech Preparedness for the American Workforce
07 March 2017 - 2:00AM
Business Wire
Research uncovers growing gap in both applied
and hard technology skills
The Career Advisory Board, established by DeVry University,
today announced the results of its survey on the technology skills
gap. The research found deficits in both applied and hard tech
skills among current employee circles and new applicants, and a
general lack of preparedness for individuals entering the workforce
with the right level of technical competency.
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“The tech skills gap is a well-known issue among both educators
and employers,” said Alexandra Levit, chair of the Career Advisory
Board. “However, in addition to the shortage of hard tech skills
such as computer programming or web design, we discovered a growing
concern among employers over the lack of applied tech skills.”
Having applied tech skills refers to an individual’s ability to
use technology for the benefit of an organization, not necessarily
the ability to deploy specific technologies themselves. Employers
are seeking individuals with these abilities more and more, but not
enough are graduating with the proper skill set.
Survey respondents consisted of 500 individuals from a number of
leadership and hiring positions within organizations. Of the
respondents, 71 percent agreed it is rare for an employee to
possess all requirements outlined in a job description. Although
gaps are present across varying skill areas, nearly 60 percent said
it was common for job applicants to lack the technology skills
important for success in their career, with half reporting a tech
skills deficit in their current employee base.
When defining exactly what employers are looking for within the
tech skill deficits, four in five agreed that for technology to be
effective, it must integrate people, process, data and devices.
Seventy-five percent agreed employees should understand how to use
technology to inform and drive business decisions, while 84 percent
claimed employees who know how to use the right tech tools in their
fields are more effective.
Other Key
Findings
Applied Tech Skills are Essential in
21st Century Business
- Seventy-seven percent said a company’s
competitive advantage lies in using applied tech skills to solve
problems, and they desire a workforce well-equipped with the proper
skills to do so.
- Proficiency with data analytics – which
refers to qualitative and quantitative techniques and processes use
to derive business insights from behavioral data – is an example of
an increasingly sought-after skill in numerous employee roles.
Hard Tech Skills are More Relevant for
Certain Professions
- Although hard tech skills like coding
are not mandatory for all job types, there is still a serious
shortage of these skills in IT-related professions.
- An overwhelming majority of respondents
agreed their organizations do not have enough of the following hard
tech skills: network and information security (80 percent), cloud
computing (76 percent), web architecture development (73 percent),
internet of things (72 percent) and artificial intelligence (63
percent).
Advice for Educators
and Employers
“Educators serve a vital role in narrowing the technology skills
gap in today’s workforce,” said Shantanu Bose, Ph.D., Career
Advisory Board member and provost and vice president of Academic
Excellence at DeVry University. “It is important for those in
education to continuously work with employers to understand what
their needs are and to ensure they can impact and inform our
curriculum. Likewise, employers need to turn to educators to not
only help with talent acquisition, but also talent development and
skills gap training.”
Along with partnerships between educators and employers, the
Career Advisory Board also recommends the following strategies to
bridge the applied and hard tech skills gaps:
- Leverage design thinking: A
strategy for innovation, design thinking can be leveraged by
educators to ensure students are interacting with technology as
they would in the real world.
- Encourage tinkering: Whether in
the classroom or in an employment setting, incorporating technology
learning and experimentation into coursework or job
responsibilities can help students and employees become applied
tech proficient.
- Build reciprocal mentorship
channels: Reciprocal mentorship programs, which pair more
seasoned employees with less experienced ones, can help expand the
adoption of applied tech skills throughout an organization.
- Focus on the female pipeline:
Currently, women are underrepresented in the IT industry. The
public and private sectors must partner to encourage and support
young girls to explore technology careers and provide resources
along the way.
- Review what is working globally:
While the tech skills gap is not unique to the U.S., other
countries have taken steps to bridge that divide that educators and
employers should emulate.
For more information and for the complete executive summary,
visit www.careeradvisoryboard.org.
About the Career Advisory Board
Established in 2010 by DeVry University, the Career Advisory
Board is comprised of leading representatives from business and
academia who deliver valuable insights on today’s most important
career trends and provide actionable advice for job seekers. The
Career Advisory Board generates original research and commentary,
and creates tools, insights and resources to prepare job seekers
for success. Its members include executives from DeVry University,
Google, Apple, HP, IBM and LinkedIn, as well as nationally
recognized career experts. For more information, visit
CareerAdvisoryBoard.org.
Tech Skills Gap Survey Methodology
The 2017 Job Skills Gap research was conducted online
within the United States by Ketchum and Research Now on behalf of
DeVry in January 2017. Survey respondents included 501 U.S.-based
individuals (64 percent male, 36 percent female) with full-time
positions who are responsible for making hiring decisions, work in
human resources or are an executive-level employee. Around
two-thirds of respondents worked for organizations with over 1,000
employees and worked in one of the following industries:
healthcare, technology, financial/insurance services,
business/consumer services or retail.
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DeVry UniversityAnne Unger630-353-7009aunger@devry.edu
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