Takeaway of the week is a whole new set of avenues from which good news on the IT job front flow - if one has the right qualifications. Got Linux skills? Your skills are wanted big-time. Got a U.K. residence? Your IT skills are wanted, too. Got a college IT degree? OK, just a little more seasoning on the soft skills and other areas and you’re good to go.
IT Jobs on the Rise in the U.K.
A study based on January job openings in the U.K. signals a healthy bump in the need for IT staffers.
The study by recruitment and service organizations showed a rise in the demand for both full-time and temporary IT workers due to an apparent short supply of talent with necessary IT skills, according to a ComputerWeekly report.
Findings from the survey, by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, indicated full-time IT staffers highly sought include those with skills in C#, database administration, datastage, DB2, software development, IT marketing, .Net, SAP, security and VB. In the arena of temporary IT workers, skills in short supply include business analysis, Citrix, datastage, .Net, Oracle and security.
A separate survey by the recruitment firm, Robert Half, indicated an overwhelming majority of CIOs are having difficulty locating workers with the right skills to support their investment plans. Most sought after skills? Big data wrangling and mobile technology.
Sunny Forecast for Linux Skills
Linux talent has a very bright immediate future, so says data from a recent report on the industry sector is accurate.
A new study conducted by technology career site, Dice, indicates increased demand for the hard-to-find skill is triggering higher salary and bonus opportunities. The report was also the subject of a recent Wall Street Journal blog item.
The 2012 Linux Jobs Report notes that eight in ten recruiters highlight Linux professionals as a hiring priority this year. The survey also reports managers plan to hire more Linux professionals relative to other skill sets during the first half of this year.
The study, which the nonprofit Linux Foundation helped produce, points to the difficulty by a majority of respondents in finding qualified Linux talent as a major reason the sector is grabbing more full-time positions, better salaries, bonuses and perks amid a sea of contract and temp-to-hire roles elsewhere.
Seventy-five percent of respondents are setting their aim for mid-level talent with three to five years of experience, especially in the areas of development or systems administration.
“Linux jobs have become some of the hottest jobs in all of tech,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at the Linux Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting the growth of Linux.
Chief Mobility Officer to the Rescue
A new Forrester Research report shows the latest wave of mobile strategies could use the off-again, on-again CMO role to ride ‘em to success.
Although the idea of a chief mobile officer has been mulled over by executives for some time now, companies seeking the fastest way to provide mobile services and apps may need to rely on the top-level engagement to make things happen, notes a recent Computerworld article based on Forrester findings.
The report, based on study of 61 firms, found a wide range of approaches to broadening mobile offerings. Some companies sought self-service apps customers could take on, while others were planning IT groups focused solely on smartphone and tablet engagement.
Spending on mobile projects is expected to grow by 100 percent by 2015, according to Forrester, with spending on apps to reach $55 billion by 2016.
Analysts suggest an office of the chief mobility officer would help improve coordination of mobile initiatives and allow easy flow of information with task forces created for mobile projects. Their roles would be to blend social, mobile and business analytics to help connect workers, customers and enterprise partners, Forrester analysts note.
Placing all that under the umbrella of one CMO may still be a little ways off, but insiders note there is current progress toward the mobile task force idea within various IT groups.
Got the IT Degree? Great, Now Gather These Skills
IT managers say college graduates armed with IT degrees are missing some vital skills necessary for success in their chosen profession.
Besides the book smarts that the ‘new kids’ have in spades, managers are looking for some pertinent soft skills, business skills and focused technical skills, according to a new Computerworld article.
A number of industry managers interviewed for the piece collaborated on the following six key skills considered lacking in college prospects:
- Business basics knowledge - get to know the scoop on accounts receivables, logistics, operations, marketing plans and such.
- Systems integration - companies want folks who can integrate multiple enterprise applications in an established system, likely not build that system from scratch.
- Expertise in emerging technology - colleges are having a hard time keeping up with the very latest trends such as cloud computing and business intelligence.
- Tech basics - sometimes even the most basic tech skills such as batch scripting or simple PC problem-solving are left wanting as universities focus on the more advanced IT issues.
- Legacy system knowledge - colleges may not be devoting a lot of resources to Cobol, CICS and other mainframe skills, but companies continue to do so.
- Teamwork - social media and online communities are putting the emphasis today on individualism when businesses need workers who can collaborate and work as a team.
