IT Industry today – Variety of Jobs in a skill shortage market
This morning we went out to Burnside High school in Christchurch – Heidi did a presentation on the many IT roles that are available for students today as many do not think about the IT industry as a first career path.
Focusing on the variety of roles and how each role could relate to the personality of the student – from a person who loves gaming and developing creative software to a Scrum Master who can lead a team to success, some roles were seen as long term career path from a Computer Science Graduate to a Project Manager and outlined that you don’t have to stay where you started in the industry.
Many students tend to be put off by ‘stereotypes’ about the IT industry and think that if they start to get into it they will end up bored and disinterested in the work after a while – Heidi spoke about these particular stereotypes to encourage students to try and think out of the box and inform them that they are old fashioned perceptions and do not apply to the IT roles of today.
She also touched on the desperate shortage of employees for IT positions – in a growing technology market this is a world-wide problem and particularly apparent in NZ. This is becoming a real problem as the high demand for IT roles need to be filled within developing companies who are pushed to off shore work due to lack of local resources. She emphasized that we need to train more IT people within NZ and retain them here.
The role of women within the IT industry was another key point and highlighted in the presentation – with the percentage of women studying ICT subjects and working within IT professions being very low compared to men. Heidi outlined to the students that women are just as capable of fulfilling the requirements of all IT disciplines as men are and that the IT industry offers some exceptional opportunities for women to continue working from home if they decide to balance child care with professional demands. With mobile technology and cloud solutions there is no need for women being tied to an office location and in many IT roles they can be just as efficient working from home.
The presentation at Burnside High was to year 11 and year 12 students who were attending technology classes but were still unsure about a career path after finishing High School. We hope that Heidi’s presentation has given them a clearer picture and the determination to enter a tertiary education path in technology related areas and that we will be able to see these young people joining the local ICT industry with a successful career ahead.