ISEDJ

Abstract: Every year several survey inventories are performed throughout the IT industry by trade magazines and research groups that attempt to gauge the current state of the industry as it relates to trends. Many of these highlight a technology skills gap between job expectations and potential employees. While many job openings exist and educational programs are adjusting to produce more candidates for these jobs, many employers express dissatisfaction with the talent pool. Many of these surveys do not take into account wide differences in the spectrum of industries that employ technology workers. This study interviewed four “C” level executives from four different industries to discover more specifically which skills they have identified as being most valuable for potential employees. The results show that the “skills” gap is not just technical. The soft skills of communication, problem solving, and interpersonal skills as well as motivation and positive attitude may be more in demand than specific hard skills of programming languages or other CS/IT specific training. This may be even more pronounced in the multifaceted area of Cybersecurity.

Keywords: Communication Skills, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, IT Education, problem solving, Skills Gap

Download this article: ISEDJ - V15 N6 Page 72.pdf

Recommended Citation: Schirf, E., Serapiglia, A. (2017). Identifying The Real Technology Skills Gap: A Qualitative Look Across Disciplines. Information Systems Education Journal, 15(6) pp 72-82. http://isedj.org/2017-15/ ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of EDSIG 2016)