Debating the Shortage of IT Workers
Is there really a shortage of information technology (IT) workers? Around the world, many employers would answer a resounding “yes!” But others aren’t so sure, and the dispute is raising questions about how well IT employees are being managed, developed, and retained.
Those who claim that the shortage is real have plenty of evidence. A recent study commissioned by trade association Information Technology Association of America, for example, predicts that as many as half of the 1.6 million IT jobs created this year in the U.S. will remain vacant because of a lack of qualified candidates. In an IT workforce of 10 million employees, that represents 1 in 12 jobs unfilled.
Such labor shortages are not limited to the U.S. Southeast Asia has about a half million IT workers, far fewer than the available jobs, and the situation is bound to get worse, reports asia-inc magazine. One study predicts that demand will soar from 1.8 million IT workers needed in 2000 to 3 million by 2004. There are also shortages in some parts of Europe. For example, Germany suffers a shortage of about 70,000 IT workers, and this number could rise to as many as 300,000 in the future, states Ilka Houben, a labor market specialist for Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbaende, Germany’s largest employer association.
Yet most of this brouhaha over shortages – at least in the U.S. – is based on misconceptions, asserts professor Peter Cappelli of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. In a study he recently prepared for consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Cappelli writes, “Industry representatives argue that there is a labor shortage, while outside experts and labor market analysts see at most a temporarily tight labor market.” He argues that the perceived “shortage” of IT workers is really a turnover problem. “The number of workers who quit the programming field every year, for example, exceeds the number of new programming jobs,” says Cappelli, quoted in the New York Times. One survey finds that just 19% of computer science graduates are still working in the field 20 years later.
And so, Cappelli argues, there isn’t a long-term shortage of people with IT skills. Instead, there’s a shortage of good management practices, and this is causing lots of people to abandon the IT field. It may also be causing employers to overlook rich pools of IT talent that exist right under their noses.
“It’s amazing that IT management practices simply run counter to how human resources people feel employees in all other kinds of jobs should be managed,” Cappelli states. “Aside from pay, many IT jobs, but especially computer programming jobs, would qualify as lousy jobs.” Programmers are often isolated in their cubicles and left alone to work on large projects without any knowledge of how their work fits into the big picture. For the most part, they’re ignored.
Another factor is that many employers seem unwilling to hire older, experienced IT professionals. “The principal cause is that employers are supporting the stereotypes of older workers: that they can’t learn new technology and are inflexible in the workplace,” says Laurie McCann, a staff attorney at AARP who specializes in such cases. The result is an artificial shortage because so many experienced workers get discouraged and leave the field. “There’s a belief in Silicon Valley that what isn’t new isn’t useful, and that goes for people as well as technology,” says Bill Payson, president of Senior Staff Inc., in InformationWeek magazine.
According to Cappelli, one way to address such problems is to do a better job of assessing the IT talent of recruits and current employees. This would allow firms to pay the most skilled people the highest wages rather than pay them the industry or company average. Such high-paying employers “would have no difficulty attracting the best workers,” he argues. This advice is supported by recent Gallup Organization research suggesting that firms would be better able to attract and retain the best people if they would place greater emphasis on assessing and leveraging employees’ natural talents.
Another strategy is to ensure that IT workers receive more retraining to battle the problem of skills obsolescence. The government may be able to help in this area by providing some funds for such retraining efforts.
Finally, of course, it’s critical to make IT jobs more appealing. Today’s employers of choice use a range of strategies, such as the restructuring of IT jobs, team-building practices, diversity management, continuing education and tuition reimbursement, mentoring programs, career counseling, sabbaticals, and lifestyle benefits such as flextime. But simply using “best practices” will not be enough to retain the best of the best over the long haul. Employers should constantly communicate with their IT employees to find out what motivates them. Only in this way will employers be able to discover and create the “next practices” that will boost retention in the future.
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The following articles also provided information for this TrendWatcher:
Bureau of National Affairs. "Germany Opens Door to Foreign IT Specialists." Human Resources International Report. www.shrmglobal.org/bna-global/073100a.asp. July 31, 2000.
Cassel, Andrew. "A Shortage of Skilled Tech Workers? Hogwash." San Jose Mercury News [Knight Ridder]. www.mercurycenter.com. September 23, 2000.
CNET News.com. "Are Tech Workers in Short Supply? New York Times on the Web. www.nytimes.com/cnet/. September 28, 2000.
Geewax, Marilyn. "Tech Industry Scores Big Victory on Visas; Senate, Then House OK Increasing Number of Skilled Foreign Workers Allowed." Atlanta Journal and Constitution, October 4, 2000, p. 1E.
Goodridge, Elisabeth. "Older IT Pros Struggle with Age Bias." CMPnet, October 12, 2000.
Parrott, Stuart. "Where Are All the Workers?" asia-inc, August 2000, p. 28.
Robinson, Karyn-Siobhan. "Study Pinpoints Reasons for IT Worker Shortages." HR News, September 2000, p. 40.
Those who claim that the shortage is real have plenty of evidence. A recent study commissioned by trade association Information Technology Association of America, for example, predicts that as many as half of the 1.6 million IT jobs created this year in the U.S. will remain vacant because of a lack of qualified candidates. In an IT workforce of 10 million employees, that represents 1 in 12 jobs unfilled.
Such labor shortages are not limited to the U.S. Southeast Asia has about a half million IT workers, far fewer than the available jobs, and the situation is bound to get worse, reports asia-inc magazine. One study predicts that demand will soar from 1.8 million IT workers needed in 2000 to 3 million by 2004. There are also shortages in some parts of Europe. For example, Germany suffers a shortage of about 70,000 IT workers, and this number could rise to as many as 300,000 in the future, states Ilka Houben, a labor market specialist for Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbaende, Germany’s largest employer association.
Yet most of this brouhaha over shortages – at least in the U.S. – is based on misconceptions, asserts professor Peter Cappelli of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. In a study he recently prepared for consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Cappelli writes, “Industry representatives argue that there is a labor shortage, while outside experts and labor market analysts see at most a temporarily tight labor market.” He argues that the perceived “shortage” of IT workers is really a turnover problem. “The number of workers who quit the programming field every year, for example, exceeds the number of new programming jobs,” says Cappelli, quoted in the New York Times. One survey finds that just 19% of computer science graduates are still working in the field 20 years later.
And so, Cappelli argues, there isn’t a long-term shortage of people with IT skills. Instead, there’s a shortage of good management practices, and this is causing lots of people to abandon the IT field. It may also be causing employers to overlook rich pools of IT talent that exist right under their noses.
“It’s amazing that IT management practices simply run counter to how human resources people feel employees in all other kinds of jobs should be managed,” Cappelli states. “Aside from pay, many IT jobs, but especially computer programming jobs, would qualify as lousy jobs.” Programmers are often isolated in their cubicles and left alone to work on large projects without any knowledge of how their work fits into the big picture. For the most part, they’re ignored.
Another factor is that many employers seem unwilling to hire older, experienced IT professionals. “The principal cause is that employers are supporting the stereotypes of older workers: that they can’t learn new technology and are inflexible in the workplace,” says Laurie McCann, a staff attorney at AARP who specializes in such cases. The result is an artificial shortage because so many experienced workers get discouraged and leave the field. “There’s a belief in Silicon Valley that what isn’t new isn’t useful, and that goes for people as well as technology,” says Bill Payson, president of Senior Staff Inc., in InformationWeek magazine.
According to Cappelli, one way to address such problems is to do a better job of assessing the IT talent of recruits and current employees. This would allow firms to pay the most skilled people the highest wages rather than pay them the industry or company average. Such high-paying employers “would have no difficulty attracting the best workers,” he argues. This advice is supported by recent Gallup Organization research suggesting that firms would be better able to attract and retain the best people if they would place greater emphasis on assessing and leveraging employees’ natural talents.
Another strategy is to ensure that IT workers receive more retraining to battle the problem of skills obsolescence. The government may be able to help in this area by providing some funds for such retraining efforts.
Finally, of course, it’s critical to make IT jobs more appealing. Today’s employers of choice use a range of strategies, such as the restructuring of IT jobs, team-building practices, diversity management, continuing education and tuition reimbursement, mentoring programs, career counseling, sabbaticals, and lifestyle benefits such as flextime. But simply using “best practices” will not be enough to retain the best of the best over the long haul. Employers should constantly communicate with their IT employees to find out what motivates them. Only in this way will employers be able to discover and create the “next practices” that will boost retention in the future.
====================================================
The following articles also provided information for this TrendWatcher:
Bureau of National Affairs. "Germany Opens Door to Foreign IT Specialists." Human Resources International Report. www.shrmglobal.org/bna-global/073100a.asp. July 31, 2000.
Cassel, Andrew. "A Shortage of Skilled Tech Workers? Hogwash." San Jose Mercury News [Knight Ridder]. www.mercurycenter.com. September 23, 2000.
CNET News.com. "Are Tech Workers in Short Supply? New York Times on the Web. www.nytimes.com/cnet/. September 28, 2000.
Geewax, Marilyn. "Tech Industry Scores Big Victory on Visas; Senate, Then House OK Increasing Number of Skilled Foreign Workers Allowed." Atlanta Journal and Constitution, October 4, 2000, p. 1E.
Goodridge, Elisabeth. "Older IT Pros Struggle with Age Bias." CMPnet, October 12, 2000.
Parrott, Stuart. "Where Are All the Workers?" asia-inc, August 2000, p. 28.
Robinson, Karyn-Siobhan. "Study Pinpoints Reasons for IT Worker Shortages." HR News, September 2000, p. 40.