Survey identifies training priority for Australian IT workforce

According to a recent IT&T Training Survey by JOBNET and IT Skills Hub, over 77% of respondents were planning further study in the next 12 months. Of those respondents who wish to study, 38% will do an industry certification, followed by 20% who would do a University qualification. 29% of respondents are currently undergoing some form of IT training and 40% of respondents have previously used online training.

JOBNETís Sales Manager, Henry Talbot, said that one of the findings, which had come out of the research, was that while training was still seen as critical for candidates, business experience was what really counted with potential employers.

73% of respondents said previous experience was the single most important factor when obtaining an IT&T job. Only 38% believed having the latest technical skills was of high importance to an employer.

Interestingly, 66% of IT professionals believe ëSecurityí will be the emerging technical skill in the next five years, followed by ëXMLí (43%) and ëProject Managementí (37%).

These results correlated with findings in the recent IT Skills Hub IT&T salary and trend report, Market Monitor, where Security and project management again rated amongst the industryís most sought after skills.

Commenting on the findings, IT Skills Hub Marketing Director, Paul Crisp, said the recent downturn in the sector had prompted many IT professionals to upgrade their skills.

ìMany IT professionals are currently preparing for the next market upturn. They are looking to build skills in areas of emerging demand such as security and XML.

ìRe-skilling and diversification now appear to be the key ingredients for people wanting to work in tomorrowís IT environment,î Mr Crisp said.

Training is critical, but the main thing to come out of all this [is] if you're going to do training you must put it in the context of what's happening in the industry, Talbot said. Before you jump into a training course you really need to investigate and do your research on the area of the IT industry you're looking at.