What are the Top IT Skills Currently In Demand?

There can be no doubt that the IT field is growing, and at an incredibly rapid rate. Across all industries, IT is an increasing part of the entirety of how a business is run, from manufacturing to marketing to controlling data and everything in between, IT skills are in high demand.And through the year 2020, jobs in the IT industry are slated to grow by 22 per cent, according to CompTIA's IT Industry Outlook of 2013. What does this mean for you as an IT industry professional or someone who utilises advanced technology on the job? The call has been made to develop and improve a host of IT skills, through training, education, and certification.

The Must-Have IT Skills

To be truly competitive in the job market, there are a few highly-demanded IT skills one should develop. Big data, security, virtualisation, and cloud computing seem to be at the top of every employer’s list. Not only that, but employers are continually seeking employees who have skills that stretch across disciplines and areas of expertise--a well rounded individual with varied experience is the prime target.

Big Data

As companies grow, knowledge and understanding of big data becomes an increasingly sought-after skill. Not only do IT professionals require a strong grasp of big data in terms of storage, but the ideal candidates will have skills in analysing this data and turning into well-defined strategies for businesses.

Cloud Computing

As data grows and security worries may be present, the world of cloud computing is fast making headway. Business are moving away from traditional physical data centers onto the cloud, and realising that this is a wise and cost-effective decision. IT professionals should seek training in cloud computing and SaaS infrastructure.

Security

Tales of major hacking, infiltration, and compromised data make big waves in international news. As entire systems become more complex, there seems to be more room for error. Experts in cyber-security are in massive demand by nearly all businesses. Brushing up on these high-level skills will ensure your employment, perhaps helping a top company keep its data safe and secure.

Virtualisation

Virtualisation helps improve productivity and lowers operating costs for companies, so more and more businesses are making the leap to virtual servers. IT professionals with skills in this area are in great demand, as the understanding of the complex web of applications and operating systems is necessary for success.

Other Vital IT Skills

In addition to the major skills highlighted above, other IT skills are continually in demand and will continue to be important in the future. A strong understanding of mobile technology is vital, as mobile development takes off. These skills will be applicable to a variety of operating systems. A grasp of high level technical languages such as Ruby, Python SQL, and Java are quite in demand for IT professionals, as is experience with NoSQL databases like Redis and MongoDB. Additionally, certifications are always an advantage when seeking employment as are more universal IT skills such as graphic design. Lastly, employers are always anxious to hire IT professionals who have experience in supplementary arenas such as marketing and design. If you are in the IT industry, it will be vital to keep pace with advancing technology in the years to come. At IIT Training, we strongly emphasise the need for ongoing training and skills development. Check out our schedule of upcoming workshops to see if one is right for you.

The Importance of Soft Skills

With fresh, highly-skilled graduates swarming into the job market, degrees in hand, it may seem as though “hard skills”--those specific, industry-related skills necessary to excel in the IT world--have become most important. A recent study of younger career individuals--those dubbed “millenials”--revealed that these youthful jobseekers rank hard skills as being of the highest priority for a potential candidate, particularly within the IT world. However, older, more-seasoned career individuals surveyed asserted that “soft skills” are as much, if not more in demand.

What are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are those attributes and abilities which are more connected to personality, such as communication, patience, flexibility, and conflict resolution. Hard skills may be more readily identifiable. For IT, these are the types of skills you would mention on a resume--knowledge of particular programs, applications and operating systems, expertise in programming language, or even basic typing skills. These are all tangible skills which can be visibly improved upon and may provide measurable results. Soft skills often have no obvious criteria for measurement. You might discuss these kinds of attributes during the interview process. Similar to the notion of “attitude”, soft skills represent an individual’s interpersonal skills and ability to problem solve, effectively deal with conflict, and handle stressful situations.

Can Soft Skills Be Taught?

Many industry professionals believe that soft skills are much more difficult to teach than hard skills. Soft skills can certainly be improved, but much of the associated abilities are shaped and developed by inherent individual personalities. As well, time and experience seem to be important factors in the growth of these soft skills. This might suggest that those in the IT industry who have several years of workplace experience are better equipped to handle the pressures and demands of a professional position, and do so with more equanimity and poise.

Although it may prove easier and more straightforward to train in hard skills--programs training, workshops, further education, etc.--soft skills can also improve with guidance. Alongside hard skills training, companies may consider providing workshops for communication, interpersonal skills, conflict resolution and more for their employees. This could be especially useful when hiring fresh graduates with less work experience, perhaps integrated in the form of induction workshops.

How are Soft Skills Important to IT?

Soft skills are an important element in businesses of all industries. Within the IT industry, soft skills may help an individual better succeed within the workplace. One important soft skill is processing feedback from supervisors or superiors. Within the IT environment, this will be vital for employees adapting to new technology and improving their work. An ability to effectively process feedback, which assists individuals in the building of their skills, sits alongside the ability to receive criticism and utilise it constructively, as well as the skill of integrating suggestions successfully into one’s work.

Another way soft skills will be useful to an IT professional, is in his or her interaction with fellow coworkers and supervisors. Communication skills are an absolute necessity; an IT professional needs to be able to effectively and clearly communicate regarding their work, often using highly technical language. Conflict and other issues are also much better handled by one with solid soft skills, as they can express themselves assertively and tactfully and are able to interact professionally and tactfully with others.

Train for All Skills

As we’ve seen, both hard skills and soft skills appear to be vital within the IT industry, as well as within other business environments. With this in mind, it is beneficial to provide training which supports both ends of the spectrum for all employees, especially those new to the career realm.

VET Reform Moving Forwards

I listened to a very interesting webinar last week on the "Vet Reform Taskforce" conducted by the Department of Industry in association with VELG Training, inviting stakeholders to participate in a constructive discussion on the current Vocational training system in Australia.

 Although VET is highly regarded internationally there seems to be lots of criticism nationally of late:  the questions appear to include:

• Is there too much complexity within the VET system; are students work-ready after training;
• Does the one size fitting all suit RTOs moving forward;
• Is regulation/accreditation too burdensome and costly for RTOs;
• Is there consistency in quality across the VET deliveries; and
• Do the skills being trained today meet the needs of our industry tomorrow?

 There was a lively discussion surrounding 3 main topics:

1.  Is there too much red tape (cost in time and dollars to RTOs) taking away from the business of training and assessing.  Main comments here seem to be surrounding the issues of whether RTOs should be self-regulating and whether low risk RTOs could have 'earned autonomy'. 2.  How to keep training packages responsive to changes within the industry without increasing unnecessary burdens in 'churn' in documentation and training resources to RTOs - how to strike a balance here?  Most seem to want to place more responsibility on the ISCs - should more employees and employers be directly involved and consulted (and what would be the cost of doing this on small / medium businesses). 3.  Is Government funding hitting the mark as far as meeting tomorrow's skill requirements in industry?

Further comments are invited to "vettaskforce@industry.gov.au" or phone 133 873.