Summary of Workforce Study from CompTIA

Subject: Summary of Workforce Study from CompTIA

Please take a look at the latest survey from CompTIA.

Note that there is a probable bias on the "vendor neutral" certification,

since they own the A+ certification which one might say is vendor

neutral - if you don't consider CompTIA a vendor.

The next time you apply for a job, keep in mind that CIOs value

soft skills such as communications and patience, while HR

professionals tend to screen candidates for hard, technical

skills. That's just one of the findings of the Computing

Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) survey about the IT

staffing shortage and skills gap.

Earlier this year, CompTIA interviewed 501 CIOs and HR managers

at companies with revenues of $20 million or greater. Here are

some of the highlights of the study:

* Despite the economic downturn, CompTIA maintains that there's

still a shortage of IT pros. According to the survey results,

the average number of open IT service and support positions in

U.S. firms has more than tripled since 1999. However, CompTIA

conducted the survey in May through June, and things have

quickly changed since then.

* Not surprisingly, companies are more optimistic today than in

1999 about finding qualified IT pros. This year, 51% of CIOs

say the availability of job candidates will improve in the next

two years, as compared to 43% in 1999.

* Vendor-neutral certification has become more important to

CIOs. Just over half (51%) identified such certification as

being important this year, as compared to 41% in 1999.

* Firms are using less expensive recruitment methods to

identify candidates. National advertising, local advertising

and Internet job banks have become more popular sources for

attracting prospective employees.

* CIOs and HR managers have a different take on outsourcing IT

functions. Almost two-thirds of CIOs (61%) say they outsource

at least some part of IT, while only one third (37%) of HR

managers say their companies outsource IT functions. CIOs are

almost twice as likely in 2001 to cite the need for outsourcing

as a result of IT staff shortages as they were in 1999 (66% vs.

37%).

For more information about the survey, go to