Rumours of IT demise have been greatly exaggerated
By David Ticoll (guest blogger), Executive Director of the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills (CCICT)
The IT industry will need to hire another 150,000 new professionals by 2015, but enrollments in university and college IT programs are down dramatically — 33 to 40 per cent, in fact. Given the growing demand for professionals in this field, students are missing the prosperity boat by turning away from IT. Parents should reinforce that IT is where students should focus their energy.
IT jobs play a critical and integral role in how well business organizations function, and those who know how to design, manage, implement and lead the use of modern technology are high in demand in the upper echelons of the business world.
The same is true for those who go down the road of specializing in a technology-oriented area, such as web design, social media or computer security. There's also an explosion of creative, multidisciplinary opportunities that interweave IT with anything from health care and biology to architecture and animation.
Research conducted by the Conference Board of Canada and funded by Bell for the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills (CCICT) shows the problem lies in high school students’ misperceptions that IT leads to boring, monotonous, uncreative jobs that are carried out in cubicles located in suburban warehouse-like settings.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Take, for example, the team of University of Toronto hackers that exposed the GhostNet international spyware conspiracy, or the green energy technologists helping to build Ontario’s next generation “smart” power grid, or biotech researchers who use their IT skills to research the causes and cures of diseases; none of these are boring or ordinary roles. It’s important we begin to educate today’s youth on the possibilities within IT. There are 150,000 opportunities out there for the taking.
About CCICT:
Founded in 2007 by Bell Canada, CCICT is an industry-led, action-oriented, open multi-stakeholder initiative. Its mission is to ensure that Canadian organizations can engage information and communications technology professionals with knowledge, skills and talents to meet the evolving and diverse needs of this exciting field. Members include companies, academic institutions, professional associations, industry organizations, and other stakeholders with an interest in developing Canada’s ICT capabilities. For more information please visit www.ccict.ca
Posted by: Disillisioned | Jun 16, 2021 2:44:23 PM
The actual fact is that most IT workers are not earning anything near excellent pay.
There are obviously exceptions but as a person with 15 years IT experience I tell kids to do something else where they will be appreciated.
The IT industry is not the place to be and has not been since the 90's.
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Research conducted by the Conference Board of Canada and funded by Bell for the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills (CCICT) shows the problem lies in high school students’ misperceptions that IT leads to boring, monotonous, uncreative jobs that are carried out in cubicles located in suburban warehouse-like settings.
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The kids are correct.
Posted by: Ken | Jun 16, 2021 3:31:04 PM
If you can carve out a nich in the market , then you have a chance to get a carrear job. If you find yourself dead ended by the system in a job at the bottom of the pack, then get out fast. You need two skills to make a difference. I have several and can make a value to my efforts.
Posted by: MVConsulting Group Inc. | Jun 16, 2021 6:20:38 PM
The examples you provided are unique opportunities that happen when unique individuals come together to create a synergy that brings about change, pioneers and life participants who care to make a change, or be part of a change. I believe that what is important to teach today's youth is TO CARE, to care about themselves, people, the planet they live on, be AWARE of their life and the role their life plays in the world as a whole. I hope that parents do educate their children not so much on the possibilities of IT, or being a CEO or the greatest salesman in the world but to have a CARE, that no role is ordinary and be unique because it is their uniqueness that can make the difference. Teach them to find what they love to do and they never have to work a day in their life. Everyone has to be something. Everyone has a purpose. I agree that IT jobs play a critical and integral role in how well business organizations function but imagine a world full of IT workers -- who will do the rest?
Prosperity is not everything. In this time of economic downturn, there are more unemployed IT workers than jobs. It is the innate ability of us humans to CARE that make our world prosper and with that, you can learn any skills you want and still have opportunities for the taking.
Posted by: Jimmy JimJim Monsenior | Jun 16, 2021 6:39:17 PM
What a crock. Most IT folks work call centres these days for low pay, crappy job security and no benefits. Maybe a little shortage would be good for the industry to get the appreciation up and have the demand/supply cycle dictate higher wages for those who do enter.
Posted by: Robert | Jun 16, 2021 6:42:12 PM
Are you kidding us? You need to get in touch with reality here as while there are lots of jobs in IT, they for the most part are being outsourced to oversea's locales due to cheaper wages for similar quality product albeit once you get the translation correct.
IT as we knew it is dead, what IT are you talking about Information Transfer?
Posted by: Wayne | Jun 16, 2021 7:17:00 PM
based on ALL the comment (negative) above I don't know what kind of training you had? 6-9 months in an IT training center? or less - that is why there no job 4 you. Obiviously, the article is talking about education in an accredited institution as a serious profession, no doubt. And, people need to define what IT is. It is not a front line Help Desk type of work (call center as one e-mail above referred to). Thes job are call Help Desk for a reason.
Posted by: samisatosser | Jun 16, 2021 7:31:57 PM
I.T is not a good place to work...salaries have not risen for 10 years.
The worst place to work in is an out-sourcing company (IBM Global Services is a great example)...since they are simply sweat shops and those jobs are all going to India, China and South America anyway...the very few companies who haven't outsourced yet are the best places to work but they will due to executive greed.
The best area in I.T to work in is management...not really a techie job and not really a job a graduate can fill without a minimum of 10 years experience etc.
Posted by: Mikey | Jun 16, 2021 8:12:21 PM
IT is totally gone.
Software development still has a bit of legs but going down fast.
Who writes these articles. They must be smoking crack. I would not wish an IT career on my worst enemy. Work your ass off, get laid off, get rejected by billion dollar goverment patronage project, find new job at less pay, then repeat.
shortage...????
Posted by: Bob | Jun 16, 2021 8:20:26 PM
I'm a graduate from one of the top schools for comp science and I have over 5 years experience
The truth is, I make a decent wage but still lower then the average professional.
Most tech jobs including engineering, have been deflated by outsourcing and cheaper wages over the last 10 years. I've seen people from India, China and Russia just destroy this market in North America by keeping the wages lwo
The truth is I would never tell my kid to go in this Field unless they planned on moving to India.
Then again IT needs to be defined in a broader scope.
IT as in developer- forget about it.
IT as in implementation - or domain expert still doesn't pay or have job stability.
Network Architect or CCNA - yes but jobs are limited.
Just accept it IT of the 90's ain't coming back
Posted by: Robert | Jun 16, 2021 8:24:18 PM
I usually dont get into flame wars but Wayne based on your written response my guess is your a coder as clearly you believe you have an education far superior to the rest of us in the IT profession and that we all went to a cracker jack school of how to work on a help desk. I will have you know that there are many skilled individuals working help desk positions or lower end IT positions both here and abroad but due to the GREED of the share holders, most IT jobs are clearly outsourced to lowest cost solution which means overseas.
The persons report was on rumors of IT's demise and the fact that its just a rumor. People in the field have commented on their impact of being in an IT profession and the impact it has had on their job stability. To attack us based on a ill conceived notion that we are unskilled individuals and as a result are responsible for the lack of work is juvenille. While I am no english major, your engrish skills are apparent.
Posted by: leo | Jun 16, 2021 8:37:19 PM
You've got to be kidding.
I've been in IT since its infancy, starting in the Life Insurance industry, then retail, banking with a stint as an independant consultant.
Whoever created this "STUDY" is likely a stooge for a self serving organization that is hell bent on reducing costs by floodig the market with IT workers. (not professionals).
The IT industry of the 70's and 80's where experts were treated with respect as professionals in business is dead.....
IT is a commodity today and any available jobs are flooded with applicants with dubious degress and expertise. It truly is a sweatshop working in a cubicle.
Never would I want my child going into IT.......Offshore is soon going to be the only place for IT workers.
The author of this article should do true research and recognize the collapse of the IT consulting business to offshore companies. Contractos are being forced to accept wages at par with full-time workers without benefits.
Posted by: Joe | Jun 16, 2021 8:55:20 PM
I've been in the IT industry for 20 years. I have finally worked my way up to manager of an IT dept. I can tell you right now from my personal experience, and talking with contacts, there is NOT an abundance of IT opportunities out there. We just hired a help desk person, and we got almost 200 applications for 1 position. Most of the applicants were grossly overqualified, and many had already held supervisory or team lead positions, but their old positions have evaporated. People with 15+ years experience were desparate to get an entry level IT position just to pay the rent.
Talking with colleagues we all wonder where these studies get their numbers from. Yes there are fewer grads, but fewer openings as well. Technology is improving, costs are being lowered. It takes far fewer people today to support infrastructure to handle 100 staff (email, network storage, etc) than it did even 5 or 10 years ago.
I also agree the level of respect has changed drastically in the last 15-20 years. Before we were looked upon as clever guru's who could help people, now we are seen as commodity providers, just like the faceless janitor who empties the garbage from your cubicle every night.
I would not recommend a career in IT today. What little "demand" there will be in the future will be handled by folks in india making 1/20 of what I do. I've worked with such people recently. The quality of their services has gone up, a LOT. They are surprisingly good. They are 85% as good as a person here at 1/20 of the cost. Do the math and see where that is going.
Posted by: Eric | Jun 16, 2021 9:04:30 PM
The future of IT is in India, China etc. The largest group in IBM is now based in India.
I advise my kids to pick jobs that need you to work physically at the company location. Otherwise you will just end up being outsourced to the lowest bidder. As improvements to remote conferencing etc. are made this will start to affect even clerical jobs.
CEO’s and shareholders only look forward to the next quarter and what their profit or loss will be. There is no incentive for CEO’s to plan long term and pick the best approach and therefore give up short term profit for long term gain. With CEO’s only lasting a few years at most, they are driven by the make as much money now for me and let the next CEO worry about the company future approach. This is especially a problem for IT as it is viewed in a company is as a cost base and not an integral part of the company.
Posted by: Sara | Jun 16, 2021 9:39:38 PM
There is a reason that there are no students wanting to enter comp sci and engg fields- there are no entry level positions nowadays. Qualified ppl are desparate for entry level jobs as their jobs are accelerated offshored. Comp sci programs are twice as expensive as regular Arts and Sciences in top universities, require twice as much effort (days w/o shower or sleep to program) and you do this for 4 - 5 years. The coders in India have a non-proogramming degree, less education, less loans and less work and they will do ur stuff for next to nothing (ofcourse CEO doesnt give a damn abt scalable, well designed, modular code). That poor code is maintained by another unfortunate soul and CEO will move out in the years it takes to think abt scaling the code.
Posted by: Jim | Jun 16, 2021 10:22:30 PM
I really don't understand what the agenda of the blogger is... There is no such thing as a career in IT. Salaries are extremely low in Canada. A Business System Analyst in a MNC with 5-10 years of experience in the USA, UK, HK or even Japan can earn more than $100k / year. In Canada, such person would be lucky to earn more than $60k. Other professions that require no technical skills or Maths (Construction, Plumber, most unionized job such as Government jobs) will easily pay more than $75k after 5 years.
My advice to the new generation: Don't go in IT. Don't take hard subjects (Maths, Sciences), Canada doesn't reward those professions. Canada rewards Union jobs. Get a government job. The 50%+++ taxes I pay on my low IT job salary will contribute to pay your high Gvt job salary.
This is no meritocracy, this is lazynesscracy. Don't work too hard and exploit the system. That's the message.
Posted by: Ti cue | Jun 16, 2021 10:31:46 PM
Small wonder why no one is interested in IT careers.They were named the most stressful jobs.
Posted by: Kim | Jun 16, 2021 10:40:36 PM
Hello everyone!
An interesting read indeed. Loved hearing the viewpoints of many.
I consider myself in the IT field but slowly transitioning over to the Business IT area. This is, as I see it, where there is a demand and here's why.
In the Business and Sales field in any commodity business, you often wonder what happens after a solution is sold to the customer. Sales person A first sells something to customer A. Based on a demo, previous (old) sales pitches, whatever is available.
Then there is the programmer for example in IT. He/she receives the project; tasks included. Joins some calls, particpates in meetings. And leaves there wondering what the heck did Sales person A sell to Customer A?
Was IT consulted? Was the solution viable for what it was sold for? If they had only suggested this then why couldn't we have cloned this solution for another customer - bridge the resource while making it unique but cost less?
I'm finding that there is a huge gap; especially in larger companies, between sales and IT.
As for offshore support I can attest that while economically feasible for the said company, we are forgetting about the personal touch as well. There's a lot to be said too for working closely with your IT peers. It's truly amazing what you can accomplish.
And yes, after communication barriers, time zones and some training, you eventually get to a resolution.
Absolutely no offence but while the service may cost less, I deal with 5 times the amount of people in any given circumstance. Then you ask, what is the cost of a time delay when trying to resolve 20 mil worth of throughput data so invoicing can occur?
You'd think twice; no?
I hope this doesn't bore you but I don't believe that IT is dead; just evolving. There's more grey area to the field today than ever before. Would I recommend it? Yes, but along with some manufacturing, retail and business so that the understanding and flow of IT can make more sense.
Just my thoughts...
Posted by: Frances | Jun 16, 2021 10:42:15 PM
Yup you hit the nail on the head for sure when you say: - "Canada doesn't reward those professions. Canada rewards Union jobs. Get a government job. The 50%+++ taxes I pay on my low IT job salary will contribute to pay your high Gvt job salary."
Posted by: Suz | Jun 16, 2021 11:06:50 PM
IT jobs? In Canada? Is there really anything available or worthwhile??? I've been in IT for about 20 years and have gone through ups and downs. If you're looking for a decent IT job, only in the U.S. where I spend my weekdays there working for a U.S. company. At least they appreciate hard work and pay for it. Not in Canada.
I still do appreciate being in this field but do say to the young ones who want to start out in this field to look for something else. I love the examples they gave in this article. Would like to know the percentage of people in IT actually in those positions. The CCICT is definitely out of touch and blowing alot of hot air. Maybe they should hire some real research people...
Posted by: Edward | Jun 16, 2021 11:29:09 PM
All those making comments here have it right the only delusional person is Wayne when he says:
"based on ALL the comment (negative) above I don't know what kind of training you had? 6-9 months in an IT training center? or less - that is why there no job 4 you. Obiviously, the article is talking about education in an accredited institution as a serious profession, no doubt. And, people need to define what IT is. It is not a front line Help Desk type of work (call center as one e-mail above referred to). Thes job are call Help Desk for a reason."
iIs he CRAZY? Maybe he leaves in a part of Canada where you can live pretty good on 60k a year cuz that is what IT guys will be lucky to get here in Canada. Thank god I got out of that crap in 2000 and as a Waterloo trained software engineer went to law school and here i am 9 years later (5 years since my call to the Ontario bar) making over $200K as an senior associate specializing in computer and technology law. My only regret is that I did not get out of that IT crap sooner after that bubble busted in the 90s. If I had those 5 IT years back I would be at least a Junior partner now making double my salary. Shakespeare said kill all lawyers well I say kill all IT people (and no its not a racist thing because they are all now in India, its simply literary sarcasm)