An independent survey commissioned by recruitment firm Robert Half has reported that Hong Kong CIOs believe educators must focus more on key functional IT areas to meet the demands of the future employment market.
CIOs believe Hong Kong must focus more on IT
Hong Kong is increasingly confronted with a shortage of staff in many IT functional areas as employment in IT continues to boom. Areas in which greater attention is needed from educators include software/application development, with 47% of CIOs calling for enhanced training, as well as 41% calling for more training with digitalisation, 35% for IT security, 31% for data/database management and 31% for business transformation.
More than 92% of Hong Kong CIOs report that it is more challenging to find qualified IT professionals now compared to five years ago, highlighting the importance of educational institutions supplementing the number of skilled IT staff in the employment market and helping to up-skill existing technology staff.
Adam Johnston, Managing Director, Robert Half Hong Kong commented, “Technology is changing continuously and rapidly, and so too must the skillsets of IT professionals in order to adequately address the future jobs market. Education systems and institutions play a key role, not just to guarantee a continuous influx of skilled IT professionals into the employment market, but also to help up-skill existing staff. To keep pace with market demands, educators need to ensure their STEM qualifications, courses and degrees evolve at a similar pace as technology does.”
Johnson concluded, “While education providers are of great importance, a comprehensive approach where education institutions work in conjunction with the wider business community and government initiatives is key in order to successfully overcome the talent shortage. IT careers need to be marketed as attractive career paths, with the benefits and advantages clearly communicated to aspiring technology professionals.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
