The Status of It Skills in Business During Recessionary Times
Implications for Educators
Keywords:
Business Education, Technology, Information Technology Skills, WorkplaceAbstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the demand for information technology (IT) skills in the business world in order to provide guidance to curriculum planners. Method: Want ads in two online job banks were queried using various IT skills as key words. Results: Results show demand is strong for the following IT skills: SQL, JAVA, C++, UNIX, Linux, and HTML/DHTML. Demand was low for all desktop publishing skills except for Photoshop. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) skills are more often required of accounting and finance employees than IT employees. Educators should consider including database (SQL), programming languages (JAVA and C++), operating systems (UNIX and/or Linux) and web design skills (HTML) in their curriculums.
References
Apigian, C. & Gambill, S. (2010). Are we teaching the IS 2009* model curriculum? Journal of Information Systems Education, 4(21), 411-421.
Arnett, K., Litecky, C., & Prabhakar, B. (1998). A longitudinal study of IS job skills 1992-1998. Retrieved from http://www2.masstate.edu/-kpal/wanteds98/sld001.htm
Becker, J., Hassan, N., & Naumann, J. D. (2006). Combatting the enrollment downturn in IS/IT programs. Proceedings of Twelfth Americas Conference on Information Systems, Acapulco, Mexico.
Downey, J., McMurtrey, M., & Zeltmann, S. (2008). Mapping the MIS curriculum Based on critical skills of new graduates: An empirical examination of IT professionals. Journal of Information Systems Education, 3(19), 351-364.
Groneman, N. (2000). Business demands for web-related skills as compared to other computer skills. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal. 42, 207-211.
Groneman, N. (2005). Trends in IT skills needed by businesses from 2000-2004 with implications for IT curricular offerings. NABTE Review, (32), 42-47.
Katz, L. (2010). Long-term unemployment: Causes, consequences, and solutions. Testimony for the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, April 29, 2010. Retrieved from http://jec.senate.gov/public/in.d.ex.cfm?a=Files. Serve&File_id=e1cc2c23-dc6f-4871-a26a-fda9bd32fb7e
Liu, X., Liu, L., Koong, K., & Lu, J. (2003). An examination of job skills posted on Internet databases: Implications for information systems degree programs. Journal of Education for Business, 78, 191-196.
McGann, S., Frost, R., Matta, V., & Huang, W. (2007), Meeting the challenge of is curriculum modernization: A guide to overhaul, integration, and continuous improvement. Journal of Information Systems Education. (3)18, 49-62.
Occupational Employment. (2010). United States. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational outlook handbook (2009-2010 ed.). Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2009/winter/art2fullp5.htm
Plice, R. & Reinig, B. (2007). Aligning the information systems curriculum with the needs of industry and graduates. The Journal of Computer Information Systems, 1(48), 22-30.
Porter, J. & Gambill, S. (2003). Information systems curricula 2003. The Review of Business Information Systems, 4(8), 33-40.
Topi, H., Valacich, J., Kaiser, K., Nunamaker, J., Jr., Sipior, J., de Vreede, G., & Wright, R. (2009). IS 2009: Curriculum guidelines for undergraduate degree programs in information systems. ACM and AIS, New York, NY and Park Ridge, IL.
Web site reviews. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/review.jhtml?id=5574
Wunker, C. (2007). Preparing for a career in information technology (IT). Retrieved from http://www.webber.edu/wunker/wunkerct/ReportInformationTechnologySkills.pdf