Wooing IT workers

A study by the Information Technology Association of America and Virginia T ech estimates that 346,000 core-skill IT jobs in the United States are curr ently unfilled. This article tells how some companies are finding creative ways to attract and retain top-notch technical talent to close the growing skills shortage. Companies are rising to the challenge by molding technical workers out of p romising technical employees already on board, by using training as an ince ntive to retain them, and by making use of pre-employment assessments to sp ot diamonds in the rough. Growing technical skills in-house is becoming a proven growth strategy in t he scarce job market. And training is being leveraged to keep skilled IT wo rkers from jumping ship in the face of aggressive recruiting tactics and lu crative sign-on bonuses. Because it's essential for IT professionals to kee p current in a fast-changing industry, training is more than an attractive perk. In fact, many IT professionals are taking training into their own han ds, creating a self-paid training market. A recent survey of IT workers sho ws that professional development is a key factor in their job satisfaction. Partnering with local colleges is another organizational strategy gaining m omentum. Such colleges are tailoring education programs to meet specific co mpany needs. Barren talked with several companies about their specific approaches. There 's also a summary of recent studies of the IT market and a report on the Wh ite House's proposal to provide $1 billion for adult education, reemploymen t training? and youth employment programs. Said Vice President Gore in a re cent videoconference, "America's competitiveness and prosperity...depend in creasingly on high-skill, high-wage jobs.".