Coffee and Stats: Supporting Students IT Employability Through Professional Certification

During a regular catch-up with my colleague, Greg Pearson, he shared some interesting stats around the global IT industry and how this relates to job growth, with a particular emphasis on the tech sector.

I thought it might be worth sharing some of these stats on the blog. It definitely got me thinking about young people and the skills they need to find employment after they graduate. Food for thought, for sure…

• Global IT Spend is expected to grow to $1.7 trillion in 2013*
• Global IT jobs will grow from 35.6 million in 2009 to 41.4 million by 2013*
• 98k new IT business projected to be created by 2015**
• UK requires 550,000 new entrants in to IT and Telecoms by 2015***

That is pretty impressive potential growth figures, yet during the same conversation with Greg it turns out that the tech industry is actually struggling to find the right skills.

The following stats puts this into perspective:

• +20% of Application Development jobs require SharePoint skills****
• 92% of IT Leaders indicate it is challenging to secure necessary IT skills*****
• Universities now have a focus on employability within 6 months of graduating in subject that was studied

With these stats in mind, there are clearly huge opportunities for young people who possess the right skills to pursue careers in the tech sector. The challenge now is for the curriculum in schools and beyond to offer the correct platform for people to embrace these opportunities and meet the demands of industry.

So what are hiring manager within tech firms looking for from a qualifications perspective? Maybe the following stats can help answer these questions:

• 91% of Hiring Managers consider employee certification as a criterion for hiring₁
• 81% of Hiring Managers feel that certified individuals perform better₁

It is going to be interesting to see how the curriculum develops and evolves to create an environment that provides the best platform for the UK to achieve its full potential in the tech sector. To support this, Microsoft's IT Academy programme can help provide industry specific skills and knowledge needed to achieve success.

Keeping with the theme of stats, 60% of IT Certification Holders say a certification led to a new job₂. Additionally, 53% of individuals believe that obtaining a certification makes them more marketable3.

Earning Microsoft Certifications Will Help Your Students:

• Gain a competitive edge in the job market and differentiate themselves

• Demonstrate their commitment to the IT profession. The IET recognises MCP towards their membership
• Validate their real world IT skills and knowledge
• Differentiate their institution against graduates from others

More information on the ITA Academy can be found on our website, or alternatively download/view the presentation below from our 2011 ITA Summit event.

**Source: IDC Economic Impact Study, Global, 2009

** Source: IDC, Microsoft’s Economic Impact, 2011

*** Source: eskills Technology Insights report, 2011

**** Source: www.itjobswatch.co.uk

***** Source: TEKSystems Report, October 2011

Sources

1 MCP Program Satisfaction Study 2010

2 Network World, November 2011

3 Intrepid Survey