Preparing for the Future of IT in Nebraska  –  Kandace R. Miller, President/CEO, AIM Institute 

The IT industry is experiencing steady growth coupled with significant shifts in the way IT workers are employed and in the skills required of them. This growth and transformation are creating opportunities for our students, educational system and entrepreneurs — all of which serve to increase the importance of technology skills across the country and especially here in Nebraska. 

Evidence of a Tightening Labor Force

The "time to hire" for IT professionals has risen 50 percent — what used to take a firm two months is now taking three months. IT salaries have risen 5.3 percent nationally, well ahead of the 2.8 percent rise in cost of living, and Nebraska has kept pace with this trend. For the most in-demand IT careers, salaries have risen 7 percent in one year.

Reasons include low unemployment, slow population growth, retiring "baby boomers," and an increasing reluctance by students to choose math, science, technology, and engineering majors in college. But steady growth in the IT industry is also a factor. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts 850,000 new IT jobs will be created nationally by 2016, showing that IT professionals will continue to be in high demand.

Shift to Consulting Firms 

Working in tandem with this forecast, major shifts are at work within the industry. Companies are off-shoring many IT functions and shifting workload to virtual organizations. The largest employers are outsourcing major IT functions to smaller, more agile consulting firms. Therefore, the jobs will not necessarily be found in the largest companies, but in consulting firms that provide service to those companies.

The silver lining? This shift provides a major opportunity for entrepreneurs and startup businesses, for which Nebraska with its new job-creation incentives package is well-poised to capitalize on. Already, Omaha's development of a strong, vibrant entrepreneurial IT and arts community is starting to capture the attention of the national media. This in turn will give our youth motivation to pursue their careers in Nebraska as well as attract new citizens and former Nebraskans. AIM is addressing this trend with its new Entrepreneurial Resources and MoveBacktoNebraska websites. 

Rising Need for "Soft Skills" 

A second trend is the increasing need for IT professionals to combine "soft skills" and business acumen with classic IT "hard skills." Hard skills in great demand include network and desktop security, web development, wireless communication, and database administration and management. But soft skills such as effective communication skills, teamwork, strategic thinking, and fluency in the cultural differences of global workers, partners, and customers are also increasingly required by employers. 

Evidence of this soft-skill need was observed in AIM's latest research, The Role of IT in Change Management. To address this trend, AIM and its business members have developed AIM's new IT Leadership Academy, which helps IT managers focus on developing their authentic leadership style and the essential soft skills.

Capitalizing on These Trends 

These are interesting and exciting times for the IT industry. However, our community's organizations must work together to leverage our strengths to capitalize on these trends. Together, we must:

• Further develop both the technical and soft skills of our existing workforce.
• Engage and train segments of our population that are currently underrepresented in our workforce.
  
• More fully invest time and energy in students at all levels to maximize their personal potential and their future contribution to our economy.
• Inform people around the nation about the success and vibrancy of our region, so that they are encouraged to move here or return.

AIM will continue to work with our friends and partners around the region to build a strong IT workforce. Our Careerlink.com recruitment web site, our youth development programs, our information technology training, our research initiatives, and our forums featuring top technology-trend forecasters all serve to further our mission to empower communities, organizations and individuals through technology.

If you are not already, I hope you will consider becoming an AIM member to help support these important initiatives, for it is only by working together that we can ensure our region’s continued success in this global economy.