We Need More IT Graduates and Now!

I read with dismay in the Irish Independent lately of Intel's decision to move a project apparently earmarked for Ireland to Romania because of a lack of IT graduates in Ireland. Apparently this is not the only case of this happening. It is also reflective of what I have been seeing during our latest graduate recruitment drive in Deloitte.



A constant supply of quality IT graduates is a necessity for businesses generally but most especially for software development companies and IT services organisations. Graduates are the lifeblood of these organisations in terms of expanding, getting the work done and developing the next generation of senior IT professionals. There is no doubt that their long term growth and the development of the smart economy is inhibited by a lack of these graduates.



In an era of such high unemployment it seems crazy to be complaining about a lack of staff but that is the actual situation that companies are grappling with at the moment. Unfortunately there is no quick fix to the problem as it takes three to four years to educate an IT graduate. Nevertheless there are actions that we can start to take now:



1. Immediately establish a working group consisting of individuals from the IT industry, academia and any relevant government agencies to tackle the problem. The members of the group must be chosen carefully and it must be an active, outcome driven group with an ability to make things happen. It should not waste any time producing reports or fancy strategy documents but should instead focus on outcomes and what actions need to be taken to achieve them.



2. Actively Promote IT as a career. For too long IT has been suffering from poor PR. We need to actively promote IT as a career in secondary schools, highlighting the benefits and rewards of a career in the sector. The industry needs to support this by attending and hosting career events, supporting work experience initiatives etc.



3. Encourage Post graduate qualifications in IT. The third level sector is producing a large number of graduates with non IT degrees who are finding it impossible to find jobs. We need to encourage a greater number of these to do post graduate degrees or diplomas in IT. The third level sector may need to consider increasing capacity in this regard.



I don't pretend to have to have all the answers. However I believe that the steps above will serve as a good starting point to addressing what is becoming a critical problem and a lost opportunity.