WHILE THE IT WORKER SHORTAGE IS well documented, traditional institutions of higher education, even operating at full capacity, will not fill this shottage in a timely manner [2, 3]. The enormous growth of industry certification programs has likewise not succeeded in closing this gap [1]. The U.S. Congress has been pressured to allow the importation of more international IT workers; but even with an increase in the Hl-B visa allotment to 200,000 for 2002 and beyond, the shortage will not go away anytime soon [4]. No silver-bullet solution to the IT worker shortage exists; multiple and creative ways to attack this problem are needed. One source of IT labor that may not be fully utilized is the movement of non-IT workers to the IT profession. Traditionally, this involves returning to college for a second bachelor's or graduate degree in an IT-related field. Completing such a program while remaining employed typically takes from two to six years and a correspondingly high level of dedication and sacrifice. There are likely more workers who wotild make diis move to IT if there were more reasonable and practical ways to accomplish it.Three initiatives undertaken to provide more immediate paths for individuals wanting to make career changes to IT are described here. Although similar efforts are surely being made elsewhere, these examples are offered as a springboard for additional creative ventures to ease and enhance the movement of talented non-IT workers to IT.
UniversitylCorporate Initiative: Foundation Computing Technology ProgramIn response to the growing shortage of technology workers in 1997, several businesses entered into a partnership with Illinois State University (ISU). A certificate program in Foundation Computing Technology (nicknamed the FCP) was created to prepare underemployed workers from non-computing disciplines for the IT work force in a relatively short amount of time, and minimize the risk, financial burden, and time commitment to these potential candidates. The FCP is supported entirely by corporate partners and generates sufficient residual revenues to pay for itself.Parricipants are recruited in rhe local labor market and careful applicant screening, including aptitude testing, is conducted to ensure acceptance of individuals highly Hkely to succeed. Graduates ofthe program have ranged in age from 25 to 65 and include teachers, construction workers, and ministers. Participanrs must quit their current employment to begin the program, but a corporate partner pays them at a nearly full-salary rate during the full-time (7.5 hours per day, Monday through Friday) 12-13-week training program. Upon FCP completion, the new IT employees are placed on staff at the partnering client at a salary equivalent to that of a new four-year computing graduate. FCP training is developed and delivered by ISU faculty, staff, and full-time technology trainers, and the content primarily involves Cobol programming and systems analysis. EfTorts are made to assimilate participants into the client's
Accompanying the rapid proliferation of personal computing has been an ambivalent attitude towards the illegal copying of commercially available software. The effects of this software “piracy” are enormous and insidious, and academia ranks as one of the worst abusers. To understand the legitimate as well as illegitimate usage of software, one must have a clear understanding of the letter and intent of the copyright law. If academia is to purge itself of software abuses, educators and administrators must set clear and visible software policies based upon the copyright law.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.