Get IT – Education as the pathway to technology-focused employment

How to Get IT
By Jerry Masin

Thomas Edison said, “Vision without execution is hallucination.” In today’s economic environment – where businesses have learned to do more with fewer people, yet struggle to find qualified candidates for those positions that are open – seeking employment without proper education and training is vision without execution. Unemployment rates remain stagnant in part due to more job seekers reentering the job market as the economy continues to recover, yet less jobs available because many positions cut during the recession are gone forever as technology has spurred improvements in business processes. As columnist David Brooks recently said, “American skills have not kept up with technological change.”

Those Americans who have kept up are succeeding. While unemployment rates still remain above 8 percent, unemployment in the information technology sector consistently runs well below national levels, as low as 3.3 percent in June year when the national rate was 9.2 percent. And the news for the IT community, and those seeking employment in this sector, keeps getting better. After sitting on their cash for most of the recession businesses once again are investing in IT, on both the software and hardware sides. U.S. businesses are forecast to spend $551 billion on IT products and services in 2012, according to the “United States Information Technology Report Q1 2012” issued by MarketResearch.com. Drivers of that investment include cloud computing, mobile applications, data center consolidation, product innovation such as tablets and netbooks and technology innovation such as GPS, the report said. Monster added government mandates such as those of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Because computers do not program themselves this increase in investment translates into demand for skilled IT workers. According to “Tech Hiring Trends 2012” issued by Acquity Group, there will be an increased demand for mobile application developers and data warehouse analysts this year. U.S. News and World Report lists software developer and database administrator as the second and fifth best jobs of 2012.

Yet not everyone gets IT. The Princeton Review showed that the 10 most popular college majors continue to include business administration and management/commerce (#1), psychology (#2), English language and literature (#6) and political science and government (#9).
At the same time 52 percent of U.S. businesses report having difficulty filling open positions, according to ManpowerGroup’s “2011 Talent Shortage Survey.” Only 14 percent of hiring managers reported that over the last three years “most” or “nearly all” job candidates had the skills their company looks for in a potential employee, according to a recent survey by the Career Advisory Board. Even in IT there is a shortage of necessary skills, with 93 percent of businesses reporting an overall skill gap among their IT staff, according to the “State of IT Skills” report by CompTIA.
Learning, Growth and Sustainable Employment In the new economy of the 21st century, economic vitality is the outcome of a three-part formula: learning, growth and sustainable employment. Through job-specific education and training workers become properly skilled, help businesses grow and remain employable.

So how does an unemployed or underemployed non-IT worker take advantage of this increasing demand for skilled IT employees? As Edison said, they need to execute a plan.
First, job-seekers must perform a skills assessment. A job search is a journey and just as a traveler begins a journey by assessing what he or she will need for the trip job-seekers must determine which skills they possess and lack. (Skill self-assessment tools are readily available online.)
For example, to succeed as an application developer or database developer workers require a basic understanding of computing, object-oriented concepts, relational databases and how to write code. Because much of this can be trained, job-seekers in this field also must possess discipline, organizational skills, a burning desire to learn and a burning desire to succeed. Job-seekers can also confer with a career coach to determine their best path. Any discussion about where a worker wants to go must include a discussion of where the jobs are. Next, the execution of a career change and new job search entails job-specific education and training that is holistic. Because past job training and business knowledge carry value, an effective IT training program must link past job experience with the new skills being learned. And finally the IT job search must include marketing – promoting the job-seeker with his or her new skills to prospective employers.

SetFocus, an information technology training school that trains applications developers, database developers and other Microsoft professionals, puts this three-pronged approach to the test. Before any training begins, students partake in skill assessments, which help them and their instructors identify their current skills, their strengths and their areas needing improvement. Past job experience and knowledge is heavily weighed. Armed with this blueprint of knowledge, a training plan is outlined and executed through a curriculum that is designed and periodically reviewed in partnership with IT hiring companies. This ensures that students complete the 13-week full-time or 30+-week part-time program possessing the necessary skills and education to make them marketable.
SetFocus’ marketing includes career development efforts through the school’s placement partners that connects graduates with businesses in a wide variety of sectors requiring highly skilled IT professionals. This thee-step formula of linking to past work experiences, building required skill sets and marketing to prospective employers allows graduates to maintain significant placement success. Most importantly, the holistic foundation of their training enables graduates to enjoy sustainable employment.

Education that Leads to Employment

Education and training is only relevant if it leads to sustainable employment. Education and training is the means; employment is the end. And for employment to be sustainable, it must bring value to the employer. The idea of hitting the ground running has never been more relevant than in today’s economy. Companies are no longer willing to invest in training for two or three years; they demand their employees be productive now. According to CompTIA, employers are more likely to outsource or hire new workers than invest in training for existing employees. In an era of high unemployment, many employers expect new employees to come prepared with the skills and training to be productive immediately, according to Brenda Gilchrist, principal and co-founder of the HR Matrix. For employment to be sustainable it must be valuable today and tomorrow. The best way to ensure that is through job-specific education and training. Information technology that drives nearly all business growth is taking a more prominent position in companies every day. Investment in IT will accelerate as technological innovation such as cloud computing and mobile applications advance exponentially. With this will come a greater need for IT professionals ready to step in and become productive immediately rather than lag behind a learning curve that is soaring skyward.

Now is the moment for those outside the information technology sector who are considering entering to take that step and redefine their careers with a properly executed plan for their future. Education is the pathway to technology-focused employment.

Learning, growth and sustainable employment – this is how to get IT.

Jerry Masin is president of SetFocus, an information technology training school headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. He can be reached at 973.889.0211 or jerry.masin@setfocus.com. www.setfocus.com.

Article appearing in the May 2012 issue of the New Jersey Technology Council's issue of TechWire.

New IT Training Portal Gives Job Seekers Free Education, Training and a Pathway to Employment http://www.setfocusfreetraining.com

New IT Training Portal Gives Job Seekers Free Education, Training and a Pathway to Employment http://www.setfocusfreetraining.com

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New Jersey Technology Council and SetFocus Announce Bridging the Gap Technology Scholarship

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SetFocus Launches New Classroom and Office Space Rental Website http://www.setfocusclassroomrentals.com

Education and Training is the Pathway to Employment

There is a connection between learning, growth and sustainable employment, according to Jerry Masin, president of SetFocus, an informational technology training school headquartered in Parsippany. Unfortunately, too many people do not see that connection. Unemployment among college graduates is 7.5 percent, higher in nontechnical fields such as liberal arts (9.4 percent). Yet unemployment in information technology consistently runs less than half the national average. Meanwhile, 22 percent of U.S. businesses claim they cannot find qualified candidates while 40 percent rate new hires as "deficient." Yet the most popular college majors include social sciences, visual arts, English and communications.

Clearly, too many people do not see the connection between learning, growth and sustainable employment. Fortunately for the students of SetFocus and the employers hiring them, Masin and his faculty do. SetFocus trains and places in the workplace Microsoft experts – from IT professionals whose skills have lagged or those recently laid off to individuals seeking retraining to start a new career. The school works closely with employers to regularly hone its curriculum to ensure students are properly trained in required skills and hiring partners’ needs are properly filled. In other words, SetFocus makes a connection between education, growth and sustainable employment. As a result, the school enjoys significant placement success for its students.
Masin came to SetFocus in 2011. While the school has long been respected in the technical training arena Masin committed to taking the organization to its next level.

With more than 30 years experience in building global organizations, he determined to make SetFocus a key player in workforce development and reinvestment throughout New Jersey. "Edison said, ‘Vision without execution is hallucination,’" Masin said. "Everybody deserves a good education and good job. Without execution, that vision falls into hallucination." For SetFocus, execution includes working closely with the state’s workforce investment boards as well as the U.S. Department of Military Affairs. Already certified as an eligible training provider by New Jersey, the school will become GI Bill-certified shortly. "Education and training is only relevant if it leads to a job," Masin said. "The idea of hitting the job running has never been more relevant than now. Companies don’t have two or three years to get employees trained. They need to be productive now. "We are offering to the workforce investment boards around the state the ability to fast-track training opportunities. When you fast-track training and education you fast track jobs."

Masin is able to turn SetFocus into a workforce development leader because the school is so ideally suited to train and quickly place employees. The school offers students a full-time program of 40 hours per week for 13 weeks or a part-time option of 15 hours per week for 30 weeks and operates a career services and placement department. In addition to being designed with direct input from hiring partners, the curriculum is taught by an unparalleled faculty, according to Masin. "The secret sauce for a training organization is its trainers," he said. "We have been very fortunate to attract rock star trainers, acknowledged subject matter experts. We look for trainers who are recognized as top-shelf experts within the Microsoft community."
SetFocus also offers The GRID®, virtual training that allows instructors and students to interact in a classroom environment from any location. Through audio and video, each student has a "front row" seat in full view of the instructor and fellow students, with face-to-face communication. All of which enables SetFocus to make the connection between education, growth and sustainable employment. "When I talk with an unemployed worker or someone considering a career change, I ask, ‘Where do you want to go?’" Masin said. "But first I say, ‘Let’s talk about where the jobs are.’ I’m not relevant if I can’t help them find a job."

To learn more about SetFocus call 973.889.0211 or visit www.setfocus.com.

From an article appearing in the March 2012 issue of The Business Edge, a publication of The Morris County Chamber of Commerce. With compliments to editor, Chris Reardon.

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