Monday, July 21, 2014

Closing the Technology Skills Gap: Can E-Learning Save the Day? - Kristi Essick, Cisco

Everyone from kindergarten teachers and university professors, to CEOs and government leaders seem worried about the "technology skills gap." It's become commonplace to decry that we're not equipping students with the STEM skills they need to succeed in a tech-centric economy. Companies complain they have thousands of open tech jobs, but can't find qualified candidates to fill them. From San Francisco and Austin, to Sydney and London, companies say they could grow faster and boost hiring across teams, if only they could fill their open IT positions. A recent study by the Brookings Institution reported STEM job skills are in huge demand by employers, and job openings in high tech fields take much longer to fill because candidates with STEM skills are in short supply. A Manpower study also showed IT workers and engineers were among the hardest positions to fill in the U.S. in 2013. http://newsroom.cisco.com/feature-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1450825