IT pros lack formal education

At the ITA >skills development summit in Midrand this week, Professor Barry Dwolatzky, director of the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) at Wits University, said most IT professionals today do not have formal qualifications.

He cited last year's ITWeb/JCSE IT Skills Survey, where it was shown that less than 50% of IT professionals had training in the form of degrees and diplomas. Most skills are acquired through experience.

Dwolatzky says that for many professionals, the lack of a formal qualification is a personal issue, not just a professional one.

He described a programme whereby software engineers with five or more years' experience can complete a three-year part-time course to receive a master's degree in software engineering.

“People want degrees, but they don't want to go back to square one,” he says.

The programme piloted in 2005 and the first students graduated in May this year. He says with many of the current students, companies sponsor selected students.

Dwolatzky was speaking about beneficial relationships between academia and industry, and cited this programme as an example.

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