The need for hands-on experiential training within the IT industry has become critical, says Kathy Robinson, MD of Johannesburg-based NJA International, an international IT recruitment company.
Robinson says the need for skilled IT candidates and the apparent lack of mentorship are issues often voiced but rarely acted on by companies in the industry.
"The biggest cry you hear from project managers and HR people is they cannot get IT staff. But those same people have never put in a [mentoring] programme," she notes.
And this has been the case for years, claims the IT recruiter who has been in the business for eight years.
"I think SA is going to have to become more global in terms of the recruitment of IT skills. We will have to [institute mentoring programmes] otherwise we are going to have a problem."
Experience or bust
It`s your experience in the industry that counts. Robinson says those with a qualification and no experience will find the job fight a lot tougher than someone with experience and no qualification.
"The local IT industry is a hands-on industry. If you have the experience, the tertiary education is not important. However, if you want to leave the country, tertiary experience is required, but simply because it`s a work permit thing."
In addition to the qualification versus experience dilemma, the entry-level graduate jockeying for a position in IT also has to contend with another problematic area. Robinson says that companies are sometimes reluctant to embark on a training programme as they fear their trained staff will be headhunted by another company.
In order to circumvent this problem, Robinson suggests that individuals should attempt to gain experience by approaching people they know within IT.
"Find a friend who`s in a computer company and help him for six months. Build PCs, install Windows 95 and 98, learn the Microsoft products. You`ve then got six months` experience. And then I`ll place you."
The skills trek
Inexperienced graduates who are frustrated by their attempts to break into the local IT sector may face the same sort of problems abroad.
Although Robinson estimates that 150 professionals - mainly developers - leave SA each year, she says that graduates cannot be placed because they cannot get work permits. These, Robinson explains, are only issued to people with proven skills and experience in a trade.
SA cannot source skills from beyond its borders because the government prefers to use local skills, she notes. This is different to the way the US, UK and Australia work, where authorities issue work permits for sought-after skills.
Robinson says her company is flooded with graduates looking for work abroad after having failed to obtain a job locally.
However, in terms of worldwide recruitment, Robinson predicts an upswing from about February/March as companies start to tackle post-Y2K projects.
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