Getting left behind

Debate around skills shortages is common, but it appears that such debate is masking the real issue that most people are being left behind by technological advancement.

A discussion with Pretoria-based industrial engineer Abr'e Pienaar around IT in manufacturing this week, unearthed the fact that the capacity of technology to deliver hi-tech tools is beginning to outpace the availability of people skilled enough to use them.

According to Pienaar, who represents SA on the international education strategies committee of the world Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals, there is a very real shortage of skills at the highest levels, both locally and internationally.

Pienaar says this lack of skills means that most organisations have IT resources that far exceed the understanding of those in charge of running the business. In other words, the tools that high-level managers have at their disposal are capable of far more than those managers know.

The world of science fiction in which the human race has often been shown to lose control of technology is not too far removed from the real world where most people appear to be losing the ability to use available technology.

Is technology delivering more than we are able to use? The short answer appears to be "yes".

Upon reflection, this point was touched upon by IBM`s senior technology VP Nick Donofrio during his visit to SA last year when he said the 21^st Century would demand more highly-skilled people. He noted that education curricula had to be transformed to teach people how to think innovatively to meet the challenges of the future.

Is technology delivering more than we are able to use? The short answer appears to be "yes".

Warwick Ashford, portals managing editor, ITWeb

What is the point of having the capacity to develop tools to improve productivity if there are few people who know how to use them effectively?

Although Pienaar and Donofrio are talking about high-level skills shortages, a bit of research on the Web reveals that this phenomenon of tools capacity exceeding user skill is found at nearly every level of human interaction with IT-enabled tools.

At a much lower level, a recent report by European search engine Seekport says a significant number of Internet users in Britain still struggle to understand and use Internet search engines effectively.

The report says a third of UK Web users surveyed use only one search engine and that the choice of that search engine is not based on quality of results, but on things like brand familiarity and default browser settings. Only 16% of those surveyed could identify seven or more different search engines and 45% thought all search engines were the same.

In other words, the fact that most Internet users (in the UK) do not understand that search engines are suited to particular kinds of searches, means the majority are not using the right tools for specific jobs. This is really no different to the CIO who is not aware of the most effective way to use the high-level technology-based tools within his company.

Another recent study, this time by the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education in the US, shows a similar thing is happening there. The report says despite the investment of millions of dollars in computers and other technology, Maryland public school students and teachers are not using these tools for higher-level analytical or problem-solving activities. Instead, students and teachers use their computers only for basic tasks such as e-mail and word processing.

While this is a US report, it is highly likely to be true of most parts of the world, including SA. Therefore, it should act as a caution for local education authorities that providing access to technology is not enough on its own. A common cause of failure for such projects is that educators and learners are unable to use the tools provided.

The Internet has had an immeasurably positive impact on technology`s ability to deliver. However, it would seem a switch of attention from improving and enhancing connectivity to teaching people to understand how to use and exploit the potential that connectivity has created, is long overdue.

A shortage in skills is only one aspect of the problem facing the post-Internet world. Getting real about the problem appears to involve recognising the need to educate future generations about what is possible.

Just as there is little point to developing tools no one can use, there is little point to providing skills no one knows how to apply. Let`s hope that as the world`s educators plan to skill the future generation, they do not lose sight of the importance of stimulating the imagination.