Project management skills in demand

Employers are looking for well-rounded IT professionals, people with training that go beyond just tech certifications, says Elizabeth Holloran, programme manager at SkillSoft, in an article by Information Week.

Most in demand are "certification combos" that show an understanding of business, technology, and soft skills such as communication, leadership, and project management.

Certifications are sometimes perceived as a dime a dozen, because the value of tech-specific training lasts only as long as the specific technology is hot. Training, such as project management, that combines technology, soft skills, and business acumen, lasts much longer, Holloran says.

Safa Rayaneh, an Iranian multi-national company that has transformed 40 Iranian cities into "virtual" cities, has teamed up with MSC Management Services to replicate its astounding success globally, reports The Star.

The company, which provides geographic information system-based solutions for urban planning and urban management, has set up an MSC status company in Malaysia, called Safa Rayaneh MSC, with its office in Cyberjaya.

Safa Rayaneh regional manager Javad Zarrin told StarBiz at the second international Symposium on Knowledge Cities, that its first target market would be Asia, then the Middle East and later Europe, the US and the whole world.

The state paid Virginia-based Maximus millions of dollars to overhaul a law enforcement database, but is now considering suing because the system contains 800 defects and has never been implemented. According to officials, it could endanger police and the public, reports News Day.

"It simply is an apparent abject and total failure," attorney-general Richard Blumenthal said.

The state is now in "the untenable position" of having spent nearly $6 million "on a project with no usable product to justify the expense", state officials said. Company officials declined repeated requests for comment.