The term "technical writing" refers to the written communication of specialised information in a way that will be easily understood by its intended audience. And it is not practised only by people who are employed as technical writers.
The CareerJunction Web site recently listed a staggering 700 jobs for which technical writing skills were a requirement. Only 32 of these advertisements were specifically looking for technical writers; other positions ranged from a financial product manager to an officer with the Special Investigating Unit.
However, most of the jobs requiring technical writing skills fell within the information technology sector.
We can draw two conclusions from this piece of information. Firstly, that many organisations have not yet understood the benefit of employing professionally trained technical writers to develop and manage specialised documentation. (Unless, of course, they have tried and failed to find them.) Secondly, that an increasing number of employees at all levels of management are being called on to demonstrate technical writing abilities.
In an interview with Network World, Matt Colarusso of Sapphire Technologies has advised IT professionals to develop their business skills in preference to extending their technical expertise.
Colarusso says companies "are always looking for people who can communicate, who can bring together the technical side with the business side and the customer side". Similarly, a survey by the Society for Information Management found communication skills to be one of the top five requirements for mid-level IT recruiting.
The part-time Diploma in Technical Writing and Communication currently being offered by Faculty Training Institute has been developed in response to local industry needs. In addition to creating a bigger pool of qualified technical writers, it enables organisations to develop the technical writing skills of their current employees. The diploma content covers the entire document production lifecycle, from analysis and planning, through drafting and editing, to usability testing and document management tools. This makes it relevant to practising technical writers as well as those for whom technical writing is just one part of their job.
Registration is now open for diploma courses in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. For more information, visit the FTI Web site at www.fti.co.za or e-mail daiveshni@fti.co.za.
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