Following the much-hyped Y2K rollover, the focus has now shifted from the technical to the technician, from the compliant computer to the person fixing it.
After all the compliancy work, systems checks and testing, is there still work for people with these specific skills? Yes, say IT professionals, and no, they don`t expect any mass retrenchments.
Not out of the woods
One of the main reasons that Y2K workers will still enjoy a stable career, say professionals, is because companies will now start the projects which were placed on ice during the mad rush for Y2K compliancy. There is also the warning that we are not out of the woods yet and glitches may still occur, which means that Y2K professionals will still be in demand.
In a recent ITWeb interview, Karl Feilder, president and CEO of software company Greenwich Mean Time, stated: "Y2K is about creeping chaos rather than sudden chaos." Feilder believes the impact of the Y2K problem will start to be felt in the first quarter of the year.
This indicates that professionals or those with newly-acquired Y2K skills may still be needed and if not, will find work anyway. Experts believe these people will use the experience gained from Y2K to innovate and grab spin-off opportunities that have arisen from the event.
Experience counts
Ivor Rimmer, MD of Bateleur Resourcing, says the industry has been too quick to group workers and label them as having mainly Y2K-related skills.
He points to programmers as an example: "I think we`ve been too quick to categorise programmers, saying 'oh you`re a Y2K programmer`. There was no such thing... they were a whole bunch of application programmers that suddenly got called in to do some Y2K checking and rectification on the way through. Now they`re going back to just being application programmers," says Rimmer.
Yusuf Kader, Y2K project leader at the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council, says many of the council`s employees were specifically trained to deal with the year 2000 situation and obtained added skills this way. He notes that there has been a shortage of project management skills internationally and local industries will increasingly be looking at project management as a means of conducting business.
"The [Y2K] skills that were developed can be utilised to further fill that gap of project management that is required in the industry. If you look at the trend in the marketplace today, the business and banking sectors are now looking at running their entire business as a project. So everything they do is project-driven."
This is just one of the ways in which skilled people may find themselves re-absorbed into the industry. But there is always a fresh approach as, in a fast-paced industry like IT, innovation and development are a constant fact of life.
A continuous brain drain
The brain drain will also ensure a constant need for IT skills in SA.
According to Kathy Robinson, MD of recruitment company NJA International, local skilled workers are still on their way out of the country and there is no one to replace them. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that those without experience are finding it difficult to land jobs in SA.
"We have to invest in our own youngsters because we don`t have the skills. They are leaving the country and as yet, we can`t bring them [skills] in because the Department of Home Affairs won`t issue work permits," says Robinson.
Rimmer expresses a similar sentiment: "Let`s assume that 90% of companies go through the process system upgrade and innovation and there is still 10% that are having to scale down and rationalise - where are those 10% of people going to go? Will they become unemployed? The answer is no, because whether we like it or not, we are still losing people to the big wide world overseas."
Who`s at risk?
According to Kader, it is the technicians - those who worked on installations - who are most likely to suffer job losses.
Doug Leather, MD of Bryan Hattingh Executive Services, says contractors may also have a problem. He explains that it is difficult for contractors to re-skill, something that is necessary because of the focus-shift from a mainframe environment to e-business.
"The difficulty arises because contractors are employed for their existing skills - to go in, do the job, get out and move on to the next contract. Typically, companies do not invest in skill growth for contractors," explains Leather.
According to Robinson, a software development career is the way to go. "The market is flooded with MCSEs and A+ technicians and these people are going to have to re-skill themselves, ideally in the software development arena, or else sit at home," she says.
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