Logo image
Back
Staying up to date with changes in IT
Book chapter   Open access

Staying up to date with changes in IT

T.J. McGill and M.W. Dixon
Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, pp.2605-2609
Idea Group Publishing
2005
pdf
staying_up_to_date.pdfDownloadView
Published (Version of Record) Open Access

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been changing. rapidly over a long period, and this rate of change is likely to continue or increase (Benamati & Lederer, 2001a; Fordham, 2001). This rapid rate of change has produced many opportunities for organizations buy has also brought with it many challenges (Benamati & Lederer, 2001b; Lederer & Mendelow, 1990). Among these challenges is the struggle for organizations to obtain personnel with the appropriate knowledge and skills in order to meet their ICT needs (Byrd & Turner, 2001; Doke, 1999). This is mirrored by the continual requirement for information technology (IT) professionals to keep tp-to-date with the skills required by organizations (Benamati & Lederer, 2001a; Klobas & McGill, 1993). Previous research has investigated the importance employers place on various skills and perceived deficiencies in these skills (e.g., Doke, 1999; Leitheiser, 1992; Nelson, 1991). While the call for improved communication and social skills has been consistent, the technocal skills in demand have varies dramatically over time (Van Slyke, Kittner, & Cheney, 1998). Less has been written about students’ perceptions of the importance of various ICT skills, though this was addressed in a study that compared Australian and American students’ perceptions of ICT job skills (von Hellens, Van Slyke, & Kittner, 2000). This chapter provides an overview of a project that investigated the channels of information that ICT students use to keep up-to-date with employers’ needs.

Details

Metrics

415 File views/ downloads
102 Record Views
Logo image