Perceptions And Validation Of Key Information Technology Competencies From An IT Alumni Viewpoint:  Another Stakeholder In The Curriculum Design Process

Hunt, C. Steven; Crews, Tena B.; Feather-Gannon, Susan; Hunt, Darla; Smith, Lola B.

doi:10.19030/rbis.v15i2.4199

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In summary, the internships analyzed provide an opportunity for students to work on various technologies that are not covered in curriculum. However, the results of this study also suggest that the examined internships strongly emphasized technical skills and appeared to focus little on general competencies, or soft skills; general skills are challenging to teach in a classroom environment, yet employers expect new professionals to have them (Hunt et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Work-integrated learning (WIL) in information technology

Jones

Mardis

McClure

et al. 2017

HESWBL

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Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to analyze 86 information technology (IT) internship postings to discern the extent to which the intended outcomes matched professional standards for four-year IT programs. Design/methodology/approach-The researchers text mined specified skills from 86 internship postings and compared them to the competencies outlined in the ACM/IEEE Body of Knowledge. Findings-Results indicated that students can expect to gain experience and exposure to both technical and general competencies. Though research and policy relating to technical fields have emphasized professional competencies such as teamwork, communication, and professionalism, this analysis suggested that the internship postings greatly emphasized technical skills at the expense of general competencies. Research limitations/implications-The most frequently occurring competencies suggest future research opportunities for considering contextual factors of internship sites. The researchers conclude with implications for using text mining as a tool for comparing internship intent vs outcomes as well as suggestions for policies, standards, and curricula worthy of further exploration. Originality/value-Employers, educators, and professionals agree that internships offer a promising means to link course content and practical workplace skills, especially in technical fields like IT. However, less clear are the ingredients of effective IT internships.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Work-integrated learning (WIL) in information technology

Jones

Mardis

McClure

et al. 2017

HESWBL

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“…Many researchers (e.g. Crews, 2004; Gordon, 2013; Hunt et al , 2011; Woodward et al , 2013) have suggested that IT employers seek employees who have employability skills equal to or beyond their technical expertise. Many of our participants mentioned that recent graduates were lacking needed both technical and general skills, but tended to have a better grasp of soft skills and general competencies than the technical skills.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though recent graduates are sometimes unprepared for the technical side of working in IT, they also often lack many employability skills that the IT industry demands (Downey et al, 2008;Lee and Han, 2008; US Department of Education Office of Career and Technical Education, 2016). Hunt et al (2011) concluded, "emerging information technologies are […] requiring a new breed of IT professional -a person who understands the needs of the business as well as IT" (p. 5). A subset of employability skills, business and behavioral skills, i.e., "soft skills," are 930 ET 59,9 increasingly in demand on par with technical skills (Downey et al, 2008;Lee and Han, 2008).…”

Section: Employability Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because IT is rapidly changing and growing both as a standalone industry and as an embedded workplace service, employers are valuable sources of input for academic and technical curriculum content (Hwang and Soe, 2010) as well as for specific desired employability skills (e.g. applied knowledge, interpersonal communication, and analytical and organizational skills) for career readiness (Crews, 2004; Gordon, 2013; Hunt et al , 2011; Woodward et al , 2013). Because ongoing dialogue between employers and IT educators is essential to ensure that IT curricula remain integral and relevant (Downey et al , 2008) and little research has documented employers’ perceptions of new graduates’ workplace preparedness (Shah et al , 2015), IT employers were interviewed in the growing technology sector of North Florida and the findings from those discussions are reported here.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Employers’ perspectives on new information technology technicians’ employability in North Florida

Hollister

Spears

Mardis

et al. 2017

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Purpose-In response to recent calls for research relating to employers' perceptions of the workplace readiness of new graduates in a variety of fields, the purpose of this paper is to report North Florida employers' perceptions of information technology (IT) program graduates' workplace readiness. These findings are relevant to stakeholders in growing technology regions. Design/methodology/approach-Researchers conducted 18 semi-structured interviews with IT employers in North Florida. Data were deductively coded with codes derived from national standards. Interviewee verbatim was also inductively coded by theme. Findings-While employers valued a blend of technical and general skills and hands-on experience, they also sought new professionals who possessed fundamental understandings of business and computer programming to tailor their problem-solving skills to the specific company environment. Research limitations/implications-This research represents a limited number of employer viewpoints in one representative community. Practical implications-Ongoing industry input into curricula and expanded experiential opportunities may ensure that graduates are prepared to address current and future IT developments. Because the region under study was typical of many regions with growing technology sectors, these findings may inform partnerships, curriculum, and program design. Originality/value-Given the rapid growth and constant advances of the IT sector, institutions with IT degree programs are challenged to ensure that their curricula are current and meeting the needs of employers. This study's findings may offer timely insight into elements of workforce preparedness.

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“…Curricula. Providing up-to-date curricula in a constantly changing policy environment that emphasizes the need for technology skills as 'essential skills' or 'critical skills', educators will be challenged to ensure that these skills are those that will advance students in the job market (Crews, 2004;Gordon, 2013;Hunt, et al, 2011). These skills are as dynamic as the innovative workplace needs they are designed to serve and this makes the integrity and value of an IT curriculum subject to constant scrutiny (Downey, McMurtrey & Zeltmann, 2008; especially as the behavioral skills, often termed 'soft skills' but named "General Competencies" in this study, are increasingly as critical as technical skills (Downey, McMurtrey & Zeltmann, 2008;Lee, 2005;Lee & Han, 2008).…”

Section: The Challenge For Educatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%