IT Career Explosion in 2016, a New Year's Resolution Opportunity
According to a report from the White House, half a million IT jobs were left unfilled in 2015. The job market is eagerly seeking skilled IT professionals who can meet today's IT challenges. Victor Alhadeff, CEO of Boost eLearning, shares his advice for aspiring and seasoned IT professionals seeking to advance their careers.
Seattle, WA, December 31, 2015 (Newswire.com) - In 2015, the White House reported a staggering half a million IT (information technology) jobs in the U.S. are were left unfilled. The need for qualified IT professionals has outpaced the supply of qualified workers.
North America’s career boom in IT stems from recent technology trends: rapid adoption of new technologies, especially cloud and mobile technology; an alarming increase in high profile information security breaches; and an increased business interest in harnessing big data for smart decision making. These headline trends are pushing businesses to increase both their IT budgets and headcounts for 2016. This translates into good prospects for qualified IT professionals.
80% of certified individuals claim their certification helped them get their foot in the door for a job interview.
CompTIA
According to global recruitment agency Robert Half, “Highly skilled and experienced IT professionals, even those who aren’t actively seeking jobs, often receive multiple offers. And the employment offers are fiercely competitive: Above-market pay and other attractive financial incentives are common, and offers may include stock options, flexible work schedules and other perks.” Coming into 2016, the job outlook for IT professionals is very promising.
Ironically, while hiring managers sometimes wait months to fill a specific IT role in a company, IT professionals are looking for the best way to advance their careers. Victor Alhadeff, CEO of Boost eLearning, points out that the most popular new year’s resolution for 2016 is ‘Lose weight’. “I understand that’s an important goal,” explains Alhadeff, “but when we think about making changes this year, let’s not miss the boat on a career upgrade.” Alhadeff, whose IT training courses have left students with a 98.4% pass rate on certification exams, says the first step is to make a serious commitment to do what it takes to make career advancement a reality.
Despite the internet bubbling over with do-it-yourself learning sites, self-taught skills do not guarantee employment. Employers are looking for a combination of work experience, and technical skills that can be validated, such as through IT certifications. For entry-level positions, where work experience can be difficult to bring to the table, IT certifications play an even bigger role.
According to data from CompTIA, 80% of certified individuals claim their certification helped them get their foot in the door for a job interview. And 96% of HR managers use IT certifications as screening or hiring criteria during recruitment. For those already employed, certification increases the likelihood of being promoted and correlates with better job performance than non-IT certified staff.
Employers value IT certifications because they validate that a person is not only able to learn new skills, but more importantly, they are able to retain them. For this reason, Alhadeff says Boost eLearning's IT training focuses on skills-retention. Their courses incorporate quizzes, tests, flashcards, games, social learning, and gamification to complement their video lectures.
“What it comes down to,” concludes Alhadeff “is proving you’re up-to-speed in a world of continuously developing technologies.” For IT professionals in 2016, the old advice of Warren Buffett is still relevant: “The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”
