As the computer industry recovered from its 2001-2003 slump, the phrase “skills shortage” gradually started creeping back into conversations. Now once again we’re regularly hearing concerns that the industry — from vendors to integrators to users’ IT departments — either is having or soon will have trouble hiring the skilled people it needs.
And once again I’m wondering how seriously to take it.
It’s still more a developing problem than a full-blown one today. Yes, enrolment in science and engineering programs is down. StatsCan says the number of students in math, computer and information sciences dropped about 10 per cent from 2002/03 to 2004/05. That’s a natural reaction to the slump a few years ago.
But are employers having trouble hiring? “We don’t have a problem yet,” says Brian O’Higgins, chief technology officer at security software vendor Third Brigade in Ottawa, though he says he can see it coming.
Nor are qualified graduates swamped with offers. Bharka Bhargav, a University of Ottawa graduate student just entering the job market, says that while there are more jobs now than two years ago when she finished her undergraduate degree, it still takes many graduates some time to find work.
Still, declining enrolment in science and engineering is not good. One problem seems to be that kids are making choices before they even reach university — like avoiding science and math courses because they’re harder to get top marks in — that reduces their choices.
We keep hearing too that kids think science and technology are boring. If so, somebody’s doing something wrong, because kids by nature like to tinker and experiment. Programs that get them doing that are a good way to keep them interested in science and technology. Here’s to efforts like the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation’s (OCRI) project bringing local high-school students together with IT companies, offering them plant tours and opportunities to take computers apart.
Increasing the talent pool won’t be the whole solution, though — especially if what we hear about a shrinking labour force as baby boomers retire is true.
If there really aren’t enough people to go around, employers will have to compete harder for them. That will mean — horror of horrors — higher pay, better benefits, more flexibility, less overtime, or whatever it takes to attract and retain people.
It was good to see, in an industry roundtable discussion that CDN published in October, executives talking about their efforts to retain employees — and interesting to hear them note that many young people expect better work/life balance than their elders have put up with.
And you have to give loyalty to get loyalty. I’ve been incensed over the years when covering layoffs in the IT and telecommunications industries and hearing company spin-doctors say the layoffs really aren’t a sign of trouble because they’re hiring in other areas. If you’d rather lay off employees and hire new ones than retrain those you have, what does that say about your attitude to your people, and is it any wonder young people don’t want to enter your industry?
When jobs are scarce, employees must try harder. When skilled people are scarce, employers must try harder. If you’re not willing to try harder, whine if you like but don’t expect me to listen. And if you don’t need to try harder, then the market isn’t really that tight.
