Tipping The Scales With Training

Companies that invest in their employees' professional development have an edge when recruiting IT professionals, new research from Robert Half Technology suggests. Sixty-eight percent of IT workers surveyed said the ability to acquire new skills is very important when evaluating a job opportunity.

Additionally, 64 percent of respondents said they are very concerned about keeping their skills current in the next three to five years. However, in a separate Robert Half Technology survey, 44 percent of chief information officers (CIOs) said their companies do not have training and development programs for IT professionals.

The IT worker survey was developed and conducted by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology (IT) professionals on a project and full-time basis. The responses are from more than 7,500 IT workers to a web survey. The CIO survey was developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm. The survey is based on more than 2,300 telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies in 23 major metro areas with 100 or more employees.

IT workers were asked, "When evaluating a job opportunity, how important is the ability to gain new skills in that role?" Their responses:  

Very important - 68%
Somewhat important - 30%
Not important - 2%

IT workers were also asked, "How concerned are you about keeping your skills current in the next three to five years?" Their responses:

Very concerned - 64%
Somewhat concerned - 29%
Not concerned - 7%

CIOs were asked, "Does your organization have a training and development program for IT professionals?" Their responses:

Yes - 55%
No - 44%
Don't know - 1%

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