What technology jobs are in demand? Who’s hiring? What skills do you need to be successful? Check out our monthly tech jobs snapshot.
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Skill Standards Help Define Workplace Skills, Knowledge and Performance Expectations
For decades we have been hearing industry’s anxious refrain: “The workforce has not acquired the skills we need to compete in an ever-changing world.” The irony is that employers have not been particularly effective at communicating to students and job seekers a set of guidelines that clearly states the essential skills and competencies that are crucial to their industry. Job seekers, on the other hand, mostly rely on those imperfect proxies — the resume and the college degree — to communicate their ability to perform in the workplace. This persistent communication gulf between employer and job candidate has fueled the skills gap problem. In the technology industry in particular, new skills and tools are constantly emerging. It seems an intermediary is needed. Skill standards may be an important part of the solution.
Defining Skill Standards
The Texas Skill Standards Board defines skill standards as “performance specifications that identify the knowledge and competencies an individual needs to succeed in the workplace. They document the skills, knowledge, and performance standards that employers require from their workers, and serve as a vehicle to communicate that information to education and training providers.”
According to the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), “Skill Standards answers two critical questions:
Without this fundamental information, “employers do not know whom to hire or where to focus their limited training dollars; employees and new entrants to the workforce do not know what they need to do to improve their performance; and educators do not know how to prepare students for the challenges of the workplace,” according to SBCTC.
The Origins of Skill Standards
Skill standards originated with the passage of The National Skill Standards Act of 1994, which established “a National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) to serve as a catalyst in stimulating the development and adoption of a voluntary national system of skill standards and of assessment and certification of attainment of skill standards.” According to the NSSB, the Board is “a coalition of community, business, labor, education, and civil rights leaders. It was tasked with building a national voluntary system of skill standards, assessment, and certification to enhance the ability of the United States workforce to compete effectively in the global economy.”
Advocates of the movement assert that skill standards can strengthen the educational system by aligning it more closely to the emerging needs of the workplace. This is possible, they say, because skill standards are an ideal source of the industry-driven skills, knowledge and outcomes required for competency-based curricula within community and technical colleges.
Who Develops Skill Standards?
The effort to develop skill standards is typically led by industry groups such as a professional or trade association. In many cases, frontline workers collaborate with their immediate supervisors, who define the skill standards and report those findings to the organizing body. Additionally, many education interest groups have established nationally recognized, industry-validated skill standards.
Example:
The National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) IT Skill Standards 2020 and Beyond Project is developing employer-led, up-to-date skill standards and model curriculum outlines with the goal of expanding the pipeline of right-skilled individuals to fill the many open IT jobs across the nation over the next several years. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the CTC was established to meet the workforce need for skilled specialists in convergence technology, information technology and cybersecurity.
How Skill Standards Create Benefits for Employers and Educators
Forces Accelerating the Need for Skill Standards
Digital transformation, as defined by CIO magazine, is “a catchall term for describing the implementation of new technologies, talent, and processes to improve business operations and satisfy customers.” In an article for the Harvard Business Review titled “The Essential Components of Digital Transformation,” Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic writes, “the essence of digital transformation is to become a data-driven organization, ensuring that key decisions, actions, and processes are strongly influenced by data-driven insights, rather than by human intuition.”
The result of organizations pursuing digital transformation coupled with the dramatic shifts in how we work and survive during the COVID-19 pandemic has, according to Vala Afshar, chief digital evangelist, Salesforce.com, “dramatically accelerated this migration to digital, pushing companies of every size around the world to digitize at record speed.” These two factors are exacerbating the skills gap problem, creating what some feel is a near-crisis situation. Skill standards can play an important role in alleviating the problem.
Skill Standards Are Not a Quick Fix
While skill standards can play an important role in creating a job-ready workforce, businesses must take the lead in creating a culture of learning. Community and technical colleges can help provide a pipeline of job-ready candidates, but businesses, especially those that rely heavily on technology, must provide employees with opportunities to enhance and update their skills. In this era of hyper-fast innovation and technology-related market disruptions, a competitive organization is defined by its ability to quickly acquire knowledge that enables it to innovate and meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment. Organizations must be committed to creating and sustaining a culture that encourages and supports continuous employee learning. For their part, community and technical colleges must be agile in responding to the immediate continuous learning needs of businesses.
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For more information on technical degree programs, continuing education classes and IT certificates at the 34 Washington State Community Colleges, please contact:
Brianna Rockenstire
Director
Center of Excellence for Information & Computing Technology
brianna.rockenstire@bellevuecollege.edu | 425.564.4229
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The 5G Open Innovation Lab is seeking a Product Associate Intern.
To apply: email resume to brianna.rockenstire@bellevuecollege.edu by 3/4/22.
This is a remote role for 6-8 hours per week with a small monthly stipend. Although some technical know-how is good, this is a product management role so could also be a good fit for a student in business, marketing, design, etc.
Some responsibilities will include:
Skills & Qualities:
Technologies and Tools:
To apply: email resume to brianna.rockenstire@bellevuecollege.edu by 3/4/22.
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What technology jobs are in demand? Who’s hiring? What skills do you need to be successful? Check out our monthly tech jobs snapshot.
The post Tech Jobs Snapshot – February appeared first on Center of Excellence for Information and Computing Technology.
Community and technical college information technology faculty, program managers, advisors, and career services staff – please join us (virtually!) for the 2022 IT Summit on Friday, May 20th.
The IT Summit is an annual conference that brings together information technology faculty from all 34 of Washington’s community and technical colleges to discuss the latest trends in tech hiring, emerging technologies and skill requirements, and best practices in technology education.
Washington’s community and technical colleges are a source of diverse and highly-skilled technical talent who are prepared with practical experience for careers in software and application development, network and systems administration, cybersecurity, IT support, web development and design, and other in-demand roles.
The 2022 IT Summit will focus on hiring. As the need for technical talent is at an all-time high, Washington’s community and technical colleges are positioned to prepare tomorrow’s technical workforce and create meaningful opportunities for Washingtonians. To ensure that graduates are prepared with the skills that industry needs, the IT Summit will bring together faculty, hiring managers, talent acquisition leaders, and workforce strategists to discuss job pathways, critical technical and business skills, hiring processes, and diversity and equity initiatives.
Building Washington’s Tech Workforce: IT Hiring in 2022 and Beyond
Friday, May 20, 2022
Virtual Event for Community & Technical College Technology Faculty
9:00am-3:00pm
We’re excited to announce this year’s keynote speaker, Laurie Guariglia. Laurie is the Vice President and regional information officer for Kaiser Permanente Washington. Laurie has more than 30 years of IT experience and will share her insights about how companies are approaching IT hiring, how your students can position themselves for technology roles, and the skills needed in today’s workplace.
Please check back for a detailed agenda and information on this year’s speakers.
The IT Summit is a free event but registration is required. Please fill out the registration form.
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From retail, financial services, utilities and even agriculture (think driverless tractors), skilled tech workers are in high demand. Manufacturers are embracing robotics. The automotive industry relies on cloud computing to track inventory. The transportation sector utilizes big data analytics to managing traffic and logistics. And what company doesn’t lose sleep over their cybersecurity planning and readiness? Therefore, if you are planning a career in tech, don’t just think Google, Microsoft, or Amazon. There are myriad opportunities and industries you can pursue. If healthcare is your passion, please read on. We have profiled some of the most interesting tech trends in healthcare and how they are improving patient care and saving lives. We also give a hearty shout out to a community college that is collaborating with Seattle Children’s to prepare students and those seeking new opportunities to get started on the path to a career in healthcare IT.
Technology at the Heart of Healthcare
The technological core of any hospital is its healthcare information system (HIS); it is an essential component of improving care delivery and patient outcomes. Its main functionality is to collect, store, manage and transmit a patient’s electronic medical record. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the benefits of an HIS include: “facilitating communication between health care providers; improving medication safety, tracking, and reporting; and promoting quality of care through optimized access to and adherence to guidelines.”
Even though the HIS plays a critical role in the functioning of modern hospitals, there are many newer technologies that are being added into the hospital’s ecosphere. A key challenge for hospital IT staff is how these new innovative systems can be integrated with their existing IT infrastructure. Some of the exciting tech trends and products that are already playing important roles in healthcare are:
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AR/Virtual Reality
Digital Twins
Robust Growth Expected for Tech Jobs in Healthcare
As healthcare continues to intersect with technology, new and plentiful career opportunities are being created. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects that jobs for health information technicians will grow by 15% through 2024. And by 2026, the rate of growth for health IT workers is expected to be twice the national average.
Additionally, according to Medical Technology Schools, “Health informatics jobs are on the rise — positions related to the collection, processing, and secure storage of health information to preserve clinical histories and processing medical billing. The [Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS 2020] report notes the emergence of many difficult-to-fill positions in subfields such as medical coding, clinical applications, clinical analyses, and leadership roles across the healthcare IT spectrum, with some requiring a two-year associate degree or less.”
How Community Colleges Are Preparing Students for Careers in Healthcare IT
By collaborating with industry, Washington state’s community colleges design the training and certificate programs that prepare students to meet the workplace skill standards of local and regional employers. A case in point: in the state’s tech epicenter, Seattle Colleges partnered with Seattle Children’s to create a healthcare IT certificate program that students can complete in nine months. The program covers foundational IT skills, customer service skills and exposure to Epic, the leading electronic health record system in the country. Students who successfully complete the program will receive CompTIA A+ certification, the industry standard for establishing a career in IT and the preferred qualifying credential for technical support and IT operational roles.
Melvin Smith, supervisor of IT core operations, Seattle Children’s, and adjunct professor, Seattle Colleges, states, “Our hospital has had a continuous partnership with Seattle Colleges. Together, we are creating a sustainable IT training program that will help meet the future workforce needs of regional healthcare delivery employers. This consistent collaboration has been very beneficial to our organization.”
Seattle Children’s received a grant to create the healthcare IT certificate program, which gives students a micro-credential and steppingstone to entry-level positions with starting salaries that range from $50,000 to $65,000 a year.
Smith adds, “The program is unique in that it gives students an understanding of how technologies like Epic are utilized. In the certificate program, I teach Epic Essentials, which gives our students an understanding of how Epic works from an end user’s perspective. And we discuss the technology from a hardware and a software perspective. Through this exposure, students gain an understanding of how clinical workflows play a role in the technology they are learning.”
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About Seattle Children’s
Seattle Children’s mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Together, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Research Institute and Foundation deliver superior patient care, identify new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and raise funds to create better futures for patients.
Ranked as one of the top children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Children’s serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the largest region of any children’s hospital in the country. As one of the nation’s top five pediatric research centers, Seattle Children’s Research Institute is internationally recognized for its work in neurosciences, immunology, cancer, infectious disease, injury prevention and much more. Seattle Children’s Foundation, along with Seattle Children’s Guild Association – the largest all volunteer fundraising network for any hospital in the country – works with our generous community to raise funds for lifesaving care and research.
For more information, visit seattlechildrens.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or on our On the Pulse blog.
About Seattle Colleges
Seattle Colleges, a multi-college district, serves Seattle and its surrounding communities at three comprehensive college campuses and five specialty training centers. As an open-access learning institution, Seattle Colleges prepares each student for success in life and work, fostering a diverse, engaged and dynamic community. Learn more.
The post Technology Drives Advancements and Career Opportunities Outside of Traditional Tech appeared first on Center of Excellence for Information and Computing Technology.
What technology jobs are in demand? Who’s hiring? What skills do you need to be successful? Check out our monthly tech jobs snapshot.
The post Tech Jobs Snapshot – March appeared first on Center of Excellence for Information and Computing Technology.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to highlight the many opportunities for women in technology. Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of hiring and developing women in information technology roles. In recent years, some of the largest tech firms have hired and retained more women in tech positions than ever before.
According to JobsEQ by Chmura, there are currently more than 25,000 open technology jobs in Washington – ranging from software development to computer support to information security, and many more.
How to Get Started in a Tech Career
There are 30 colleges in the Washington State Community and Technical College system that offer IT degrees, certificates and upskilling opportunities. If you are a high school student or working professional looking for a career change, your local community or technical college can jump-start your IT career or help you advance in your current position.
Associate degrees are offered in some of the most in-demand fields including:
Certificate programs that can quickly get your skills up to speed and prepare you to be job-ready:
For a complete list of Washington state community and technical colleges offering IT degrees and certificate programs, please see our IT Program Guide.
Resources for Women Interested in Technology Careers:
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What technology jobs are in demand? Who’s hiring? What skills do you need to be successful? Check out our monthly tech jobs snapshot.
The post Tech Jobs Snapshot – April appeared first on Center of Excellence for Information and Computing Technology.
Information technology faculty, career services staff, and administrators from across Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges attended the 2022 virtual IT Summit on Friday, May 20th. We heard from IT industry experts from a number of sectors about the changing landscape of hiring and new opportunities for community and technical college students and graduates. A common theme was the importance of the right skills – more companies than ever are moving to skills-based hiring, the skillset needed for IT careers is multifaceted and ever-changing, and the ability to assess and communicate specific skills is critical for career development.
If you attended the IT Summit, please fill out the post-event survey by June 30.
Click here to view videos of the IT Summit, presentation materials, and resources/links.
The Center of Excellence would like to thank this year’s speakers for their time and insights:
Laurie Guariglia, Kaiser Permanente
Ann Beheler and Christina Titus, IT Skill Standards project
Lazaro Carrion, Cyborg Mobile
Amanda Hepper, Medcurity
Eileen Figone and Suzanne Tamayo, Puget Sound Energy
Hitendra Saraiya, T-Mobile
Melvin Smith, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Amanda Wolf, Symetra
Alka Manchanda, Computing For All
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