The recession has kept the problem at bay for a while, with its budget cutbacks, layoffs and caps on hiring. Local CIOs outsourced IT systems, brought in consultants and took advantage of computer services and software on the cloud. Now, however, as the economy begins to improve, local governments will renew their hiring of IT workers, albeit slowly. Officials are already having problems finding the people they need. Corpus Christi, Texas, CIO Michael Armstrong leads 63 technical and 25 call center employees who serve 3,000 city workers. He told Government Technology that he can’t find professionals with specialized skills like database administration, data architecture and network design. After six months of looking for two Oracle database administrators, Armstrong contracted out the work and shifted to hosted applications. Corpus Christi is working with Texas A&M’s local Computer Science department to find new staff. However, only nine people graduated with computer science degrees last year, and they didn’t have the skills that are currently in demand. “We don’t need computer scientists who design computers or write operating systems,” Armstrong said. “I need people who have more of a business focus. We’re not seeing as many people come out of college with useful degrees.”
Local Governments Face IT Talent Squeeze
Tech companies aren’t the only organizations scrambling to find qualified tech professionals. Local governments are feeling the pinch, as well. A big reason: Senior government IT executives are preparing to retire and potential replacements are few and far between, according to Government Technology. The recession has kept the problem at bay for a while, with its budget cutbacks, layoffs and caps on hiring. Local CIOs outsourced IT systems, brought in consultants and took advantage of computer services and software on the cloud. Now, however, as the economy begins to improve, local governments will renew their hiring of IT workers, albeit slowly. Officials are already having problems finding the people they need. Corpus Christi, Texas, CIO Michael Armstrong leads 63 technical and 25 call center employees who serve 3,000 city workers. He told Government Technology that he can’t find professionals with specialized skills like database administration, data architecture and network design. After six months of looking for two Oracle database administrators, Armstrong contracted out the work and shifted to hosted applications. Corpus Christi is working with Texas A&M’s local Computer Science department to find new staff. However, only nine people graduated with computer science degrees last year, and they didn’t have the skills that are currently in demand. “We don’t need computer scientists who design computers or write operating systems,” Armstrong said. “I need people who have more of a business focus. We’re not seeing as many people come out of college with useful degrees.”
The recession has kept the problem at bay for a while, with its budget cutbacks, layoffs and caps on hiring. Local CIOs outsourced IT systems, brought in consultants and took advantage of computer services and software on the cloud. Now, however, as the economy begins to improve, local governments will renew their hiring of IT workers, albeit slowly. Officials are already having problems finding the people they need. Corpus Christi, Texas, CIO Michael Armstrong leads 63 technical and 25 call center employees who serve 3,000 city workers. He told Government Technology that he can’t find professionals with specialized skills like database administration, data architecture and network design. After six months of looking for two Oracle database administrators, Armstrong contracted out the work and shifted to hosted applications. Corpus Christi is working with Texas A&M’s local Computer Science department to find new staff. However, only nine people graduated with computer science degrees last year, and they didn’t have the skills that are currently in demand. “We don’t need computer scientists who design computers or write operating systems,” Armstrong said. “I need people who have more of a business focus. We’re not seeing as many people come out of college with useful degrees.”
