As new technologies emerge, older technologies become useless and others less in demand.
A regular challenge for teachers in the Information and Communication Technologies career sector is to "refresh" instruction to make sure the knowledge and skills students learn will help them be successful in their careers and college. Reducing time spent on unnecessary skills will give you more time to focus on newer, more relevant technologies. If you don’t teach these skills in your course, it will be helpful to introduce the subjects to students as an introduction to the career requirements.
IT professionals are interested in staying relevant too! For example, the "Must-have IT skills" article was the most-read article in the Hewlett Packard Technology at Work e-newsletter in 2012. You can find the full article here.
Students should be aware that employers value technology and project management certifications. Not only are they known salary boosters, but also a near-definite guarantee that you’ll be in high demand. The four groups of certifications below identify technology and project management skills in demand:
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)—ITIL is the most widely accepted approach to IT service management, offering a cohesive set of industry best practices. The focus of the ITIL process is on the entire IT service life cycle, making those with ITIL qualifications top candidates for technology management roles.
Project Management Professional (PMP)—The Project Management Institute’s PMP credential doesn’t come easily. Although in heavy demand, it’ll take more than a few weekend classes to get credentialed. You must have both project management experience and education before you can further hone your skills with additional training. But in the end, the stamp of approval will earn you much kudos.
CompTIA Project+—What sets the CompTIA Project+ certification apart is that it doesn’t require any prerequisites, applications or continuing education. In addition, it’s an international, vendor-neutral certification proving your expertise in technical project management. Other CompTIA certifications include CTP+ (Convergence Technologies Professional) and CTT+ (Certified Technical Trainer), among others.
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)—A CEH is actually a good thing—for both IT pros and businesses. As the name implies, those with a CEH certification are recognized as security professionals who understands enterprises’ weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Acting as a benevolent hacker, you will be an asset to organizations looking to fill in and fix security gaps.
Three skill areas that are in decline are listed below:
Software support—With the popularity of the cloud (thanks to lower costs and reduced technical support), businesses are worrying less and less about installing and supporting software. Spending big money is out, when Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) are just as effective.
Email support—Believe it or not, email use is on the decline. Already, shorthand communication is taking over. Thanks to instant messaging, texting and web conferencing, IT should expect to worry less about supporting email in the future. Don’t expect email to disappear overnight; just prepare to refocus on newer communication tools, especially those in social media outlets.
Telephone support—Traditional telephony is approaching its demise. While the underlying principles have remained the same, the implementation has changed drastically. Today, even businesses are distancing themselves from traditional telephony in favor of unified communications (UC), Voice over IP (VoiP) and mobile smartphones. As with email, don’t expect a "now you see it, now you don’t" moment. But do prepare for your expertise to transition at the same pace as your employer’s.
