Graham J. Bidois, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
graham.bidois@aut.ac.nz

Bidois, G. (2007, Jun), Section Editor's Note: ICT and the Environment . Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology Vol. 5, Issue 1. ISSN 1176-4120. Retrieved from

The current world-wide ICT graduate shortage and drop in the number of students enrolling in ICT degrees (McCallum, 2006) is cause for concern. The problem requires constructive and innovative solutions in order to make ICT more attractive for students considering career pathways. These issues were addressed in three interactive sessions at the July 2006 “Perspectives on IT Careers” forum.

The aim of the three panel sessions was to build awareness, encourage debate and share ideas among participants from the contributing sectors. There was also an important emphasis on linkages and relationships between secondary schools, tertiary institutions, and the wider industry.

The first panel (not reported here in detail) included panelists Doug White - CEO of the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS), Melanie Taylor (Vision Recruit), and Shirley Elliot (Lecturer and Programme Director, Unitec). It discussed the variety of careers available in the IT industry, and the breadth and depth of the required skills. A set of common job roles emerged from the discussions.  The participants in the other two panels profiled in this section included government and industry representatives as well as secondary and tertiary educationalists, plus young women from the Wellington Girls “Tech Angels” group.

The first paper that follows was authored by Garry Roberton, Chairman of NACCQ. It provides a broad overview of recent and ongoing initiatives related to IT careers and career preparation. Specific mention was given to the promotion of ICT to women, local communities, and secondary schools. Secondary school teachers expressed their support for the ICT Curriculum Framework providing it was not too prescriptive and was properly resourced by government.

The second paper by Judith Speight, Director of ITT WRKZ Limited, focuses on the ability to match new graduates with the needs of industry through the piloting of a self-sustaining internship programme. It is proposed that this initially be introduced within the Auckland region then later implemented nationally.

At the conclusion of the internships panel session, there was strong support for the project to proceed.

REFERENCES

McCallum, G. (2006). Computer Science Graduate Shortage (Technical Report No. OUCS-2006-10). Dunedin: Otago University. Retrieved 1 Nov 2006 from http://www.cs.otago.ac.nz/research/techreports.html.

Copyright © 2007 Graham Bidois
The author(s) assign to NACCQ and educational non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The author(s) also grant a non-exclusive licence to NACCQ to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web (prime sites and mirrors) and in printed form within the Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology. Authors retain their individual intellectual property rights.

Home | Issue Index | About BACIT

 Copyright © 2007 NACCQ, Krassie Petrova, Michael Verhaart, Alison Young and Tony Clear (Eds.) . An Open Access Journal, DOAJ # 11764120