NCWE / NCCET 2011 Joint Summit Preparing 21st Century IT Students Courtney DeOreo, RITE Board Project Administrator, Lorain County Community College Denise Vinton, Manager, IT Early Talent Programs, Eaton Corporation Annette McIver, Director, University System of Ohio Talent Development Network Resource Center, Lorain County Community College 1
Demand Exceeds Supply In NEO alone, between 1,000 and 5,000 jobs openings sit unfilled Baby boomers are starting to retire The college pipeline is low relative the number of job openings Businesses need HELP! Enter the Regional Information Technology Engagement (RITE) Board
RITE Aims: Mission: Eliminate the gap between supply and demand for IT workers in Northeast Ohio. Foundational Goals: Industry/Educator Collaboration Talent Development Promotion, Awareness and Advocacy Vision: NEO IT talent pool is a highly skilled, industry-responsive workforce and an economic driver to business growth, retention and attraction for IT companies, including those that produce, consume, and provide IT products and services. 3
Who is RITE? Sam Babic, Associate VP, Development, Hyland Software Bill Blausey, SVP and CIO, Eaton Corporation Ralph Cagna, MBA, CPHIMS, Director IT Operations, Cleveland Clinic James Cookinham, Owner, Cookinham Consulting, and Founder, Northeast Ohio Software Association Diane Gormley, Resource Manager, American Greetings Mary Beth Kush, Senior Director, Technology Center, Acumen Solutions, Inc. Joe LaMantia, CFPIM, CIRM, CPA, Managing Partner, e-ventus Corporation Thomas J. Lucas, CIO, The Sherwin-William Company Denis D. Martini, VP IT, Diebold Jim McKinnon, VP & CIO, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Brad Nellis, Director, Northeast Ohio Software Association Dr. Sasi K. Pillay. Chief Technology Officer for IT John H Glenn NASA Research Center Andy Platt, VP, Information Services and CIO, The J.M. Smucker Company Jim Sage, CIO, The University of Akron Plus nearly 90 others including company recruiters and HR personnel and individuals from higher education and talent development including career services, internship coordinators, faculty from Engineering Technologies, Business and Arts and Humanities, administrators, workforce development professionals, institutional research, One-Stop personnel, and state officials. 4
2009-2011 A Snapshot August 2009 Fall 2009 Spring/Summer 2010 Fall 2010 Winter/Spring 2011 Summer 2011 RITE Board Forms Job Profiling Student Assessments RITE pilots the Balanced Scorecard
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Developing a Focused Discussion on Alignment Needs The Balanced Scorecard Instrument - Pilot Creating direct alignment of outcomes between education and employers Instrument developed by Eaton Corporation for internal use with target schools throughout Midwest Adapted for RITE Board in April 2010 Relates degree programs to blended competency model that emphasizes non-technical skills Business Process Knowledge Solution Design & Development Project Delivery & Management Service Support Relational and Leadership Skills Review BSC instrument Feedback from Engagement Teams 7
Skills Framework for the Information Age Most widely accepted description of IT and IT-related skills SFIA was produced by the industry for the industry SFIA is open source, free to use and owned and maintained by The SFIA Foundation, a not-for-profit organization Accessed by over 15,000 organizations from more than 100 countries SFIA provides a common language for professional bodies, public sector organizations, employers, educators and recruiters Used to describe IT roles and determine the skills and proficiency levels required for each role The skills are simple to understand, well defined, well scoped and designed for easy application A simple and logical two-dimensional framework consisting of areas of work or skills on one axis and levels of responsibility/proficiency on the other 8
Skills Framework for the Information Age SIX main categories of work 1. Strategy and architecture 2. Business change 3. Solution development and implementation 4. Service management 5. Procurement and management support 6. Client interface Categories are sub-categorized and divided into 86 specific skills A skill at a level is called a task There are 290 tasks SFIA Chart SEVEN levels of responsibility 1. Follow 2. Assist 3. Apply 4. Enable 5. Ensure, advise 6. Initiate, influence 7. Set strategy, inspire, mobilize Four key dimensions at each level: Autonomy Influence Complexity Business skills 9
Skill Code Level by Levels of responsibility 1. Follow 2. Assist 3. Apply 4. Enable Description Levels of responsibility described for each skill expressed in terms of autonomy, influence, complexity, business skills 10
Benefits of Adopting The overall purpose of SFIA is to assist organizations employing (and educating) IT professionals to Assess skills gaps Provide career development Make recruitment effective Enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of the IT function This is accomplished by developing the right skills, by deploying them effectively and by providing appropriate development and career paths for IT professionals. Right people, Right skills Right place, Right time 11
What is society s stereotype of IT professionals? 12
What are companies looking for in IT professionals? 13
Where are the disconnects? Typical IT Stereotype Variety of jobs, not just Help Desk, Break and Fix, and Programming Companies have different job titles for similar jobs Lack of solid understanding of job requirements Students lack.soft skills, soft skills, soft skills Students awareness of the importance of soft skills Need to get to competency level of jobs to better connect employer demands with student talents 14
How did we address the issues? 1. Gathered information from RITE Companies Reviewed IT jobs and current job descriptions Identified IT job buckets Infrastructure, Software Development/Engineering, Internet Services, Software Testing and Consulting Identified one critical entry level job from each bucket IT Services, Software Developer, Web Designer/Developer, Quality Assurance Analyst and IT Business Analyst Conducted job profiles on the 5 jobs using subject matter experts across multiple companies to better understand the job and requirements 2. Assessed current students against the identified attributes 3. Provided feedback to students and connected them with Campus Career Services Dept. & IT Academic Dept. 4. Analyzed results and shared with stakeholders 15
Solution 16
Job Profiling Utilized Subject Matter Experts from a variety of RITE companies At least 5 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) {people who do the job or supervise the job} participated in a 4 hour focus group session for each job and came to consensus on: The main purpose of the job & job objectives Sorting deck of 32 task category cards and choose the top 8-10 that best describe the job Rating the tasks in terms of how much time is spent on each task and how important those tasks are in accomplishing the job objectives Ranking the tasks in order of importance Providing job context (i.e., education, experience, physical requirements, working hours, etc.) Identifying additional requirements- knowledge, skills, etc. 17
What we discovered Work Activities The following work activities were determined essential to all five positions (includes a few examples of each): Collecting Information Asking questions to establish information required Listening to verbal instructions Analyzing / Integrating / Interpreting Summarizing verbal information Breaking down a procedure into logical steps Deciding Deciding a course of action in conjunction with others Making quick decisions under time pressure Relationships / Representing / Inquiries Working closely with a group or team Establishing a network of contacts Dealing with complaints 18
What we discovered Numerous attributes were common across all 5 jobs 19
What we discovered Numerous attributes were common across all 5 jobs at a variety of importance levels Persuasive (high) Independent Minded (mid and high) Affiliative (high) Socially Confident (high) Democratic (high) Data Rational (high) Evaluative (high) Behavioral (high) Adaptable (high) Detail Conscious (high) Relaxed (mid and high) Worrying (low) Tough Minded (high) Optimistic (high) Trusting (high) Emotionally Controlled (high) 20
What we discovered Key Competencies Competencies are rated as essential, desirable, less relevant and not relevant Each job had some essential competencies but there were no commonalties across all 5 jobs. However, several competencies were common as either essential or desirable across all 5 jobs: Relating and Networking Presenting and Communicating Information Writing and Reporting Coping with Pressures and Setbacks 21
What we learned from job profiling Subject matter experts were very willing to share information even though they were from different companies Consensus took longer for some sessions than others Infrastructure IT Services was the most difficult SMEs were from diverse jobs Difficult to get consensus on job title as well as job duties 22
Connecting with students Students are usually here 23
Connecting with students But in the summer, they re here 24
Student Assessment Each college recruited students differently to complete an online behavioral assessment that measured three domains: thinking style, relationships with people & feelings/emotions to identify gaps Students were able to choose up to 3 jobs for their assessment results to be compared to Student Demographics 61 total students from across the 5 colleges 26% female & 73% male 49% completed < 2 years IT coursework; 51% completed >=2 years IT coursework Created a development plan for students and/or assisted with career exploration via feedback sessions Utilizing aggregate data to guide student learning in the classroom and beyond (need more data) 25
Student Assessment Sample MAXXattain Report for Software Developer 26
How to use the MAXXattain Report Person /Job Match Report Overall Match Score Essential Match Score Important Score Other Relevant Score It is a tool to help students, Career Services staff, and employers. It identifies development gaps and assists in creating a road map to close those gaps. It should NEVER be used as the only tool for career decision making, internship placement or job placement. 27
What we discovered 44% satisfactorily or very strongly matched to their first job choice 56% have some significant gaps when compared to first job choice 46% matched more closely to the second choice than their first 28
What we discovered Student assessment results reveal the following attributes were identified as needing the most development Persuasive (high) Data Rational (high) Independent Minded (mid and high) Adaptable (high) Affiliative (high) Trusting (high) Democratic (high) 29
What we learned from the student assessments Colleges that incorporated the assessment into professional development workshops had the highest completion rate Students need more than a job title to make the best choice that reflects their interest in a job Student Survey Results 75.9% of the students are currently looking for an internship 90% of students had an interest in learning more about internships through RITE Board Members. 77.8% of the students have an interest in working with a representative from their school as a follow-up to discuss a development plan 68.9% strongly agreed/agreed that the behavioral assessment increased their insight and self-awareness 30
Where to from here? RITE awarded $50K grant from regional philanthropy consortium to strengthen collaboration and drive continued action Matched 1:1 by RITE Dues from Companies Developed submissions for NSF and H-1B based on 2011-2012 Action Plan
The Roadmap 32
For more information, visit www.ohiorite.com 33