IT faces 'dire shortage' of core skills

According to Kelly, this year's results show little change. "Last year, we highlighted that IT was the forgotten corporate asset but, this year, the survey really shows that the shortage of people with the rights skills for work on key areas like IT infrastructure is even more pressing," he said. "Across Europe and even in the US, we are facing a dire shortage.

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I recently gave a talk at The 26th African American Men and Boys Conference. During my speech I quoted statistics from one of Jawanza Kunjufu works State of Emergency: We Must Save Black Males. One of the statistics was that 67% of all African American males are expected to experience the penal system by the year 2010. Another alarming statistic is that 84% of all crack cocaine convictions are African American males. We all aware of the high dropout rate.

All of this talent and wasted potential of young African American males. We need to work very hard to encourage and support any African American male who has an interest in Information Technology. These are wonderful careers that can give these young people confidence and allow them to provided for their families. Not to mention these jobs are available in huge numbers right now as the country works to rebound from the recent economic crisis.

We need to take advantage of any and all opportunities to introduce these young brothers to a career in Information Technology. As an IT Professional who has been developing software for 25 years I am willing and able to serve anyone who has interest in supporting such an initiative.

Warmest Regards,
Kai Ajala Dupé