Hybrid IT causing skills gap for Australian organisations

Nearly half (48%) of Australian organisations believe that the current crop of ICT graduates entering the workforce do not possess the skills required to manage increasingly complex hybrid IT environments, according to a survey from SolarWinds.

The IT management software provider said the survey also found that 61% of IT professionals have had to acquire new skills due to the migration to hybrid IT and 49% said their organisations have had to hire or reassign talent specifically for managing hybrid IT environments.

More than half (59%) also agreed that an IT skills gap is one of the five biggest challenges involved with managing cloud and hybrid IT environments.

The skills shortage has emerged as organisations move more and more of their on-premise applications to the cloud.

The survey found that over the past year, 91% of organisations have migrated critical applications and IT infrastructure to the cloud. Around 71% have migrated applications to the cloud, while 45% have migrated storage and 34% databases.

Australian organisations are meanwhile taking steps to address these shortages and build the IT specialist workforce of the future. Westpac last week announced it has awarded Young Technologist scholarships to 35 undergraduate students across 11 Australian universities as part of the 2017 program.

The scholarship provides up to $25,000 to undergraduates seeking to build the skills required to help drive technology and innovation to improve the Australian economy.

Westpac Bicentennial Foundation CEO Susan Bannigan said the scholarship is open to young Australians from all walks of life and is designed in part to encourage more high school leavers to consider entering the field.

“Technology is one of three key priorities for the foundation. It is at the forefront of our future and permeates every aspect of our lives. The Westpac Young Technologists Scholarship aims to not only increase diversity in the industry but increase the number of people choosing a career in this field,” she said.

She said that over half of the 2017 cohort is female and nine of the 35 recipients are relocating from regional Australia to take advantage of the opportunity.

As well as receiving financial assistance, all 35 recipients will be granted lifetime membership in the Westpac 100 Scholars Network.

The government’s Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) last month opened applications for the 2018 Australian Government ICT Graduate Program, seeking to attract qualified ICT talent interested in joining the Australian Public Service in 2018.

In a blog post published last week, a participant in last year’s ICT graduate program, Eloise Aitken, shared her experiences over the year.

Aitken said her experience with the application process was “extremely positive” and was similarly enthusiastic about her experience with the program.

Aitken, who has degrees in both science and ICT fields, was able to choose to complete the program at Geoscience Australia to match her dual interests. After completing the program, she was given a permanent placement as a software engineer at the agency.

Image courtesy of Egan Snow under CC