For the
CA-ICT foundation, we have developed a monitor to assess the sustainable employability of ICT professionals. In the
final report, we provide insights into noteworthy findings, trends, and developments.
When examining the various dimensions of sustainable employability (namely personal, contextual, and outcome factors) among ICT professionals, there is no cause for concern.
- In terms of personal factors, overall health, adaptability, self-regulation, and motivation of ICT professionals present a positive picture. However, there are some areas where ICT professionals experience shortages in technical and social knowledge and skills necessary for their work. This shortage in technical knowledge and skills is not surprising given the rapid pace of developments in the ICT sector.
- Similarly, the contextual factors indicate a positive outlook. ICT professionals are able to easily meet the psychological and mental demands of their work. Companies also offer various opportunities for ICT professionals to further develop themselves and extend their working lives.
- Regarding outcome factors, ICT professionals generally demonstrate the ability to carry out their work effectively and rate their job performance positively. They encounter few occupational diseases, have sufficient opportunities in the internal and external job markets, and are generally satisfied with their work.
The adverse effects of the
coronavirus crisis on sustainable employability seem to be limited. Despite the crisis, ICT professionals remain motivated, most manage to set up a good home workspace and establish a daily routine. Nevertheless, some ICT professionals struggle with changes in the social work environment, such as communication through different channels and lack of face-to-face interactions, which leads to reduced job satisfaction for some. An unintended positive effect of the crisis is increased motivation due to the heightened importance of digital systems.
Employers or HR managers play a crucial role in the work context of ICT professionals (for example, shaping company policies related to learning and development). There are instances where perceptions of ICT professionals and their HR managers diverge, posing the risk that HR managers may base measures and provisions in their organisation on their own perceptions, potentially causing a mismatch between the personal factors of ICT professionals and their working environment. This misalignment is evident, for example, in the required knowledge and skills for the work of ICT professionals and how they perceive the purpose of their work. While ICT professionals consider it highly important to contribute to creating something valuable in their work, this aspect does not seem to receive a prominent role in the sustainable employability policies of HR managers.
Different trends are emerging concerning the demand for skills in ICT roles. On one hand, there is a lot of dynamism with emerging skills related to application development around data (Kafka, PowerBi), scalable service development (Kubernetes, GitLab, Azure Devops, microservices), and user application development (Vue.js, Typescript, Spring Boot, .NET Core). On the other hand, there is also stability, as a fairly constant group of skills has maintained a significant and stable position over the years. These include certifications (CCNA, ITIL, and ISTQB), networking skills (CCNA, DNS, VPN), software development skills (Java, Apache Maven, BASIC, Ruby, shell), use of enterprise software like SAP, database management (SQL), and testing (test-driven development, ISTQB).
As part of this project, we have released the following reports:
- the research approach
- the baseline measurement
- quarterly reports 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
- the final report
