Technology Market Demand When Life Hands You Lemons É

By Eileen Kaplan



Recent research conducted by the Information Technology Association of America has found the predicted demand for IT professionals has hit a historic low. At Howard Community College (HCC), the downturn in demand means the Business and Computer Division is busier than ever.

According to Division Chairperson Sharon Schmickley, "I want to make it very clear that we continue to recognize the need for certification courses such as A+, Network+, Microsoft and Cisco, and we will continue to deliver those courses. But, we are also concentrating on providing additional marketable job skills needed by tomorrow's workforce."

One step in this direction has been recognition that, just as technology increasingly permeates all of our lives and even non-tech professions, the college's tech offerings cross multiple disciplines: from courses in digital arts to wireless LANS, and advanced programming languages to office machines.

This past year a new communications campaign was launched, "InfoTech @ HCC means Business," that presents the current or prospective student with a one-stop-shop for the college's computer and technology offerings via a dedicated phone line and web site page. The divisions of Arts and Humanities, Science and Technology, and Business and Computer Systems have also collaborated to design a new associate degree program in Information Technology that will begin this fall.

Program development has also increased emphasis on more of the "soft skills" related to business and technology, with HCC programs such as Project Management, Entrepreneurial Development, Professional Practice Management and Professional Coaching.

During the market downturn, the HCC curriculum is being updated to respond to the changing marketplace and workforce needs of today and tomorrow. For example, the relatively new Internet Technology program has already received a facelift to focus on job roles such as webmaster, web developer and e-commerce design, as opposed to specific software certifications. Although these courses prepare students for industry certification, such as CompTIA's i-NET+ exam, they are primarily geared toward the skills required to enter today's workforce.

One of the ways that HCC assesses and develops targeted training curriculum is by relying on local area experts for needs analysis and course development. The college's Technology Curriculum Advisory Committee and the Commission on the Future are both examples of regional business professionals collaborating with HCC faculty and staff to identify and address real-time community learning needs.

In order to learn more about contemporary technology issues, trends, their impact on our lives and how we can best respond to them, HCC has been developing and hosting free campus events to give students and the community an opportunity to be involved in a dialogue with industry experts. Recent events included a presentation by Johns Hopkins University on using robotics in microsurgery and a live demonstration of intrusion detection to illustrate the need for cyber security. Last fall, HCC and Digital Harbor Online co-hosted a unique networking and mini-trade show for the community that was so successful it is scheduled to repeat this November. For information on all computer and technology programs and upcoming events, visit the InfoTech web site at www.howardcc.edu/infotech or call 410-772-4488.

There's no denying that the information technology market has experienced weakened demand, but HCC's response has been to "turn lemons into lemonade" in order for students to have expanded training options, community members to have increased learning opportunities and employers to have a skilled workforce.



Eileen Kaplan is Industry Certification Program administrator for Howard Community College's Business & Computer Division. She can be reached at 410-772-4465 or e-mail ekaplan@howardcc.edu.