Informing Industry via Academic Research in ICT Skill and Capability Development

Abstract

In recent years significant changes have occurred in the skill sets underpinning the undergraduate information systems and information technology curricula. It is imperative that educators comprehend the needs and demands of the industry where their graduates are going to need to apply their acquired knowledge and skills. It may be argued that employers and job recruiters also need to be aware of what skill sets and capabilities new graduates may be expected to come equipped with, in order to develop successful strategies for retaining and growing staff in an environment where the demand for professionals in information and communications technologies (ICT) exceeds the supply. In this chapter, a research framework representing the dynamics of the ICT profession supply and demand of graduates with relevant skills and capabilities is used to facilitate the initiation of a dialogue between industry and academia with the objective to identify issues raised from the lack of alignment between the two and to suggest a way of using academic research results to address these issues. The discussion is supported by the findings of two relevant case studies.