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IT grads lack continuity skills

Study suggests training programmes need to focus more on continuity training, as the threat hasn't disappeared.

By Nicole Kobie, 27 Feb 2008 at 13:54

Colleges and graduate IT programmes aren't preparing their graduates to deal with business continuity issues, according to a majority of respondents in a new survey.

The SteelEye Technology study showed that 61 per cent of those surveyed believe such programmes aren't putting enough emphasis on teaching their students how to implement business continuity solutions, such as data recovery.

This result comes despite 87 per cent of respondents saying the amount of threats to continuity hasn't abated in the past year and six out of 10 saying organisations are no better prepared for IT threats than they were last year.

"It's very clear that there's a skills gap that needs to be addressed when it comes to the expertise needed to assure business continuity," said Bob Williamson, vice president for SteelEye Technology.

He added that "Universities and graduate programmes need to take a leadership role by evolving their programmes to keep pace with today's biggest IT challenges."

Businesses are taking a different tactic than just skills training, however. Some 79 per cent of those surveyed said they are using tech instead of hiring more staff to keep business IT running.

"The commercial sector is dedicating significant resources to averting IT disasters so it's vital that the academic community support this trend in their curricula," said Williamson. "Protecting business continuity should be a key learning for today's information technology students."