Study outlines supply and demand woes for IT students, businesses

By Douglas Sulenta
The Collegian

The perception among Fresno-area businesses is the number of skilled workers in the field of information and communication technology has declined over the last three years, according to a recent study by Fresno State instructor James Henson.

Henson is an associate professor of information systems in the Craig School of Business. In 2001 and 2004 he surveyed local businesses asking them about their perception of the work force in the Fresno area.

“In 2001, 6 percent of the local businesses surveyed thought a trained work force was a problem and when I did the study last year, 9 percent thought it was a problem,” said Henson. “The study showed those 9 percent thought the problem might be big enough to force them to relocate.”

Although discontent with the availability of skilled workers has increased over the last three years, Henson said it was no time to start panicking.

“A majority of the businesses still think the work force is okay,” he said.

Henson said it is an interesting contradiction in the job market today. While 9 percent of the businesses surveyed claim they have a hard time finding skilled workers, many of Henson’s recently graduated students are having a hard time finding jobs.

There are possible reasons for the apparent shortfall of skilled technical workers in the Fresno area, he said. The study finds there are specific areas that fall short more so than others.

Ten percent of the businesses polled said they had a great deal of trouble finding quality programmers; 13 percent had difficulty finding systems analysts, design and technical managers; and 12 percent had problems finding people in system maintenance.

A reason for this may be because of the nature of instruction at Fresno State, students said.

“They teach us a lot of general information here, but don’t tend to focus on one area [such as programming or network management],” said Robert Vang, a senior information systems major. He also said many of the skilled workers may be leaving the Valley for more promising opportunities elsewhere.
“There is not a whole lot of opportunity in the Valley for someone doing IS,” he said.

The study also cited other concerns of local businesses. In 2001 only 3 percent of businesses said energy costs were a concern while in 2004 that number rose to 8 percent. Henson said with the recent surge in energy cost over the recent months, that percentage has likely gone up.

The study also showed many aspects of business in Fresno that Henson said were ideal. Ninety-six percent of those surveyed were pleased with the state of ground transportation in Fresno. Eighty-eight percent said housing in Fresno was affordable and available, and obtaining permits locally was also not a concern for 85 percent of those surveyed.

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