COMNET-IT '95

WORKSHOP REPORT CHAPTER 6

Strategies for Human Resources Development in the new Information Technologies

 

6.0 Introduction

6.1 Change Management

6.2 Identifying Skill Requirements

6.3 Training IT Professionals

6.4 Training Teachers and Trainers

6.5 Training Senior Managers

6.6 Creating Jobs through IT

6.7 IT Education on the General Population

6.8 Case Studies

Introduction

Training and educating the "stakeholders" (policy makers, managers, administrators, users, IT professionals, and citizens) is an essential part of the evolution of IT. Education and training policies and plans need to recognise different approaches to training for different stakeholders and identify appropriate delivery institutions and programs. The links between IT and employment need to be strengthened.

Mr. Arthur Sithole described the approach being taken by Zimbabwe in national IT Manpower Development and its implications for national information technology policy. He outlined the Zimbabwe IT Skills Requirements and Career Path models, and stressed the important role played by the Computer Society of Zimbabwe - a professional body. (Sithole, 1995)

Speaking in behalf of the National Computer Board, Dr. Chee Sing Yap outlined the crucial role of the NCB as the Chief Informatics Office for the Government of Singapore. He delineated the three phases of IT development in Singapore beginning with the creation of the NCB in 1981 and leading to the current phase, IT 2000 and the informatisation of society. He described Singapore's IT policies and the role of the Government in promulgating them. (Yap, 1995)

6.1 Change Management

The introduction of IT is fundamentally about change - new ways of doing things. Change should not be imposed, rather it should be explained and harnessed properly. In this connection, both policy formulators and implementors should actively participate as change agents. It is their role to provide capacity for continuous professional development in areas such as change management, technology trends and market demands. Effective training programmes are required at all levels to ensure successful implementation of change, retraining programmes for those whose jobs will be superseded are needed and there must be effective training of trainers. These are particularly important in the developing world where the rapid implementation of IT in under-served areas will put severe strain on a country's human resources.

In addressing the issue of IT-enabled change management it was concluded that:

The changes being introduced by IT are fundamental and daunting. As IT becomes pervasive, there will be a need to train and educate a variety of stake holders such as policy makers, managers, administrators, users, IT professionals, and citizens. While the private sector can train a large number of users, the quality of training provided varies considerably and this leads to a role for government in the establishment of accreditation standards.

COMNET-IT could take the lead in identifying common threats and opportunities that may be posed by the dramatic change in technology in commonwealth countries and assist in formulating ways of dealing with them positively.

6.2 Identifying Skills requirements

It is important to identify the required skills for new information technology areas, and then to develop training programmes for those areas. Skill requirement should be reviewed an annual basis. Skill needs identification should draw upon practices elsewhere, and should entail wide consultation within the country concerned. It is difficult to forecast actual numbers of skilled people required - orders of magnitude should be sufficient.

In addition to skills requirements, an inventory of all institutions of higher learning, and their competencies in the vital area of information and computer science needs to be compiled.

6.3 Training IT Professionals

A number of alternative methods of training IT professionals were suggested. These included:

Providing mechanisms to electronically link IT Professionals at international, national, regional and local levels. Through sharing and the exchange of information on IT national capacity is enhanced. Moreover, this approach may also contribute towards the effective use of existing IT professionals. In addition to information technology training, support programmes to upgrade IT professionals' skills in finance, time, personnel and project management are needed. In this connection, the education of IT professionals can take place in the existing university system through new interdisciplinary programmes combining technology, management and social sciences.

The training of IT professionals should include the re-training of those already in the field to keep them up to date with new developments. Where there are problems with finding employment for graduates in other disciplines there could be subsidised conversion programmes aimed at equipping such people with IT skills.

There are many options available to facilitate just-in-time learning which might be explored.(e.g.Informatics in Education Management). Using information technology as a discipline, and as a tool to teach other disciplines, one might consider programmes of on-the-job training (work-based training). These programmes might be accredited through the recognition of competencies as with the UK NVQ system. It might also be desirable to institute a programme of life long learning whereby professionals are expected to undergo up to 4 weeks training per year to keep up to date with the rapid changes in this field.

6.4 Training Teachers and Trainers

It is necessary to train teachers before training students, and this can be a daunting task. One approach to training teachers is to build up the capacities of local and regional training institutions (public & private) to facilitate continuous upgrading of IT related skills of trainers and teachers. Training of trainers outside the country, or in-country using qualified local or expatriate trainers can also be helpful.

In training the teachers focus should be on the impact of the use of the technology on organisational structures and work process. It should not simply emphasise the development of software usage skills. (That should be less than 20% of the training). Teachers should also be made acquainted with negotiation procedures, procurement rules, user's obligations as an information provider - to an access site - and ways to become a content provider in support of on-line processes.

6.5 Training senior managers to Use, Manage and Plan for IT

There is a serious and urgent need to make senior managers IT literate. Managers and public administrators must develop skills in using information technology in their planning and monitoring work. Training in this area could be integrated with general training in management and public administration. In addition, managers at the highest level should be aware of leading-edge trends in technology, such as the impact of new satellite networks on existing systems.

Some suggestions were made as to how this might be done. There could be financial support to promote, within government and in the private sector, nationally recognised programmes on information systems planning, management and the use of IT. The local professional computer societies could be helpful in this exercise.

It was concluded that

Public service managers and public administrators should exploit all avenues to enhance their knowledge of IT and its use.

6.6 Creating Jobs through IT

What can be done to avoid employment loss when IT is introduced? What can be done to create new employment opportunities through IT?

Tackling these questions requires a careful assessment of the impact of IT (as a creator rather than as a destroyer of jobs), of the skills required and of the mechanisms to train people to be ready for employment opportunities when they occur. There is a need to balance the supply and demand for various categories of IT manpower, e.g. programmers, analysts, communications specialists.

The IT Professional body in a country might produce an IT Skills Requirements model which must be continuously updated and used in reviewing or designing new IT training programmes. This would be basis for evaluating the relevance of any IT course and accreditation. Training in programming and skill building could be left to the private sector.

Countries that are isolated (island states), or have very dispersed populations, face the problem of not being able to take advantage of economies of scale in the delivery of training and education. Electronic provision of education and training is important for broadening provision to various sectors in the country. The examples of Canada and Australia in providing access to education and training to dispersed population groups could be followed.

6.7 IT Education in the General Population

Workshop participants placed a high priority on the acculturation of the general population to the information society. They made the following suggestions:

Computer science education needs to be broad based and include social sciences and change management, not just hardware and software. In addition to skills, behavioural aspects need to be covered. Most countries will have to develop new programmes and appropriate training materials to provide this kind of education. There is some scope for sharing of teaching materials.

The potential of IT in enhancing the quality of delivery of general education at school levels has not been fully recognised. Emerging interactive technologies like groupware, networking, multimedia can alter the way education is delivered. There is a need to sensitise educational planners to this potential through workshops, training programmes and bulletin boards. International agencies can facilitate this.

Teachers should be the focal point of bringing a change in the education system. Exposure to emerging IT based pedagogy, constant updating of awareness of technology should be done through teacher training programs and summer schools. The Commonwealth Secretariat can contribute by sponsoring such programmes.

Governments should largely focus on the university environment, leaving other training to the private sector. The private sector can train a large number of users, but the quality of their training will vary. The question of standards must be addressed. The government may establish standards of quality, they may leave it to professional societies, or simply leave it to market forces. Regional co-operation needs to be encouraged

It was concluded that:

Computer education must broad based and interdisciplinary, combining technology, management and social sciences. In addition to technical knowledge and skills, behavioural aspects need to be covered. In addition, there is a need for the acculturation of the general public to the emerging information-based world.

Most countries will need to develop new programmes and appropriate training materials to provide this kind of education. There is some scope for sharing of teaching materials and for member countries to take advantage of materials which might be available from regional and international organisations and from "public" sources such as the Internet.

It was further concluded that:

IT education is a small part of the general education infrastructure. It has some special characteristics such as being resource intensive and dealing with constantly changing technology and applications.

Mechanisms are needed to provide special focus and resources to IT education. Some suggested mechanisms are:

1. Constitution of a separate board for IT education;

2. Delegation of enough authority to the national computer agency (where appropriate) to influence policies of education departments;

3. Provision of a specific budget for IT education;

4. Mandated expenditure on training in the public sector;

5. Shared recourses, greater exchange of expertise;

6. Facilitate donation of hardware and software for educational purposes across international and organisational boundaries.

6.8 Case studies highlighting improvements in the management of scarce resources through the use of IT

The application of IT to human resources development can be expected to escalate in the next few years. Since this is a new area for everyone, the sharing of experiences, and the documentation of case studies will be of great importance, particularly to the developing countries. Case studies might provide information which could be adapted to other countries. Areas of interest are:

How users of the technology and organisations, not just IT professionals, "learn" to use the technologies as part of their workspace;

How content and programs can be adapted to national, regional and contextual conditions;

What approaches have been taken to standards, and how have people handled accreditation?

How have government dealt with incentives for IT and HRD? Singapore subsidises training at certain accredited institutions. Hardware and software may be made available at reduced prices to educators.

Governments might play a role in the accreditation of organisations. Quality of training will rise if accreditation is given.

It was concluded that:

Human resource development was seen to be the most important issue in harnessing information technology for social and economic development. Greater action is required to close the gap between capacity and requirements. Sharing of experience through seminars, workshops and electronic communication on Human Resource Development policies about action plans, curricula and innovative pedagogy can be extremely useful. Increasingly, the impact of such policies are being influenced by community-based activities which are supported by the new decentralised facilities made possible by IT.