

Transitioning from war to workforce under the new ‘Forever’ GI Bill
Editor's Comments: This is an excellent and insightful article by Elizabeth Mann, on the benefits of the new GI Bill. It certainly could help to close the skills gap! ****** The largest expansion of college aid for military veterans in a decade, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, is poised to become the newest update to the GI Bill. The core mission of the GI Bill since its creation in 1944 is to support veterans and their families through educ


Skill Gap Affects Cybersecurity
Editor's Comments: This article provides some practical advice for companies trying to fill Cyber Security openings. ********** The skill gap is affecting almost each and every aspect of an organization, including cybersecurity. According to Cyber Seek, while there are 128,000 job openings for Information Security Analysts in the US, only 88,000 have been filled, indicating a talent shortfall of 40,000 cybersecurity analysts. The unavailability of adequately qualified talent


Collaboration is key to closing the skills gap
Most of us in the UK IT industry are aware that we are facing a skills gap. The demand for expertise in analyzing big data continues to grow, while Brexit threatens to make it harder to bring in skilled people from elsewhere in Europe. The question we need to address is what we are going to do about it. How can we make sure that the UK economy is not held back by a failure to secure the right level of skills in our workforce? This gap manifests itself in two different ways: n


The bigger picture: the right mainframe talent for the workplace
The digital revolution is changing the face of IT and the skill requirements of those doing the work. Do businesses have the right talent for the future, and what about the mainframe world? Editor's Comments: This article hits on many of the things that I emphasize with clients. The key to closing the skills gap is being able to recognize you have a problem, build a plan and then execute the components of the plan - whether it be employee branding, new tools, apprenticeship


Xerox and EFI Sponsorship of SkillsUSA Helps Train the Future Workforce
Editor's Comments: Skilled press operators are yet another industry segment affected by the skills gap. SkillsUSA has been going since 1967 and it is great to see Xerox step-up and sponsor the competition. LOUISVILLE, Ky. — July 10, 2017 — As a generation of skilled press operators retires, many managers at leading graphic communications firms and in-plant departments struggle to find qualified replacements. To help fill that void, Xerox and Electronics for Imaging (EFI) on


Hiring for niche skills: How can organizations champion niche hiring?
A discussion on the challenges and opportunities presented by niche role hiring, for TA leaders and organizations. (The session ‘Hiring for Niche Skills’ was held at the Talent Acquisition Leadership League Conference on 9th June 2017) Editor's Comments: The approach that you are using for your regular hires, may not work for niche hires. Start by defining what your company means by a niche hire and then develop a plan around recruiting these folks to your organization. Ove


Keeping the Mainframe Alive and Well
Editor's Comments: With the advent of big data large and medium size businesses should be looking at the mainframe as a serious player. In my opinion, while the mainframe is far from dead IBM needs to invest in some really creative marketing to the C-suite. As long as businesses keep going after the next shiny object and do not take the time to understand Total Cost of Ownership and apply it to their decision making - the mainframe is in much more peril than it needs t