How One Company is Helping Solve the IT Skills Shortage

CENTENNIAL, Colo., Oct. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Today companies face a major problem with the current Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills shortage. While the number of job seekers continues to soar, IT organizations frequently have difficulty finding applicants with the right skill sets for software development positions. A recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports "the general consensus is that despite a large pool of available workers, the skills mismatch prevents staffing firms from fully meeting client demand." In certain markets, wages are rising in response to this problem. Simply put, there are not nearly enough qualified software developers graduating with the skills employers are looking for.

This creates a frustrating environment for IT organizations, which must search harder and pay more to hire employees with the skill sets needed. Frequently, companies have to choose between hiring under-skilled software developers, pouring extra money into expensive recruitment programs or simply shelving major projects.

The benefits of a customized software development training program can be seen from a case study Denver-based IT training company Batky-Howell performed. Batky-Howell assists clients with a wide range of solutions to quickly get new hires and existing developers up to speed by delivering hands-on new hire training, including in-demand topics such as cloud computing, big data, and Python training.

Recently, a major international investment bank facing exactly the kinds of challenges described above hired Batky-Howell. The bank had been forced to hire developers without all the necessary programming skills. To meet looming deadlines, it had to quickly make its developers knowledgeable in the required areas.

Initial assessments revealed that the newly hired developers had more skill gaps than originally thought. Combined with a limited training budget and an equally limited timeframe before the upcoming project deadlines, it seemed that the bank was in a dangerous position.

The assessments performed by Batky-Howell allowed the trainers to pinpoint exactly which skills merited top priority, making it possible to create a custom training curriculum that focused only on what was needed. An intensive, multi-week on-site new hire training program resulted in the successful acquisition of the required skills in a timely fashion.

By taking part in Batky-Howell's new hire training program, the bank was able to reduce project costs, increase ROI and complete the project on time. Bruce Batky, CEO of Batky-Howell, attributes the program's success to its highly customizable, targeted nature. "No two companies are exactly alike," he says. "One may have developers that just have a few gaps in their Java knowledge while others may need comprehensive Python training. We can do both, but our individual assessments tell us which programs each client needs."

Bruce also adds that he believes many other businesses can benefit from using an IT training company with experience in new hire onboarding. "Great developers aren't discovered, they're made," he explains. "Instead of looking and looking, hoping you'll find the perfect developer, you can hire somebody with the ability to learn. It's a more realistic, and more profitable, way to deal with today's business environment"

ABOUT BATKY-HOWELL
Batky-Howell has over 20 years of experience delivering instructor-led IT training solutions to companies ranging from small startups to Fortune 500 businesses. We help organizations save money by reducing time to market on new products, with a core focus on solving the IT skills gap with new hire training

Media Contact: Kevin Wolf , 303.302.5264, [email protected]

SOURCE Batky-Howell