IDG Connect research shows 77% of South African IT professionals do not believe there are good enough opportunities to develop future CIOs

New findings address IT professionals’ view of the South African IT industry, revealing a severe skills shortage and lack of training initiatives

JOHANNESBURG & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IDG Connect’s study of 130 South African IT professionals, conducted in partnership with IT News Africa, Insource.ICT and Cibecs, shows that 69% agree there is a severe general shortage of IT skills. The majority also believe the whole industry is storing up problems for the future:

“These findings suggest the South African IT market has reached a crisis point. Training is urgently needed to nurture core skills. Failure to deliver this could have a massive negative impact on the development of tomorrow’s CIOs.”

• 77% do not think that there are good enough opportunities to develop future CIOs
• 81% agree SA is losing its best talent overseas
• 83% agree many IT employees lack the skills they need in a world moving towards cloud and managed services
• 62% disagree that the IT industry as a whole is wisely investing in the next generation

Only 35% agree and 6% strongly agree that they are satisfied with training and development opportunities at their organisation. 50% say it is difficult to acquire the specific skills the South African market requires.

Results also highlight a generally negative view of younger workers with 90% believing that entry level workers have a different work ethic to older employees and 93% saying there is a significant skills gap between entry level and senior IT professionals. On the other side, 52% believe South Africa will be a good place to be an IT professional in five years’ time.

Kathryn Cave, Editor at IDG Connect said “These findings suggest the South African IT market has reached a crisis point. Training is urgently needed to nurture core skills. Failure to deliver this could have a massive negative impact on the development of tomorrow’s CIOs.”

The full report is available here and includes local opinion pieces.

About IDG Connect

IDG Connect is the demand generation division of International Data Group (IDG), the world's largest technology media company. Established in 2005, it utilises access to 35 million business decision makers’ details to unite technology marketers with relevant targets from any country in the world. Committed to engaging a disparate global IT audience with truly localised messaging, IDG Connect also publishes market specific thought leadership papers on behalf of its clients, and produces research for B2B marketers worldwide. For more information visit: http://www.idgconnect.co.za/