Demand for skilled tech workers is growing in both the Baltimore region and nationwide.
Chief information officers expect to hire more technology staff in the third quarter of 2006, according to a recent hiring index and skills report by Robert Half Technology.
“Continued corporate expansion is prompting many CIOs to initiate new projects and expand hiring,” said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology.
She adds that “competition for the most skilled candidates is increasing as hiring managers seek individuals who can support internal staff and assist with new development technology.”
Robert Half Technology is a California-based company with offices in Baltimore that offers companies technology staff support, including software developers, project managers, database specialists, networking and Internetworking specialists, and help desk support.
Thirteen percent of executives polled by Robert Half Technology said they plan to hire more information technology staff in the third quarter. Robert Half polled 1,400 executives from a random sampling of U.S. companies with more than 100 employees.
The executives polled (they were allowed multiple choices) responded that the following types of staff are needed:
» 79 percent said they need workers with Microsoft Administration expertise.
» 76 percent said they need workers skilled in Cisco, Nortell and Novell Network administration.
» 69 percent said they need workers with expertise in Oracle, SQL, Server and DB2 database management.
The Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore said about 40,000 to 60,000 jobs slated to come to the U.S. military?s Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Harford County over the next several years will create even greater demand for local skilled technology workers.
The alliance is a government, education and business partnership that includes representatives from the governor, surrounding counties and colleges and the top employers in the Baltimore region. Their aim is to boost economic development in Greater Baltimore.
About half of those jobs will be filled by the relocation of workers, said Christian S. Johansson, president of the Alliance.
“The good news is that our learning institutions do very well in preparing a work force for tech jobs,” Johansson said.
But he added that the region “is always competing for talent” against other regions.
The state?s high quality of life makes technology jobs more appealing here than in regions such as San Francisco and Boston, where the cost of living is much higher, Johansson said.
DEMAND
» 44 percent of CIOs expecting to hire new full-time tech staff said business growth is the reason.
» 21 percent of CIOs plan to expand their information technology departments.
» Only 3 percent of CIOs anticipate personnel reductions.
