Enterprise CIOs and industry-leading technology firms have grown increasingly vocal about a shortage of on-shore networking skills in the U.S. — and the need to reinvest in training that is relevant to enterprise IT infrastructure. These executives and managers want training that makes a difference — in corporate service levels, and in the bottom line.

What has happened to bring all this about?

The past few years have seen a growing number of U.S. firms outsource critical IT functions such as network support and management. The value proposition seemed right at the time: budgets were tight, and offshore network outsourcing appeared to offer dramatic cost savings. Additionally, the economic outlook was uncertain. Outsourcing was a viable option that allowed companies to add to and subtract from network support staff levels with greater ease and less complication than hiring full-time employees.

Now, the cost of these offshore resources is on the rise, and offshore operators are actually considering opening facilities in the United States. At the same time, enterprises are being pressured by industry regulators and others in areas like enterprise network security — while both end business users and IT executives are recognizing that instantaneous situation response and sensitivity to corporate business and technology goals are best attained with your own staff, and not from offshore operations that are thousands of miles and several time zones away.

The obvious solution is to invest in the knowledge and skill levels of your internal network staff — or to hire those skills into your organization. Unfortunately, young persons choosing their careers and educational focuses have also been witnessing the impact of outsourcing over the past few years. As a consequence, many U.S. colleges and universities report that students have not opted to pursue IT careers. As more enterprises make the transition back to internal IT staff with strong network skills, they will be competing for a smaller group of skilled people, and network skills will be at a premium.

Today, corporate IT training is a $22 billion dollar industry in the United States, a clear indication that companies realize the critical role that training plays in bridging the skills gap that firms are experiencing in network and other technology areas. At the same time, companies are demanding immediate results and measurable results from their training investments.

WHAT BUSINESS EXPECTS FROM TECHNICAL TRAINING

"IT training needs are on the rise — but in many cases, they are in areas that we have not seen before," said Russell Sarder, CEO of NetCom Information Technology (www.netcominfo.com), a U.S. and international training company that has provided training to more than 10,000 different companies for 17 different IT vendors. "Enterprises realize that their IT professionals must interact directly with the business. They recognize that these IT staffers need "soft" skills as well as technical skillsets. They are also looking for highly targeted training for a specific application or job. They want training that helps IT staff do their jobs instead of just learning how to use a given piece of software."

Sarder commented that NetCom has even seen a growing number of requests for training consulting, and for outsourced management of the IT training function.

"The fact that technology is constantly changing provides a major challenge for IT professionals," Sarder said. "For instance, not only is Microsoft always updating its technology - it is also constantly changing its requirements and qualifications for IT professional certifications. In order for IT professionals to stay in the industry and work effectively, they need to constantly update their skills and their certifications. They also have to make sure when they update their skills that they are not just training to pass the test. They need to get training that prepares them for the challenges of real-life IT."

TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION REVISIONS

Bringing the right kind of training "to the trenches" is compelling many vendors to revise their certifications to ensure that they are providing training in the core technologies that meet enterprise needs. In June of 2007, Cisco launched an entry level CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician) certification as the first step in its networking certification program.

"The CCENT allows enterprises and individuals to invest in a basic subset of Cisco networking skills mastery to meet immediate needs," said Jeanne Beliveau, Cisco senior director of learning. "Once individuals have this basic networking certification under their belts, they can use it as a "stepping stone" to the other Cisco certifications."

Microsoft, as well, is revising many of its products and certifications. One key driver is the introduction of the Vista operating system--and the need for enterprise IT staff to be trained and certified on it. Equally critical will be the appearance of a new Windows Server 2008 offering early in 2008 that will bring enterprise-strength network management and deployment initiatives like virtualization to the forefront.

"New products and training are always surfacing, and we continually revise our course and certification offerings to meet these needs," NetCom's Russell Sarder said. "There are product, certification and version changes. We work with major vendors and we make it our business to have the necessary training available to help companies solve new training needs before they are faced with widespread deployments."

The task can be formidable.

Sarder said that NetCom now offers more than 1,000 courses in a various IT products, concepts and technologies — with more than 450 separate courses for Microsoft alone. "All of these courses change in an ongoing fashion to reflect innovations in technology," said Sarder. "We apply a unique training method that blends the very best of Internet distributed technologies with more traditional instructor-led classroom training to maximize the successful training of our students. . . .Depending on what a company requires, we will customize courses for flexible schedules, long-distance learning and even certification programs that are job-specific."

In the end, companies need the skills that professional training can provide — and they expect them right away. That demand will continue to intensify until project loads and new technology demands can more effectively be met — with in-house resources.

THE ROAD AHEAD

With many new technologies and products entering the IT market--and renewed pressures on the U.S labor market to "get going" in its IT skills, training is now a major focus for nearly every company. The return on investment for that training is expected to be immediate.

The following training trends have also emerged in the enterprise IT training market:

A growing number of requests for customized training that is delivered onsite;

Freedom of choice for training venue (e.g., classroom, online, Bootcamp, etc.);

Demand for job-specific certification programs;

Schedule flexibility for training delivery;

Training in "soft skills" areas like project management; and

Requests for ongoing training consultation and IT training management from outside vendors whose expertise is IT training.

"Best-of-class training delivers critical skills back into the IT workforce," Sarder said. "As more and more U.S. companies consider re-insourcing critical network functions, enterprise IT is recognizing that technology training relevant to its operations is the best way to prepare the next generation of IT networking professionals for the challenges and the opportunities of the future." ENS