Most IT professionals aren't working in the industry for the money alone. And it's not all for love either. In fact, going by some industry surveys most IT professionals rate acquiring new skills as the main motive for staying with their company. In many cases, ranking it higher than a competitive salary.
One such report -- commissioned by training organisation ComTech -- also revealed that more than 50 per cent of network professionals say they need at least two weeks of training each year. As evidenced in the report, their demands are being ignored.
"Company commitment to IT skills training is falling well short of demand, with less than 30 per cent of employers offering one to two weeks, 27 per cent offering two to four weeks and 11 per cent offering four weeks or more of technical training annually."
It makes you wonder why most employers aren't taking action on this front. It's not like they wouldn't benefit from it either -- especially when you consider the current talent war for skilled IT professionals.
Could it be that some courses are too costly for the corporate budget? Or is it a time-related factor?
Enter online training.
Sure, it's not as "hands-on" as traditional forms of training, but it's a better alternative to no training at all. Besides, it's cheaper. IT professionals can also learn online when time permits. Best of all, Web-based learning guarantees the employer peace of mind in knowing that IT staff are still in-house, should system failures need to be attended to.
However, Web-based training has yet to reach the same success as traditional methods of teaching. It probably won't for some time either. But it's there and it's being used. Turn to page 16 to find out more.
NB: If online training isn't for you, maybe the following tutorials for techies on the Net are more your thing.
Help site computer Manuals, http://help-site.com -- the guide to online manuals is low on design but has a bevy of links to tutorials on hardware platforms, development languages, operating systems networks and more.
The Development Exchange, http://www.devx.com -- technical guidance for application developers on some of today's hottest development languages and platforms including Visual Basic, Java and JavaBeans, C++, dynamic HTML and more!
Linux Online, http://www.linux.org -- learn what Linux is really like and how to get started using the operating system.
Project Cool, http://www.projectcool.com -- an encyclopedia of all things related to hot Web site design!
The Internet Resource for Network Professionals, http://www.dc.net/ ilazar -- a concise guide to educational sites on all fronts of networking including Open Systems Interconnection layers 1 and 2, TCP/IP, routing, Internet technologies security and much more.