The Public Technology Institute, which merged with CompTIA earlier this year, just published results from its "2019 Trends in the Local Government IT Workforce: Professional Development, Skills and Hiring National Survey."
The survey, conducted in January and February, was created to identify some of the issues affecting the local government technology work environment, for both the IT executive and the tech operation. A total of 121 IT executives participated in the survey.
This survey of local government IT executives, representing local governments of all sizes from across the U.S., was conducted as part of PTI's mission to raise the profile of IT within local government while addressing the professional development needs of the government community that PTI serves.
The public IT sector continues to struggle to find the skilled technology workers they need, according to the survey. When asked: How difficult is it to find/hire IT staff with the competencies needed to make a good addition to the IT team?
- Not difficult at all – 8%
- Somewhat difficult – 52%
- Very difficult – 40%
Other key findings from the survey included the ongoing issue of an aging workforce. When asked about retirements for existing staff, 16% said between 10% and 25% of their current IT staff will retire within the next two years, while 78% responded that up to 10% of their current IT staff will retire within the next two years.
When it came to an applicant’s skills set, the most lacking skill was a good understanding of what government does (services and organization) and the role of the IT department. After that, the other skills that were most lacking were emotional intelligence, oral communication skills, written communication skills, and technical skills.
To view or download an infographic of the survey results, go here.
PTI's research programs focus on surveys on a variety of timely and important topics, the showcasing of leading practices via live events and webinars, educational/certification programs, and PTI’s technology thought-leadership book series.
