Sep 7, 2011
With some reports showing IT unemployment rates to be around 3.3% versus the standard 9%+ in other industries, it’s clear that IT is one of the fields to be in right now to beat the recession.
But what happens if you’re not an IT trained person?
In a bold move that is most likely not right for most companies, an international distribution company of assumable goods in St. Louis has begun hiring non-IT employees and training them to assume various high level IT positions within the company.
I spoke with the Director of Network Service, Mark, who’s last name I withhold by request for anonymity.
He explained that his company hires employees with no IT experience and places them on the job for internal training. One of his most recent hires was a 911-call dispatcher.
Why did he choose to hire that person? Because of the previous position as a trauma call center operator, he was sure that that person could operate under pressure. And that is just the situation these new employees are placed in.
They start a job and their feet are held to the fire to succeed.
Mark’s choice to travel this path with his company began as a necessity.
“Highly qualified IT people were demanding high paychecks, so we chose to bring people on board and train them. We’re making their dreams a reality.
By following this unconventional path, Mark says he finds his employees to be more loyal than if they had just hired another programmer or developer off the street.
One of the biggest challenges he has encountered in the 15 years he has been part of this program is the varying work mentalities of employees coming from a different background. Especially if those employees are used to set schedules, break and lunch times.
The IT world doesn’t sleep.
But you don’t need to go to such extremes to bring in qualified talent. TxMQ has an exclusive relationship with a software development company who has trouble finding qualified developers for their own staff.
So instead of utilizing internal resources to fill their growing needs, our client relies on TxMQ to recruit and present high level, pre-qualified candidates for the position
With our extensive search, our client does not need to go to such extremes as the company above to ensure loyalty and quality of employees. We make sure the fit is right before we even present the candidate to our client. That in turn should lead to a healthy, great fit for both the company and the employee.
It’s true that it’s hard to find IT talent. That’s why so many companies choose to use staffing agencies to assist with their search.
What do you think about the possibility of bringing fresh/green talent on board and training them? What would your major concerns be?
