Competing for IT Skills

The new Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations report shows that the demand for technology skills will increase significantly over the next 12 months, as companies look to restore positions affected by layoffs or hiring freezes and the pace of hiring begins to accelerate. The report, which is based on an annual survey of more than 500 hiring managers and 500 workers by staffing firm Robert Half International and CareerBuilder, shows that information technology, customer service and sales jobs will be the first to be filled as the economy improves.

I've written some about how the economic downturn has been slightly good for the government as it competes with the private sector for critical IT skill sets, largely because of the attractiveness of government's job security and pay scales. But as the economy recovers and competition with the private sector increases, does this mean the government will lose its competitive edge for IT skills? I'm not convinced it will, especially as the younger, civic-minded generation increasingly enters the workplace and looks to make good on the government's goals to use technology to boost collaboration.

Wired Workplace is a daily look at issues facing the federal information technology workforce. It is written by former Government Executive reporter Brittany Ballenstedt and published on Nextgov.com. Click here to read the latest entries.