Technical training. It’s become a high priority for employers struggling with the current IT skill gap. Desperate to staff projects but encountering a scarcity of applicants with the skills they need, more and more companies are turning to technical training — of both existing staff and new recruits — as a remedy.

"There’s been a tremendous increase in demand for technical training, especially related to the Internet and other leading edge technologies," said E.J. Thomas, a senior vice president with Vienna, Va.-headquartered Mindbank Consulting Group, which offers both public seminars and on- premise training for corporate clients in a number of technologies.

Kathleen Kurke, a senior recruiter with the Fairfax, Va.based recruiting firm The Starbridge Group, places personnel in the training industry Kurke says the growth in demand for training Is a nationwide trend. Commenting on the increase in demand, she said, "It’s a bottomless pit. As technology changes, we can’t keep people trained on current technologies let alone emerging technologies."

Companies’ use of training as a means of addressing the IT skill gap is only one factor contributing to the growth in demand, added Kurke. "Another major contributor is the fact that more jobs today require people to be technically trained on more types of software," she said. "An administrative support professional, for example, used to just need training on Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. Today, they’re also expected to be proficient with spreadsheet and graphics software and the Internet’

Kurke doesn’t see demand diminishing anytime soon, "This isn’t going to get fixed like theY2K problem," she noted. "It’s going to be an ongoing challenge for companies, particularly as new technologies come on board faster."

A projection from the Framingham, Mass-based research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) appears to support Kurke’s contention. According to Ellen Julian, IDC’s research manager for the IT training and education services market, "The IT training market is an evolving and fast- growing market. In 1996, the U.S. market for this category was $6.3 billion. We have that growing to $12.1 billion by the year 2002."

Training companies see the growth trend reflected in the needs of their clients. Cabin John, Maryland-based KC Resources Inc., which specializes in the design and delivery of Web and computer-based (OB) technical training, doubled its staff in the last two years to keep up with clients’ training requests, according to human resources manager, Karen Toren. KO Resources, which just went public last month, originally focused on serving only the telecommunications Industry, noted Toren. In the last two years, however, Toren said demand from other fields has led the company to include companies from the pharmaceutical, hospitality and energy industries in its client base as well.

More Trainers Needed

Not surprisingly, the in creased demand for technical training has produced more jobs for technical trainers. What it also appears to have created is another IT-related job category where the demand for personnel outstrips the pool of qualified applicants.

"We look for people with a technical background who enjoy training and that’s a difficult combination to find," said Toren, noting that KC Resources hires trainers on both a full-time and contract basis.

Kurke said it’s particularly challenging to find qualified candidates for full-time training positions. "Experienced technical trainers are hard to find because they’re employed," she said. "And today, like many IT professionals, a lot of [full time] trainers are moving to contractor status because of the flexibility and earning power it provides."

The situation has made trainers with experience teaching popular technologies extremely marketable. Such individuals commonly end up with multiple job offers when they decide to change jobs, and according to Kurke, there are even signing bonuses sometimes for those willing to accept full time positions. "I also know contract trainers who are so busy, they could work seven days a week if they wanted," added Kurke.

Forced to Be Flexible

Is is true for other jobs where qualified applicants are scarce, the shortage of experienced trainers has prompted employers to be more flexible about the candidates, they’ll consider for vacancies. In the case of training companies, it appears many are having to practice what they preach about the value of training.

For example, when KC Resources can’t find people with the technical knowledge and training skills it wants, "We try to attract people who have worked in the client’s industry and are knowledgeable about the technology used, and teach them how to train people. We’ve recruited people from the telecom industry, for example, who might have been sales or customer service representatives," said Toren. "Another approach, involves taking experienced trainers and teaching them the specific technology they’ll ultimately be teaching. Recently, for example, we hired someone from the military who had done [non-technical] training there, and we’re teaching him how to train in the networking and telecom area."

In sourcing prospective trainers, Toren said she’s also talked to people who did LAN administration or technical support and who wanted to get into training as well as individuals working in administrative support roles who have informally taught others In their departments how to use the software their employers own. "Someone who’s had even informal situations where they’ve shared information can often do well in technical training," said Toren. The key for those who succeed, "is an aptitude for technology —both using it and learning about it — and strong communication skills,’ she added.

According to Kurke, the shortage of technical trainers is so acute that even training companies and corporations that pay her recruiting fees to find trainers are being flexible about the candidates they’ll consider.

‘What employers are willing to flex on depends on what skills they already have on staff," said Kurke. "A training company, for example, might be willing to hire someone who’s Microsoft certified and teach them Oracle or Novell. A company in another industry, however, might put less emphasis on the training skills and instead, hire someone who knows the technology well, someone coming out of an application or customer engineering role, for example. They might also hire someone out of a help desk environment, who knows the technology, who’s accustomed to interacting with end users, and who can’t be surprised at the range of questions they’ll be asked in a classroom setting because they’ve heard them all on the help desk."