Competencies Needed by IT Graduates as Perceived by IT Industry Experts: Basis in Creating an Employability Development Framework

Angela  L. Arago,; Joan  F. Lawan,; Luisito  D. Soriano,

Competencies Needed by IT Graduates as Perceived by IT Industry Experts: Basis in Creating an Employability Development Framework

Angela L. Arago | Joan F. Lawan | Luisito DC. Soriano

Discipline: Education

Abstract:

The high unemployment rate of IT graduates is increasing every year, the problem of mismatch in graduate attributes or skill sets contributes to that rate. The emerging technologies in the Philippines in the field of ICT needs knowledge workers, our country is one of the fastest growing segments in terms of !CT-enabled services. a well-known economist and professor, Dr. Bernardo M. Villegas stated that "the curriculum and courseware of the Philippine IT schools and training centers must be a par with global standards. The courses must be focused, updated, and accredited and accepted by the industry experts." From the article of Michael J. Watson and Gregory S. Dawson "The Importance of Competency-Based Education and Training for the IT Workforce" the au-thors argue that competency-based education and training (CBET) is essential for pre-paring IT graduates to meet the demands of the rapidly changing IT industry. In this study the researchers sought to know what are the graduate attributes and competen-cies needed of an IT graduate as perceived by an IT industry experts as a basis in creat-ing an Employability Development Framework. The respondents in this study are IT industry experts. Purposive non-random sampling was used to determine and identify the samples. The study reveals that IT graduates must be adaptable, possesses a prob-lem solving skills or attribute, and programming skills, more over information security competency ranks highest in the survey. The researchers recommends to have a com-petency support program for all major subjects offerings in BSIT curriculum.

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