A regional IT occupational partnership for economic development

Abstract

Increasingly, the economic viability of regions, states and countries is being linked to the viability of technology-enabled, knowledge-intensive economic sectors. Hence, among the factors of interest in regional economic development is the availability of an information technology (IT) talent pool. There is a growing need to understand the regional supply and demand dynamics of appropriately educated IT professionals. Consequently, an action research project was undertaken in Berks County, Pennsylvania in order to better understand the IT skill and knowledge requirements of the local labor force. An occupational partnership representing three constituencies -- academe, local industry and government -- joined forces in order to develop a sustainable mechanism for ensuring the continuance of a qualified IT labor force.