The Digital Work Force

Book excerpt: This report is the product of an effort by the Office of Technology Policy to assess current and future needs for information technology (IT) workers through a comprehensive information-gathering project that included the following three activities: (1) nationwide regional meetings that included discussions with industry executives, representatives from academia, business leaders, students, and workers; (2) examination of a wide range of data on the IT workforce; and (3) regular monitoring of literature on the subject. The following are among the topics discussed in Chapters 1-9: (1) the challenge of developing the IT workforce; (2) the vital role of IT in the U.S. economy; (3) the business environment and its impact on the IT labor market; (4) the demand for core IT workers; (5) the supply of core IT workers; (6) indications of a tighter labor market; (7) state and regional perspectives; (8) a report of the National Dialogue on the Information Technology Work Force; and (9) answers the IT workforce challenge. Chapters 1-9 contain 45 tables/figures. Chapter 10 consists of four appendixes on the following four topics: (1) employment sectors for core IT workers; (2) core IT workforce distribution by industry; (3) core IT workforce distribution by occupation; and (4) state employment projections in core IT occupations for 1996-2006. (MN)