This is an outdated version published on 15-01-2023. Read the most recent version.

Information Technology Soft Skills Training

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58593/cjar.v1i1.13

Keywords:

soft skills, information technology, organizational performance, training, qualitative inquiry

Abstract

Information technology (IT) professionals’ deficiencies in soft skills lead to decreased organizational performance. This qualitative inquiry project explored the perspectives of leaders and IT employees about effective soft-skills training practices. A conceptual framework was built on previous models (e-Leadership and soft-skills educational games design and CareerEDGE employability development), including workplace efficiency, elevated hiring expenses, training opportunities, employability, removal of traditional approaches, and customized training. The framework guided the creation of an interview protocol, and open-ended interviews of 10 IT professionals provided data. Thematic analysis led to six themes: organizational effects, hiring concerns, training concerns, IT challenges, training types, and designing soft-skills training. Effectively training IT professionals on soft skills may lead to higher productivity, customer and colleague satisfaction rates, and increased efficiencies.

Author Biographies

  • Dr. Kristy Stewart, The Institute for Functional Medicine

    Kristy Rae Stewart (Primary), DBA, is the Director of Information Technology for the Institute for Functional Medicine. She collaborates with multiple departments to direct IFM’s technology infrastructure, computer systems, policy, processes, and project management initiatives while directing the strategic planning for IFM’s future emerging technology requirements. South Dakota

  • Dr. Michelle K. Preiksaitis, Coastal Organizational Research and Learning Strategies LLC

    Michelle K. Preiksaitis (Secondary), JD, PhD, is the President of Coastal Organization Research and Learning Strategies, LLC, a business consulting firm, where she assists small businesses and universities with research to increase organizational and student learning, and she assists doctoral students with dissertations and capstones, including conversions from thesis to publishable articles. She is a licensed attorney and an online professor of strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation, business law, and talent management; she has chaired over 50 doctoral research projects. She is the Editor-in-Chief of C’JAR, a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal. Florida.

References

Absolute Market Insights. (2020). Global online soft skills training market is expected to reach US$ 22,689.4 million by 2027, growing at an estimated CAGR of 14.2% over the forecast period due to the advent of self-paced online learning. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-online-soft-skills-training-market-is-expected-to-reach-us-22-689-4-million-by-2027--growing-at-an-estimated-cagr-of-14-2-over-the-forecast-period-due-to-the-advent-of-self-paced-online-learning-301001814.html

Adhvaryu, A. (2017). Soft skills training boosts productivity. University of Michigan News. https://news.umich.edu/soft-skills-training-boosts-productivity/

Almonte, R., McAfee, H., Snell, T., & Ahmed, A. (2021). Measuring the effectiveness of a hybrid pedagogy in a large-scale community college soft skills intervention. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2021.2016517

Barwick, T. (2018). Is your company “soft” enough. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/insights-intelai/ 2018/11/29/is-your-company-soft-enough/?sh=4c5f2410552e

Beckelhimer, L. (2020). Of soft skills and remote work: The English discipline was made for a pandemic. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research, 4(1), 78-79. https://doi.org/10.18833/spur/4/1/14

Blankenship, C. M. (2017). Human resource managers' perceptions of soft skills, involuntary employment turnover, and the efficacy of a proposed career pathway model. (Publication No. 10260656) [Doctoral dissertation, Mississippi State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Brink, R., Abiodun, A., & Ohei, K. N. (2019). Information and communication technology (ICT) graduates and challenges of employability: A conceptual framework for enhancing employment opportunities in South Africa. Gender & Behaviour, 17(3), 13500-13521.

Cacciolatti, L., Lee, S. H., & Molinero, C. M. (2017). Clashing institutional interests in skills between government and industry: An analysis of demand for technical and soft skills of graduates in the UK. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 119, 139-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.03.024

Caeiro-Rodriguez, M., Manso-Vazquez, M., Mikic-Fonte, F. A., Llamas-Nistal, M., Fernandez- Iglesias, M. J., Tsalapatas, H., Heidmann, O., De Carvalho, C. V., Jesmin, T., Terasmaa, J., & Sorensen, L. T. (2021). Teaching soft skills in engineering education: A European perspective. IEEE Access, 9, 29222-29242. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3059516

Crecca, D. H. (2003). Higher education: Virtual meets reality when web-based, soft-skills training produces hard results at Monical Pizza Corp. Chain Leader, 8(8), 60.

Dacre Pool, L., Qualter, P., & J. Sewell, P. (2014). Exploring the factor structure of the CareerEDGE employability development profile. Education & Training, 56(4), 303-313. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-01-2013-0009

Dash, J. (2001). Employers say job hunters need soft skills, training. Computerworld. https://www.computerworld.com/article/2582100/employers-say-job-hunters-need-soft-skills--training.html

de Freitas, S., & Routledge, H. (2013). Designing leadership and soft skills in educational games: The e-leadership and soft skills educational games design model (ELESS) British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(6), 951-968. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12034

Delve. (2022). Software tool to analyze qualitative data. https://delvetool.com/

Ferrell, J., & Kline, K. (2018). Facilitating trust and communication in virtual teams. SHRM Executive Network. https://www.shrm.org/executive/resources/people-strategy-journal/Spring2018/Pages/trust-communication.aspx

Gura, O. (2019). Specifics of soft skills development of IT-students by the means of educational scrum projects. ScienceRise: Pedagogical Education, 4(31), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.15587/2519-4984.2019.172007

Mateo, J., & Yagüe, J. (2021). Evaluation of a soft skills serious game educational methodology in an industrial branches technical training program. IOP Conference Series. Materials Science and Engineering, 1193(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/1193/1/012128

Meso, P., & Kerven, D. (2016). Developing professional competencies in soft skills in information technology students: A tale of three interventions. Proceedings of the International Conference on Frontiers in Education: Computer Science and Computer Engineering, 117. https://www.proquest.com/openview/aeaf6d1f0e4c38888688b3d1de76b4ab/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1976352

Mysirlaki, S., & Paraskeva, F. (2019). Virtual team effectiveness: Insights from the virtual world teams of massively multiplayer online games. Journal of Leadership Studies, 13(1), 36-55. https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21608

Nagarajan, S. K., & Mohanasundaram, R. (2020). Innovations and technologies for soft skill development and learning. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3464-9

Richa, S., Paul, J. & Tewari, V. (2021). The soft skills gap: A bottleneck in the talent supply in emerging economies. The International Journal of Human Resource Management.1-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1871399

Samuel, A. (2016). The soft skills of great digital organizations. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/02/the-soft-skills-of-great-digital-organizations

Shmatko, N., & Volkova, G. (2020). Bridging the skill gap in robotics: Global and national environment. SAGE Open, 10(3), 215824402095873. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020958736

Singh-Dubey, R., & Tiwari, V. (2020). Operationalization of soft skill attributes and determining the existing gap in novice ICT professionals. International Journal of Information Management, 50, 375-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.09.006

Sosa, R., Rajusha, R., & Hunting, A. (2022). Landing your first job in creative technologies: Soft skills as core skills. Design and Technology Education, 27(1), 65. https://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/3139

Stal, J., & Paliwoda-Pękosz, G. (2019). Fostering development of soft skills in ICT curricula: A case of a transition economy. Information Technology for Development, 25(2), 250-274. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2018.1454879

Stewart, K. (2022). Information technology soft-skills training. [Doctoral Capstone, unpublished]. Capella University.

Tomić, B., Jovanović, J., Milikić, N., Devedžić, V., Dimitrijević, S., Đurić, D., & Ševarac, Z. (2019). Grading students' programming and soft skills with open badges: A case study. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(2), 518-530. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12564

Downloads

Published

15-01-2023

Versions

How to Cite

Information Technology Soft Skills Training. (2023). CORALS’ Journal of Applied Research, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.58593/cjar.v1i1.13

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.