Information Technology Training Programs Research Articles

The Impact of Information Technology Competencies and Fleet Management Practices on Effective Service Delivery in the Construction Industry

The construction industry plays a critical role in delivering infrastructure and building projects that shape the modern world. With the increasing importance of effective service delivery in this sector, the role of information technology (IT) competencies and fleet management practices has become a crucial focus for improvement. This study investigates the impact of IT competencies and fleet management practices on effective service delivery within the construction industry. Through a mixed-method approach, data was collected from a sample of construction organizations, including surveys and interviews with key stakeholders. The analysis revealed that organizations with advanced IT competencies and optimized fleet management practices demonstrated higher levels of effective service delivery. IT infrastructure, including hardware, software, and data storage, significantly influenced fleet management capabilities. Furthermore, regular IT training and development programs contributed to improved service delivery outcomes. Proactive fleet maintenance and route optimization positively impacted service reliability and customer satisfaction. The theoretical findings emphasize the vital role of integrating IT competencies and fleet management practices in achieving superior service delivery in the construction industry. For construction companies seeking to excel in service provision, investing in technology and optimizing fleet management are imperative strategies to enhance performance and maintain a competitive.

Demand analysis for competences in the field of information technologies from leading Russian companies

At the present stage of development of information technologies, the study of the need for qualified personnel is becoming more and more popular. At the same time, there is a problem of determining the compliance of specialists’ training level in the field of information technology with the requirements of employers. The article presents the results of a study of the demand for competencies in this field from leading Russian companies. The purpose of the study is to determine the generalized requirements for job seekers in the labor market and the formation of lists of key skills for each of the specialties (professional groups) in the field of information technology. An algorithmic solution is proposed for analyzing the demand for competencies and determining the most demanded skills for various areas. The proposed algorithm is implemented on the example of data on vacancies of the Yandex and VK Group companies, collected from open sources. Data collection was carried out by a modified method: the initial array was formed automatically using the ParseHub parser and corrected manually. The grouping of data was carried out according to the most demanded IT-specialties and according to the generalized formulations of the requirements for these specialties. The key skills of specialists in relevant IT-areas have been identified. The study uses a combination of theoretical and empirical methods. The above algorithm and the results of aggregating groups of vacancies for IT-specialists and their professional competencies demanded by employers can be used for a deeper analysis of demand in the labor market and taken into account when forming the competencies of students in information technology training programs.

Information technology literacy: the crucial factor in aged second-career academics’ sustainability

This study addresses the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4’s objective to increase the number of adults with relevant skills for employment and decent jobs by looking at the context of aged academics in the domain of digital academia. The literature review reveals that there is a scarcity of research studies related to aged second-career academics. Previous studies which have been carried out on second-career academics in business schools did not address the issue of information technology (IT) literacy. Therefore, this exploratory study aims to contribute to the conversation of increasing and sustaining the number of professionally and capably enriched aged second-career academics in digital academia. A hermeneutic interpretive approach is adopted, covering eight aged second-career academics from various types of higher education institutions across Malaysia. The findings from this study suggest that significant support, appropriate IT development and training programs in enhancing their information technology proficiency and literacy is crucial. The finding suggests that this is particularly pertinent for sustainability with respect to aged second-career academics. The study is expected to enhance the governance of universities with regard to introducing proper orientation and training for supporting and improving the information literacy of aged second-career academics in business schools especially for blended delivery of business education.

Employers’ preferences for IT-retrainees: evidence from a discrete choice experiment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the results of a discrete choice experiment (DCE) on the competencies of potential information technology (IT)-retrainees. The results give insights in the monetary value and relative returns to both soft and hard skills.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply a DCE in which the authors propose seven pairs of hypothetical candidates to employers based in the municipality of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. These hypothetical candidates differ on six observable skill attributes and have different starting wages. The authors use the inference from the DCE to calculate the marginal rates of substitution (MRS). The MRS gives an indication of the monetary value of each skill attribute.FindingsEmployers prefer a candidate who possesses a degree in an exact field over a similar candidate from another discipline. Programming experience from previous jobs is the most highly valued characteristic for an IT-retrainee. Employers would pay a candidate with basic programming experience a 53 percent higher starting wage. The most high-valued soft skill is listening skills, for which employers are willing to pay a 46 percent higher wage. The results of this paper show that both hard and soft skills are important, but not all soft skills are equally important.Originality/valueThe results on the returns to skills provide guidelines to tailor IT training and retraining programs to the needs of the business environment. A key strength of this paper is that the authors have information on the preference orderings for different skills and kinds of experience.

Engendering inclusive e-government use through citizen IT training programs

Around the world, governments turn to information technology (IT) training programs to enhance equitable delivery of online public services to citizens. However, the effectiveness of these citizen training programs has gone unexplored. This study is motivated by two objectives: 1) To evaluate whether citizen participation in government training programs is associated with greater e-government use among participants, and 2) To assess whether the strength of this relationship varies according to whether a citizen is elderly, disabled, or not – those who are elderly or disabled tend to use e-government the least. We use data from South Korean to examine these objectives. Findings indicate citizen participation in government IT training programs is positively associated with e-government use and that this relationship is stronger for citizens who are elderly or disabled. These findings highlight the potential of government IT training programs to mitigate the digital divide. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Let the sisters speak

In this paper, I examine how and why the situated knowledge and lived experiences of working-class African American women shape their standpoint on information technology (IT). Using the biblical metaphor of the exodus and narratives of ascent, these women view IT access and training as part of a strategy for escaping poverty and despair. Whereas most of the extant gender and IT research provides rich insights into the marginalization of women, the women in this study felt empowered by IT. This contradictory outcome has three implications for the study of gender and IT. First, researchers must consider the multiple identities such as gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and sexuality that shape and are shaped by women's engagement with IT. Second, the notion of IT workforce should take into account not only the highly skilled IT workers who design and build IT artifacts, but should also consider the lower skilled workers who indirectly use IT. Third, IT training programs that serve working-class women must go beyond the transfer of IT skills to individuals. They must also redress the persistent structural barriers of poverty, spatial isolation, illiteracy, sporadic work, and racial and ethnic discrimination that systematically limit women's ability to compete for jobs that provide higher incomes, greater safety, more security, full-time hours, increased benefits, higher status, and less stressful work environments.

IT education and training for disadvantaged students: lessons from Europe

Across the European Union, education and training in information technology (IT) is seen as a way to move people experiencing disadvantage - such as the unemployed, people with disabilities, immigrants, marginalized women, and disadvantaged youth - into sustainable employment. All the EU member countries and the European Commission have invested heavily in IT education and training programs for these groups. This article discusses the study took place in five European countries, and concluded that for students experiencing disadvantage, IT training and education should be only one element of a much broader pedagogy. Successful programs in the countries studied - Ireland, the U.K., Finland, Italy, and Spain - used a pathway approach of interventions.