TRAIN existing staff in basic information technology systems management or miss out on the electronic commerce boom, says Hands On Computer Training International principal Hong Fu.
Mr Fu said a lack of internal IT capabilities, including basic repairs and system maintenance, could put many Australian companies at a competitive disadvantage.
“Even traditional businesses will suffer because of increasing need for more efficient computer-based management systems,” Mr Fu said.
“The current reliance on outsourcing IT functions cannot be sustained.
“Skills shortages will mean higher prices and unacceptably slow response.”
Mr Fu said, aside from cost savings, the real gain from fostering internal IT skills was less down time.
“It’s not just computer programmers the industry needs – it’s technical people who understand how a computer is engineered,” he said.
“Monash University has reported support technicians and technical sales representatives are in the top 20 per cent of IT occupations forecast to have the strongest growth to the year 2005,” he said.
Perth-based HOCTI has designed a one-month, part-time, nationally accredited computer engineering certificate course on the fundamentals of computer architecture and design.
“Trainees learn how to install major computer parts, how to completely dismantle and then rebuild a personal computer, and how to diagnose, troubleshoot and fix the most common problems likely to occur in today’s computers,” Mr Fu said.
“It quickly teaches how to distinguish between hardware and software problems and how to carry out repairs on the spot,” he said.
