The impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on ICT skills is among the findings expected to be revealed in the 2024 edition of the ICT Skills Survey.
The ICT Skills Survey is an industry-wide skills analysis by the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA), conducted by Africa Analysis, under the guidance of Adrian Schofield and sponsored by SoftwareOne Experts South Africa. It is recognised as a reference work on the state of ICT skills demand and supply in SA.
The 2024 edition of the IITPSA South African ICT Skills Survey has gone live for survey input from industry professionals.
It includes online questionnaires that assess skills demand and supply from a corporate and practitioner perspective. The objective is to identify the most pressing skills needs from the corporate perspective, balanced with the view of practitioners’ current skills capacity and their intentions for future skills development.
The survey was previously co-authored by Schofield, professional member and fellow of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA), and the late professor Barry Dwolatzky, IITPSA Fellow, emeritus professor in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at Wits University, and director of the JCSE.
IITPSA CEO Tony Parry says: “The ICT Skills Survey is an important resource for South African ICT practitioners and employers, and the sector, as it outlines the current state of ICT skills demand and supply, and offers insight into how this is expected to change in the short-term.
“In this 13th edition of the survey, we will again focus on the most topical issues impacting ICT skills in South Africa.”
The survey data will be reinforced with in-depth interviews on topical issues, such as the impact of AI, machine learning and GenAI on the ICT skills landscape, and the state of remote and hybrid work two years post-pandemic.
In the corporate survey, the research will look at digital skills shortages and capabilities across key technologies in 20 industry sectors, as well as the ICT skills organisations expect to need in the next 12 months and how organisations plan to meet these needs.
Marilyn Moodley, country leader South Africa and West and Central Africa at SoftwareOne, comments: “The flagship IT Skills Survey is an important reference, with broad impacts and benefits for all businesses.
“Understanding deficits in the market helps us to build skills pipelines and fill the gaps where the shortages are, and drives an understanding of what IT professionals need to do to upskill and meet future market needs. We are honoured to work with the IITPSA to help understand and define SA’s IT skills environment.”
According to the IITPSA, in this year’s survey, organisations will be asked how the COVID-19 pandemic affected skills availability, and what impact the pandemic had on workforces.
The ICT practitioner survey will assess practitioners’ qualifications, their approach to further skills development and how the pandemic affected their work.
“It will also assess the technical activities in their daily work, their approach to skills development, and their thoughts on remote and hybrid work in SA and for companies abroad,” it says.
The two questionnaires are now live and can be accessed via the IITPSA website, where respondents can register and then login to select either or both of the surveys.
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