The future of information engineering technology education

The current and future shortage for IT professionals poses a challenge for the IT industry, for educational institutions, and for government and state agencies. The challenge is to increase the pool of qualified IT workers that has not kept pace with the explosive demand, which has resulted in a steady increase in salaries for IT personnel over the last decade. While the shortage may not be completely eliminated, all parties need to collaborate in order to alleviate it. Creating a well-trained and educated workforce in information technologies is no small feat. It can only be achieved through the involvement of K-12 education, Community Colleges, four year universities, the IT industry, as well as government and state agencies, along with partners from the IT industry. Such partnerships should result in a competency based "2+2+2" seamless integrated curricula for students from their junior year in high school, through an associate of applied science degree at the community college level and on to a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Engineering Technology at the university level, with possible exit points along the way at the high school and associate levels.