The goal of the workforce skills assessment was to gather information to help the state better meet the training and development needs of its IT professionals, and to identify future needs for IT skills. The project included design, administration, and analysis of two voluntary on-line surveys. The first was directed to IT employees in New York State and the second to chief information officers (CIOs) in state agencies. The two surveys together identified current skill levels as well as the future skills and training needed to meet the state's technology objectives.

The project was sponsored by the New York State Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council's Human Resource Committee in partnership with the Governor's Office of Employee Relations (GOER), and the Office for Technology (OFT). It was supported by the Public Employees Federation (PEF) and the Civil Service Employee Association (CSEA), the two major unions that represent IT employees.

CTG was responsible for project management, survey design and administration, and data analysis and reporting.

The project results included a statewide survey report prepared by CTG and a set of policy and action recommendations prepared by the NYS CIO Council HR Committee.

The goal of this assessment was to gather information to help New York State better meet the training and development needs of its IT professionals, and to identify future needs for IT skills. As a result, the State CIO Council Human Resources Committee and its subgroups generated recommendations for next steps and action plans to enhance professional development and skill proficiency for the entire IT workforce.

The project included two voluntary online surveys. The first was directed to IT employees and the second to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in state agencies. The two surveys together produced a comprehensive statewide report [link to statewide report] that includes a current profile of self-reported demographics, skill proficiencies, and training needs of the current state IT workforce, as well as a comprehensive set of agency level IT forecasts for the next three years.

The demographic data collected through the surveys highlight areas of strength in the NYS workforce, as well as some concerns with respect to future workforce development.

The skill proficiency data is based on self-assessments by New York State IT employees. They reported their personal level of proficiency on 126 skills associated with IT work in state government.

In addition to reporting their personal levels of proficiency, employees also indicated their need for training in each skill.

Broad competency areas were constructed to organize the full set of 126 skills into logical clusters. Collectively, these competency areas encompass the entire IT function of state government.

CIOs assigned a forecast to each of the 126 skills for three years into the future.

The data from both surveys was combined with information from the state’s strategic statement of enterprise architecture principles in order to triangulate on the greatest differences between needed skills and existing proficiency.

Both employees and CIOs prefer off-site classroom programs. According to employee comments, many approaches (and combinations of approaches) to improving skills proficiency are possible and desirable. These include on- and off-site classes, mentoring, reference books, e-learning, and hands-on practice.

http://www.nysforum.org/pastseminars/skillsassesssurvey-2-16-06/

September 28, 2006

December 12, 2006

• New York State Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council Human Resources Committee (now known as Workforce Development Action Team)
• New York State Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER)
• New York State Office for Technology (OFT)

The project was funded in part by the Governor's Office of Employee Relations.

The employee survey, conducted during March and April 2006, covered nearly 5000 IT professionals employed by about 60 state agencies, authorities, and boards. The CIO survey occurred during the same time period. The surveys addressed 11 groups of skills ranging from programming to system design and development, to IT management, to general administration. The employee survey asked respondents to indicate their current proficiency in specific skills within each group, as well as their need for training in these skills. The CIO survey asked agency IT leaders for their expectations about the need for the same skills three years into the future. Both surveys were based on a similar effort conducted by the federal government.

Survey analysis included current skills profiles as well as future need profiles, and a gap analysis explored the differences between them.

The project results are being used to:

• Provide training opportunities for employees to acquire needed additional skills.
• Develop training courses to meet identified needs.
• Address long-term development needs for employees.
• Assist employees in identifying career opportunities.
• Provide a template for future employee involvement in charting the direction for the IT workforce.

Products included statewide reports and presentations as well as agency-level analyses.

Center for Technology in Government
University at Albany, SUNY
187 Wolf Road, Suite 301
Albany, NY 12205
(518) 442-3892 (phone)
(518) 442-3886 (fax)

Natalie Helbig

Project Manager

518-442-4813