Keeping IT skills sharp

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One of the most common refrains you'll hear in government circles is that the public sector is committed to training. And the Manitoba government is no exception. "Training is an investment in people, and we're committed to getting the most from our people and giving

During the hightech growth years, training experienced a boom, along with anything else related to computers and networking. It was a priority in governments everywhere, and training budgets expanded along with the dot-com bubble. When the bubble burst, the training boom went with it.

"Everyone felt that IT professionals needed the most up-to-date skills," says Julie Kaufman, IDC Canada's manager of skills development research.

"Then there was the implosion and people realized they didn't need to train because they were going to get by with the technology they had."

Indeed, Kaufman finds a lot of the talk about prioritizing training to be more than a little disingenuous.