| The Milken Institute recently released its 2008 State Technology and Science Index, which ranks states based on competition for human capital and other resources needed for a successful technology industry. ND showed the greatest gains, jumping 14 positions to 31. The report cited ND’s “Centers of Excellence” initiative, which ITCND has supported in past legislative sessions, as one of the biggest factors for ND’s rise in ranking.
The study reviews 77 indicators categorized into five major components: research and development inputs; risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure; human capital investment; technology and science workforce; and technology concentration and dynamism.
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| Governor Hoeven has awarded ITCND $50,000 from the Workforce Investment Act Set-Aside Fund for the development of the IT Career Awareness Program.
The objectives of the Career Awareness Program are to inform students, parents and educators of IT career opportunities in ND; encourage students to enroll in IT-related classes and degree programs at the secondary and post-secondary education levels; and develop a world-class IT workforce for the future.
Program partners for the IT Career Awareness Program include: Bank of North Dakota, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Bismarck Public Schools, Bismarck State College, Dakota Carrier Network, Eide Bailly Technology Consulting, Job Service North Dakota, MDU Resources Group, Microsoft Fargo, National Information Solutions Cooperative, North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education, North Dakota Department of Commerce, Office of North Dakota Governor John Hoeven and Valley City State University.
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| ITCND has selected a member organization, Praxis Strategy Group, as contractor for the IT Workforce Needs Assessment. The assessment is part of the development phase of the IT Career Awareness Program and will be used to guide its focus.
The project will document specific industry challenges, quantify current and projected workforce and skill requirements, identify the workforce replacement rate needed to support the industry, determine employer workforce training and education needs, and conduct an occupational task analysis on key occupations identified by the industry. The project will culminate in the development of a strategic framework for meeting North Dakota’s IT workforce needs for the next three to five years.
Using the data combined from a variety of sources, the strategic framework will include issues and recommended actions that could be undertaken to meet North Dakota’s IT workforce needs. |
