Information Technology in the Workplace: Messages for Employment and Training

Abstract

Information Technology is often heralded as the key feature of employment in so‐called post‐industrial regions. If this is the case then it is vital that education and training for IT is properly conceived and based on a knowledge of actual working patterns involving IT in industry.

The research reported in this article, based on interviews and case‐studies of a range of employers using and developing IT, examines current practices with a view to their implications for education, training and recruitment. By studying IT in the workplace in one city undergoing many changes we hope to highlight some of the general issues in the relationship between education, training, and employment. More specifically, the words of the employees interviewed contain many important messages for both employers and trainers, particularly on recruitment practices, curriculum design and training strategies for the development of information technology.