New research, including a survey of 1,300 companies commissioned by Rackspace, has found that more than half of organizations’ cloud deployments are being hampered by a shortage of cloud computing skills.
The research, conducted by Manchester Business School and Vanson Bourne, found that two-thirds (66 percent) of companies surveyed are now looking to increase their IT skills to the levels required to manage cloud computing deployments. However, 56 percent were not aware of any courses that enable IT professionals to up-skill for the cloud era.
The survey of 1,300 organizations in the U.K. and U.S. also revealed:
· 42 percent of organizations have had to hire IT professionals specifically for their cloud computing skills.
· 43 percent of companies are finding it difficult to find IT professionals with cloud computing skills.
· 79 per cent reported that universities and colleges need to incorporate cloud IT skills into any relevant syllabuses they offer.
To address these shortfalls in both skills and training, Rackspace Hosting has opened its Open Cloud Academy by launching a pilot training program. The Open Cloud Academy is an educational program designed to provide students with affordable IT certifications, specifically around open cloud technologies.
As the open cloud company, Rackspace fully understands the importance of a cloud-competent workforce, having launched the largest commercially-operated open cloud platform based on OpenStack in 2012. Rackspace is taking considerable measures to bridging the IT skills gap by not only offering internal training to current employees, but now offering these courses externally.
In addition, the Open Cloud Academy will have a focus on former military and university graduates and aims to help trainees get the IT certifications that matter to employers, learning in weeks what it sometimes takes others years to master.
