Thailand's projected shortfall of networking-skilled manpower for 2009 is 6,600 people, up from 4,000 this year, which will place it in eighth place among the 12 countries in the survey. Singapore is expected to rank first with the smallest estimated shortfall of 1,500 IT personnel, followed by Australia (7,100), Hong Kong (2,800), the Philippines (2,400), Vietnam (1,900), Korea (20,600) and Indonesia (6,300). Taiwan (9,300), Malaysia (8,100), India and China will occupy the ninth to 12th places respectively. The rankings are indicative of the personnel shortage faced by each country as a proportion of total demand, as well as other factors such as the relative sizes of their respective technology markets.

Thailand has been grouped along with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam based on an average annual GDP growth of 5 per cent over the 2006-07 timeframe. This sub-grouping is projected to see IT expenditure grow by 11-14 per cent per annum during 2005-09.

According to the IDC, more young people in the region need to be encouraged to consider IT and networking as a long-term career choice, while existing professionals in information and communications technology (ICT) need to be aware of the career potential in IT networking. In addition, organisations should support more staff training in this field so that their personnel are up to date with the latest technology.

Its study also shows that the demand for networking security skills is increasing, largely because of the increased value of the networks, as is the demand for wireless-technology, data-centre and cross-technology skills.

The increasing shortage of skilled IT personnel needs to be addressed if the robust economic growth in the region is to be maintained in coming years. Governments should position information technology as an attractive career option for students entering university and increase places and facilities for IT-related education. In addition they should provide more incentives to the private sector to invest in skills development and retraining.

According to IDC, the widening skills shortage in the region is a consequence of the bursting of the dotcom bubble in the late 1990s, when the attractiveness of IT and related careers and corporate spending in this field were reduced.

With supply lagging behind faster-growing demand, the region's employers face the prospect of having to pay higher salaries to attract qualified staff, while some companies may miss the opportunity to gain from new technologies due to the lack of qualified staff.

In addition, developing countries could face a "brain drain" of qualified personnel as these people move to other countries to benefit from higher salaries and better career prospects.

The skill shortage could also have negative implications for the Asia-Pacific countries' competitiveness in the global market, since the region will be hindered in adopting new technologies that would increase efficiency.

In addition, the combination of skills required by organisations in the region is shifting due to the convergence of networking with other IT technologies. It has become increasingly difficult for an application-developer, for instance, to work without any knowledge of the network or and to be unaware of how his or her work will affect the network or be affected by it.

As a result, the demand for people with cross-technology skills and the competence to best use ICT to facilitate business objectives, strategies and processes has been rising significantly.

Given the current situation and future prospects, college students in Thailand and other countries in the region should opt for courses in IT networking in their third or final year so as to make the most of the strong demand in the labour market.

 Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

 nop1122@yahoo.com