|
Objective:
Map industry data on preferred job skills to the IT skill standards
Samples:
Online Reports:
CMAT Catalog
Paper-Based Reports:
Web Development Market Analysis Report (.pdf)*
Lori Braunstein, Cathy Bertelson - CWU
*download Adobe PDF reader (free)
|
|
|
|
Step 2: Market Analysis
The next step in developing skill standards-aligned curriculum is to
conduct a Market Analysis. A Market Analysis provides the opportunity to get first hand input from industry about the skills
they want from entry level workers. First hand interviews form the core of this analysis, but other market analyses
(accessed from the Samples at the right), as well as state labor trend reports, employment statistics and advertisement
specifics can all contribute to the validity of your interview findings. Step 8
offers some suggestions for this type of research.>
|
- Before you embark on your interviews, you may find it useful to review workforce data sources to provide some background
for this activity.
-
- Workforce Reports
- Videos
- To generate some additional thought and contextualize your Market Analysis research, you may find our
Market Analysis Report Template (.doc) helpful.
- Familiarize yourself with the skill standards and Market Analysis report format. See the NWCET IT skill standards
publication, Building a Foundation for Tomorrow,
Skill Standards for Information Technology and the examples at the left.
- Because it is important to gain a good perspective on which IT skills are valued in your local job market, set up a number
of interviews (we recommend three) with IT managers from a variety of companies.
- There are two ways to conduct your interviews and create the Market Analysis Report:
-
- ONLINE: Set up your interviews with a desktop or laptop and web access so you can use the
Curriculum
and Market Analysis Tool (CMAT).
-
- In order to use the CMAT, you will need to purchase a subscription to the
NWCET 2003 IT Skill Standards.
- Once you have your login and password, open the
CMAT.
- PAPER-BASED: If you cannot have a computer and web access available during your industry interviews,
take a copy of the skill standards book,
Building a Foundation for Tomorrow, Skill
Standards for Information Technology, with you and ask your interviewee to help you mark up the standards according
to their priorities.
- Proceed through your selected Career Cluster media, asking for information from your interviewee as needed.
It is useful to note company name, type, size, location and the job titles you are researching.
- Select Key Activities, Knowledge and Skills your interviewee identifies as high priorities in their hiring decisions.
Ask your interviewee to rate the Knowledge and Skills as "Important", "Somewhat Important", or "Not Important".
- Here's your chance to get specific and ask your interviewee to specify particular tools and versions and platforms.
Remember, the skill standards are platform neutral. This information can be noted in the Comments section of the
CMAT.
- Once the interview is completed and the data entered into the
CMAT your report will be stored
in the CMAT Market Analysis Catalog
for later use and/or to share it with others.
Continue the investigation and find out what skills YOUR curriculum addresses now: Go to Step 3!
Q: What's a market analysis?
A: A process usually conducted through interviews in which industry experts who could potentially hire your graduates
identify and prioritize the most important technical knowledge and employability skills in the IT skill standards they'd like to see in new hires.
Q: Why do a market analysis?
A: A market analysis helps you to prioritize content and skills for your curriculum. Your program and/or course cannot cover
every task in a given career area. Depending on whether you're training entry level or advanced skills, you need to identify the subset of
skills and knowledge on which your program will focus. That subset should be based on priorities industry has helped you define.
Q: How long will it take me to do a market analysis?
A:The actual interview will take approximately 45 minutes, depending of course, on how much conversation is inspired by the skill
standards and your questions. If you are using the paper-based approach, compiling and analyzing the data may take you an additional 1-3 hours,
depending on the level of detail you are reporting.
Q: How many should I do in order to assure I have good data?
A: Try to interview three different employers who are representative of the workplaces that hire your graduates.
Q: Who should I interview?
A: Try to talk to hiring managers in non-IT firms (80% of all IT jobs are found in non-IT companies), and even in the non-IT units
within those enterprises. For instance, jobs in data and systems analysis may be found throughout a variety of units within a single company.
Q: How do I interview industry representatives?
A: Follow the process as described above in Step 2 of the Curriculum Development Toolkit.
Q: Will the industry representative ask me questions about the skill standards?
A: Typically the skill standards make a lot of sense to industry representatives since they're the people who provided the
data originally. However, most industry representatives will ask for clarification on exactly what the skills and knowledge behind specific
critical work functions are. To help them understand and to ensure that you're both on the same page regarding expectations, show them the
detailed level of the skill standards where specific skills, knowledge and performance indicators are described.
Q: There are so many critical work functions in the skill standards, what if industry picks them all?
A: You may have to force industry to prioritize the skills and knowledge they feel are most important. Try to get them to limit
their priorities to the number you think your curriculum can reasonably focus on in a given term or over a program's life. Ask them, "Are you
willing to give up this skill for that one?" when or if they cannot prioritize. The curriculum development tool is set up so that you can evaluate the importance
of a skill from essential to nice-to-have to not important.
Q: Can I look at examples of completed market analyses?
A: Yes, in the curriculum development toolkit Curriculum and Market
Analysis Tool (CMAT) catalog. You can also download the sample market analysis reports and templates from the toolkit.
Q: Can I use this interview as a window to developing other opportunities with this employer?
A: Absolutely. After the industry representative has gone through the market analysis with you, he or she will typically be open to ideas
for supporting your program whether it's with guest speakers, job shadows or internships, or helping you to devise scenarios for project based learning assignments for your students.
Q: Can I use the interview as a time to focus on specific tools and platforms?
A: Yes, you should. However, remember that industry typically will tell you that for entry level jobs they want graduates who have solid
understanding of how to learn new tools, rather than deep knowledge of specific tools.
Q: What do market analyses reveal?
A: If you are starting with already existing curriculum, a market analysis typically verifies that to a great extent your existing curriculum
already matches industry expectations regarding technical skills. Almost 100% of the time, however, these interviews highlight with great intensity the lack
of soft skills in a technical curriculum and industry's interest in these skills. If you are starting from scratch, they give you a jump start in focusing
on technical and soft skills through curriculum based on industry suggested projects and scenarios.
|
|
|
