Five Key Skills for a Career in IT

Technology is vital to businesses and organisations. Its importance is also certain to grow over the next few decades meaning that larger IT departments and technical staff that are able to fulfil more varied roles will soon be the norm.

Whilst this presents those that are still planning their futures and that possess an interest in technology with a great opportunity to establish themselves within this vital area, more and more companies are finding it difficult to recruit staff with the key skills needed to work in IT.

With this in mind, here are what Fields Data Recovery looks for when we’re recruiting for a technical role:

Communication Skills

Have you ever noticed how the best teachers are those that explain things simply and with clarity? If you want to work in IT, you’re going to need to communicate with a broad array of individuals and – as some will be technically proficient, some moderately tech-savvy and some laypeople – it’s important to tailor your approach to each accordingly.

Problem Solving

Problems crop up regularly within the world of IT and, sometimes, creative solutions are required. For this reason, problem-solving skills and an ability to think outside the box are highly sought-after when we’re recruiting.

Adaptability

In order to provide a business with effective IT support, you’ll need to understand how that business uses technology and, to do this, you’re going to need to have a solid understanding of what the business does and how it operates. Being adaptable and willing to learn are therefore vital traits for anyone considering a career in IT.

Organisational Skills

The IT sector is heavily project-orientated and organisational skills are essential to ensure that tasks are effectively prioritised and deadlines are consistently met.

Resilience

We all make mistakes but, in a fast-paced industry that is frequently changing, it’s vital to not only accept that they happen, but also to see the positive side. For this reason, it’s vital that employees are resilient enough to not only correct any mistakes they may make, but are able to learn from them and move on, too.

Why an Apprenticeship Can Help

Ultimately, the skills and traits described above are present in most people to some degree, the problem is that they’ve usually not been cultivated or encouraged to the point that they’ll meet an employer’s needs.

Just over a year ago, Fields Data Recovery took on our first apprentices via ACT. Thanks to this scheme, we were able to nurture and develop the existing skills vital for a successful career in IT already present within our apprentices and, through formal technical training, further honed the skills they needed to work in the industry.

Many companies that operate within the technology sector serve niche markets and find it difficult to find candidates that match their exact requirements as a result. By affording us with the opportunity to provide technical training and cultivate and develop apprentice’s existing skillsets at a reduced cost, this scheme has provided us with an invaluable means of locating and nurturing talented individuals looking to work within the world of IT.

Author bio:

Jay Williams is employed by Fields Data Recovery as a communications officer and has been with the company for more than a decade. In his spare time, he enjoys gaming, exercising and persistently attempting to convince his wife that their two-year-old daughter needs a Nintendo Switch.