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Survey says Columbia lacks tech opportunities

Submitted by: John Warner on Oct 25, 2002 at 5:00 am Tagged with: General Archives Source:

Posted on Fri, Oct. 25, 2002

Survey says Columbia lacks tech opportunities
By JOE GUY COLLIER
Staff Writer
Columbia is a great place to live but not necessarily a great place to work if
you're involved with information technology, according to a recent survey by
the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
Local technology professionals said Columbia needs more opportunities for tech
workers, a coordinated marketing campaign promoting the region and
collaboration among business, government and education.
The Columbia area should improve its environment for technology professionals
because technology is a key part of almost every business, survey respondents
said.
A group working on behalf of the City of Columbia and Richland and Lexington
counties is preparing a plan to make the Midlands a tech hub. Preliminary
feedback from that group's work confirms many of the findings of the chamber's
survey.
The chamber's Information Technology Council compiled its survey with the help
of Columbia-based Metromark Market Research.
In-person and on-line interviews were conducted with technology professionals
at almost 150 companies, government organizations and educational institutions
in the Midlands. Almost 75 percent of those surveyed rated the Columbia area as
a "very good" or "excellent" place to live. Only about half, though, said the
area was a very good or excellent place to work. The respondents said the
Columbia area needed to:
• Develop a better-trained information technology work force and create more
opportunities for high-level positions;
• Focus on small and mid-size businesses rather than putting so much emphasis
on large firms;
• Work with local colleges and universities to create research centers and tie
education more closely to businesses;
• Market the Columbia region so those outside the area are aware of the
Midlands' progress and quality of life.
Despite a downturn in the technology market, Columbia firms increasingly rely
on technology, according to the survey. More than 90 percent of respondents
said technology was important to their company's mission.
Even traditional organizations, such as utilities, government agencies and
manufacturers, said a stronger technology community would help their businesses
grow.
"Information technology underpins everything," said John Hall, who helped
coordinate the survey and is the chief planning officer for Columbia-based
SCANA Corp.
Finding qualified technology workers, though, can be a challenge, said Shannon
Skidmore, a senior account executive with staffing firm NTS and chairwoman of
the survey committee.
Local companies can fill low-level positions, such as help-desk jobs, but have
trouble filling high-level positions, such as database programmers, Skidmore
said. "The schools are not training people for the businesses' needs," she said.
A lack of communication between organizations has caused some problems, the
survey revealed.
One goal of the survey is to pull people together, said Bob Hudson, chairman of Ӫ
the Information Technology Council and chief information officer of Columbia
steel fabricator Consolidated Systems Inc.
The Information Technology Council hopes to use its survey to hone in on some
areas of improvement, Hudson said.
A luncheon on November 5 is planned to get input from members of the technology
community. The survey is meant to lead to action, Hudson said.
"We would like to take a couple of key findings and make a difference," he
said. "That means getting people on board."