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Why a
database of IT professionals?
Mohan
Babu explains why it has become necessary to create an authentic and
verifiable database of Indian software professionals. It will be immensely
beneficial to both IT professionals and their employers, who can easily
check the credentials of a candidate
Even in the
current economic climate, one of the biggest problems faced by IT managers
in the US and India is in getting good, qualified, experienced candidates
with the right credentials who can hit the ground running. The IT industry
in India, because of an unprecedented demand for professionals in the mid to
late nineties, saw an influx of people from varying backgrounds, ranging
from those with degrees in engineering, MCAs, MSc, BSc and even degrees in
non-IT fields, with little or no formal training in programming, systems
design and analysis. With the demand pendulum swinging the other way, a glut
of candidates in the market is giving employers an opportunity to
cherry-pick them. Of course, this also means that candidates have to work
extra hard to prove their credentials.
As the IT
industry in India matures, experts are starting to compare the industry with
other professions where the demand-and-supply seems to be finding
equilibrium. Most established professions including law, medicine, academia
and finance have professional organisations and quasi-government bodies that
set standards for professional conduct, expectations, and at the same time
act as record-keepers maintaining extensive databases of professionals. Such
professional bodies also help individual members network between themselves
and provide a unified platform for representation. Local medical boards,
law-bar associations, ICWAI, ICAI, etc, maintain extensive networks of
professionals. Is it time for members of the software profession—companies
and individuals—to get together to formalise an organisation that will help
in record-keeping and elevating the status of members to a higher level?
Because of
the fragmented nature of the software industry, individuals from varying
backgrounds work on a wide range of systems using software languages and
tools that vary in flavour and usage, running on different hardware,
networks, etc. To be fair, the industry has been evolving and different
software vendors have tried to build a cult like following for their
tools/software by enforcing their own standards. Microsoft has the whole MCP,
MCSE range of certification programmes. Sun has one for its Java. Even
vendors like Cisco, PeopleSoft, Oracle and IBM have their own
certifications. Trying to argue over the need for such certification
programmes is moot because the opinions of hiring managers around the world
are divided over this issue. However, one thing is certain: Hiring managers
want solid candidates with impeccable credentials who can hit the ground
running, and solve problems they are hired to fix with little handholding.
Credentials and certifications prove the knowledge of the candidate but what
about verifiable experience? I do not meant to imply, by any means, that
passing certification exams are easy. However all things being equal,
employers look for quantifiable experience they can rely on. Also, what
about candidates from “top range” universities and educational institutions
with professional degrees in software engineering or applications? Even they
have to pass such professional certification programmes to be considered at
par with their peers. Some experts compare this requirement to an MBA from
Harvard or IIM having to pass a PMI certification before being considered a
“qualified” project manager.
Given an easy
access to Internet technologies, it will be a logical extension for an
entrepreneur, group of companies or a professional body like NASSCOM to
maintain an authentic, verifiable database of Indian software professionals.
Such a database will serve two main purposes: Firstly, individuals will be
able to track their progress and update the database as and when they build
experience in systems and technologies. Secondly, employers will be able to
search the database to look for proven candidates (in or out of the regular
pool of candidates), or use the database to verify the credentials of
candidates they are planning to interview. In order to maintain the
integrity of the database, the owners of the databases should be
independently able to verify the input provided by candidates. For example,
if someone says that he worked for TCS or Wipro on a “large insurance
project” using TIBCO, XML and Java, it will be easy to verify if TCS or
Wipro did indeed do such a project for the named client. Companies may be
wary of giving out “private/confidential” information to public databases,
but with proper checks-and-balances, one can get around this issue. The flip
side of this is the next time TCS needs people with experience in Java and
middleware with an insurance background, it will be able to verify the
credentials (including what it provided along with input from other
companies).
The proposed
idea is not too far-fetched. As a matter of fact, a number of successful
entrepreneurs are already implementing such databases in the US. An example
of this kind of a database is the one maintained by Eliyon.com that boasts a
database of more than 10 million biographies of US businesspeople. The
company can track down current and former employees at many companies. The
company claims to gather information from various sources including the
Internet, news feeds, etc, and the profiles include a person’s work history,
current responsibilities, e-mail addresses, etc. The access to the site does
not come cheap; full access to the database costs about $1,000 per month!
A slowdown in
the software sector is the perfect opportunity for industry groups and
companies to think out of the box. Creating and maintaining such a database
in India will be a win-win proposition for the industry and professionals.
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