Training Table.

• Author: Harding, Becky
• Position: Hiring and training employees to use new technology - Brief Article

Demand for skilled workers today's greatest challenge

In 1867, Karl Marx predicted the advent of machines would eliminate the need for skilled workers. But in 2001, the opposite is true. With the advancement of machinery into the high-tech arena, the demand for skilled and experienced workers is increasing, creating one of the greatest challenges facing corporations today.

Compounding this problem are the advances in technology progressing at ever-faster speeds, making it virtually impossible for any one person to stay abreast of all the changes.

Parnell Black is CEO of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA), headquartered in Utah. Black has found that, rather than hire one information technology professional as in the past, he now must rely on numerous highly experienced IT specialists, with skills ranging from hardware expertise to software and programming. Black says that once the specialists have determined which new technology to integrate, the learning curve begins.

"That is our biggest expense - training our employees and our members to use the new programs," he says. "We could spend all of our time just learning how to use the new technology, rather...