TechPoint and  EmployIndy released a new Central Indiana Tech Workforce Study this morning during a symposium produced by the Indianapolis Business Journal called “Mind the Gap.” The event included a panel discussion on future challenges to develop, hire and retain tech-savvy workers; and Mark Muro, senior fellow and policy director, Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution, delivered the keynote.

DOWNLOADS & MORE: TechPoint Research

TechPoint President and CEO Mike Langellier gave a presentation entitled Skills that Matter: Pinpointing Tech Talent Needs.

Panelists were:

  • Michael Huber, President & CEO, Indy Chamber
  • Brooke Huntington, President & CEO, EmployIndy
  • John Qualls, President, Eleven Fifty Academy
  • Zachary Scott, President, UPS, Ohio Valley District
  • plus Mike Langellier of TechPoint

 

WATCH VIDEO from a post event interview with IBJ’s Mason King.

 

Check out IBJ’s coverage of the Mind the Gap event in the article New workforce thrust aims to boost Indy tech expertise.

Specific findings from the study that IBJ highlighted included:

  • Some 51,000 tech jobs will be created locally by 2025 in such growing and well-paying sectors as advanced manufacturing, logistics, IT, health care, life sciences and renewable fuels. However, only half will be filled if local workers’ tech skills continue to grow at their current rate.
  • Tech jobs are growing twice as fast as the overall local labor market—17 percent between 2010 and 2014. Job postings for computer and IT jobs shot up 54 percent last year to 10,628.
  • Computer and IT jobs pay an average of $75,000—nearly double the area average.
  • Software developers, computer and information analysts, and computer networking and systems positions are in greatest demand.
  • Indiana colleges and universities have nearly doubled the number of IT graduates and certifications in the past four years.
  • Local job postings for software developers—2,500 in 2013—were six times higher than the number of students who graduated with that expertise that year.
  • Three-quarters of the surveyed companies perceived a moderate skills gap in computer and IT talent.
  • More than half the computer-related job postings required more than five years of experience.

Here are some Twitter highlights from the event as well:

Check out the resources related to the new Central Indiana Tech Workforce Study:

To access the full report, please click here.
To access the executive summary click here.
To access the data points fact sheet click here.