The USM in 2010: 

Responding to the Challenges that Lie Ahead

Technology and Workforce Demands

Over the next 10 years, the demand for information technology (IT) workers in Maryland is expected to double, and IT skills will be demanded in virtually every field.

IT Worker Shortages

Over the next 10 years, the demand for computer scientists, engineers, and systems analysts is expected to double. The labor market continues to be particularly tight at the high end, with acute competition for specific "hot" skill sets (Java, network administration, information security, and e-commerce, among others).

Between 1995 and 1997, IT contributed more than a third of the country's real economic growth. The IT workforce is growing more than 6 times faster than the overall U.S. job growth rate -- in 1998, there were approximately 2.1 million IT workers, and an additional 138,000 IT workers are needed per year (56,000 analysts, 27,000 scientists, 25,000 engineers, and 30,000 programmers). The service sector's need for IT professionals is particularly acute.

In Maryland, high-technology industry added 18,900 new jobs between 1993 and 1998. In fact, in 1999 Maryland boasted more than 5,200 high-tech businesses and venture capital investments of $611 million. The State's 103,000 high-tech workers represent 5.6% of the workforce and earn an average of $59,000 a year -- 84% more than the average private sector worker. Nationwide, Maryland ranks fifth in the number of workers in software services (35,000) and fourth in the defense electronics industry (10,000).

According to the Maryland Office of Labor Market Analysis and Information, between 1996 and 2006 the State expects 2,300 openings annually in computer engineering, programming and science, and electrical and electronic engineering. Nationally, studies by government and industry project significant worker shortages. In 1999, USM institutions awarded 868 bachelor's degrees in areas related to computer science and electrical engineering. And, despite alternative methods to IT certification, approximately two-thirds of the core IT workforce has earned at least a bachelor's degree.

Technological Competence

It is also important to consider that the need for technologically competent workers and citizens is not limited to high-tech fields. IT is an increasingly pervasive component of all aspects of our society and is part of almost every workplace environment. IT is built into our living spaces and our entertainment; into how we educate ourselves and how we communicate one to another. It is a key source for information on the social and political issues that affect all citizens; eventually, we may vote from our home computers.

It is clear that all Maryland citizens will need to be able to understand and use technology tools throughout their lives.

USM Response

USM institutions will:

• Encourage both cooperation and competition among USM campuses as each seeks to respond to market needs and opportunities and to maximize its efforts to meet Maryland's IT workforce needs.
• Expand and develop institutional and inter-institutional technology programs. Several years ago, the Maryland Applied Information Technology Initiative (MAITI) was developed as an inter-institutional program to educate potential IT leaders. We will support MAITI being broadened in focus, or other programs will be developed, to meet the region's need for IT workers.
• Continue to pursue innovative and entrepreneurial methods to respond to IT's impact on society and the economy. These responses may range from forming entirely new colleges and departments that respond to specific demands to creating "virtual colleges" that cross-cut other, more traditional, disciplines.
• Provide instructional contexts that bring students into contact with IT in meaningful ways and provide core understanding of how technology works, thus allowing students to adapt to future IT tools. As appropriate, campuses will engage the faculty in the use of IT in the curriculum, and all campuses will implement the Board of Regents' IT Minimum Standards, ensuring that all students graduate with at least base-line technology skills.
• Produce teachers capable of integrating technology skills into the K-12 curriculum, particularly since the majority (70%) of K-12 teachers in Maryland graduate from USM Schools of Education. This will help to ensure that public high school graduates have the technological fluency necessary for post-secondary education.
• Provide contemporary technological services and infrastructure to ensure an appropriate learning environment. To meet this goal, institutions must also develop funding models for maintaining the currency of their IT infrastructure, which, as a continually changing and costly investment, does not correlate well with public higher education models, which must be prepared two years in advance. Both available technologies and service expectations increase at far faster rates than the budget model allows.
• Develop recruitment, retention, and training programs directed at institutional staff with critical IT skills.
• Continue to explore avenues to realize the economies of scale afforded by our size and the capabilities inherent in IT. The Microsoft Enterprise Agreement will serve as a model for this effort.