Month: June 2017

Anthony Mannix B.Sc., Student Profile

06/282017

IT SAN Engineer, Senior Analyst @ Dell EMC, Cork.

QQI Certificate in Information Technology CITXX, Level 5, Mallow College, 2009.

“Doing a level 5 computing course at Mallow College gave me the necessary foundation to acquaint with necessary IT focal points such as computer architecture, programming, communications skills and much more. The lecturers were extremely obliging with the course offering great support and work ethic which was valuable in further study and employment.

Subsequent to the completion of this course, I achieved a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science at Cork Institute of Technology which enabled me to pursue a career with Dell EMC as Technical Support Engineer. My role involves troubleshooting and resolving issues with software & hardware in flash storage environments including VMware and various customer network setups. I guide my teammates on diverse IT topics, work with people globally and have the opportunity to enhance my skills even further. Mallow College of Further Education was the first and most important step in my career in IT.”

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonymannix/

Iarla O’Sullivan B.Sc., Student Profile

06/282017

In 2017 Iarla completed his B.Sc. in Information Technology in Cork Institute of Technology.

QQI Advanced Certificate in Computer Network Technology CCNTX, Level 6, Mallow College, 2015.

Modules included Datacenter Virtualization exploring the role of virtualization in IT enterprises, in the consolidation of modern data centers and in the evolution of cloud computing on VMWare vSphere ESXi services. Systems Administration: installing, supporting and maintaining UNIX based computer systems and networks. Internet & Network Services: building infrastructure for mail servers, iSCI storage, web applications on virtual environments. Network Security: an administrative level training in managing firewalls, VPNs, and IDS systems on UNIX and Microsoft systems. Computer Services Management: the disciplines involved in managing the provision of computer services at an enterprise level. Inter-Networking: developing a methodology of selection of criteria for network devices and WAN technologies to meet network requirements; configure and troubleshoot network devices and resolve issues with enterprise level WAN data link protocols and network traffic.

“Achieving my Level 5 & 6 QQI qualifications in Computer Networking at Mallow College of Further Education was an invaluable experience. I built up strong studying skills for exams and time management skills for class projects – an integral part of my course. I was supported by very friendly and encouraging staff who are more than willing to help out with any issue and provide an enjoyable learning atmosphere with fellow students.

It also provided a stepping stone to further studies with progression links direct to year 2 of an Information Technology degree in CIT.”

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iarlaith-o-%E2%80%8B-sullivan-121468108/

IT Skills In-Demand

06/272017

Crucial IT skills are in-demand by employers in Ireland.  In September last year, the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit at SOLAS published their National Skills Bulletin 2016 identified ICT shortages of skills in software development in Java and Python, systems administration with Linux, and in database administration.

In May 2017, SOLAS‘s Skills and Labour Market Research Unit published their Vacancy Overview 2016 highlighting a 5% annual increase in employment in the information technology sector – which remains consistently amongst the highest rate of vacancies across all sectors. Of “difficult-to-fill vacancies”, the report highlighted, 35% were in information technology, including: software developers, SQL database administrators, Java programmers, Linux and Open Source administrators.

Tech/Life Ireland, a Government initiative under the ICT Skills Action Plan, currently rank Java and Python as the two most in-demand tech skills in Ireland.

QQI level 5 courses at Mallow College, Computer Systems & Networks and Software Development, are uniquely designed to meet the needs of the marketplace, focus on the in-demand skills, and give our learners an edge in progression success. Mallow College is the only Further Education college in the country to have courses specifically focused on important industry standard Linux and open source technologies, SQL database, modern Agile software development, and Java and Python programming.

The national industry trend is expected to continue.

“the availability of IT skills is crucial to the Irish economy. IT skills are playing an increasingly significant role across a variety of sectors (only just over half of all IT workers actually work in the ICT sector, with others mainly in industry, finance and the public sector). “

“Over the period 2010-2015, employment in IT occupations grew strongly, at 3.6% on average annually outpacing growth in most occupational groups. There were almost 7,300 IT jobs advertised through the PES and Irishjobs.ie portals alone in 2015. The Recruitment Agency Survey in May 2016 also found that there were difficulties in filling IT vacancies, with approximately one third of all difficult to fill mentions being for IT-related posts.”

“Many of the job announcements in the media in recent months relate to job creation for IT workers, both within the ICT sector, as well as for IT roles in other sectors; job announcements include those made by Amazon, Kaseya (IT management software), Zeltiq Aesthetis (med-tech), Sportlomo (sports software), Compliance and Risks (financial services), Brown Bag Films (animation studio), Qstream, Microsoft, Malwarebytes (online security), VMWare, Technopath Clinical Diagnostics (software company), Aspira, CBE (retail software), Hortonworks(software provider), Perception Consulting (data analytics), OneView (medical software), Fortuity (cloud technology and data analytics), Accenture and Boxever (data analysis software).”

“Furthermore, the situation is not unique to Ireland as there is a shortage of IT skills internationally.” National Skills Bulletin 2016

“The Recruitment Agency Survey and employment permit data indicate significant shortages of persons with specific IT skills, with the analysis of job announcements in the media suggesting demand for skills in the ICT sector is expected to continue.” Vacancy Overview 2016

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/skills-in-demand-eoin-ó-spealáin