Over the past two decades IT recruitment has become a huge industry in and of itself. The growth of computers and digital infrastructure in the modern workplace has been profound and this has driven a greater intake of qualified professionals for development, maintenance and implementation of IT systems across organisations of all sizes and scales.Today, it is believed that over three quarters of those in employment make use of IT as part of their job role’s central duties. This is particularly so in administrative roles, where 90% of managers, professionals and secretarial/admin staff cite the use of computers and computer systems as central to their daily activities.This use of IT systems is supported by the 900,000 people in the UK who work directly in the IT sector as well as the 600,000 people working in IT or telecoms in other industries. Overall it is estimated that one in twenty (5%) people in employment work in IT, working in roles that are often unseen by other members of staff but which are vital to the continued performance of everything from individual workstations to network security and cloud data storage systems.Despite the wide range of IT-based qualifications in existence, recruitment to the sector places more emphasis on experience and ability than academic education. In fact such qualifications are generally earned on-the-job rather than in academic study prior to employment and as such, most IT-related degrees have a heavy emphasis on vocational studies.Often selection is based upon the individual’s knowledge of a network system, a programming language, or other such case-specific disciplines within IT. However existing familiarity with the proposed system is not always vital. Like any other industry, the candidate’s personal ability in technical and analytical skills. Of particular importance, according to the 2008 TARGET jobs report on IT, are skills such as problem solving, analytical thinking, flexibility and adaptability, as well as perseverance and motivation.The key to successful progression and advancement in IT though is communication – the ability to make technical issues and other details understandable to outside departments – and the ability to understand how IT relates to the company’s overall strategy and can affect profitability. Whilst these are almost exclusive to the ability to actually work with the complexities of IT systems in practice, they are vital to progression to the management and consultancy roles which make up the upper end of the IT sector.
Airline Travel Tips – Tips for Family Flying
Flying can be an exciting and enjoyable experience, especially if you are heading out on a family vacation. Here are some airline travel tips to make your trip as smooth as possible.Getting a good seat is important, especially if you are going to be traveling on a long flight. When booking your ticket, you can often get a copy of the seating plan for your particular aircraft. Take a look at it before deciding on your seats. You’ll need to make your decision on whether you’d like an aisle seat, a window seat, or perhaps you’d like to sit on the exit row which has more leg room but may have non-reclining seats on some planes. Keep in mind that children will not be allowed to sit on the exit rows, so don’t select these seats if you have young children flying with you. If you don’t get lucky on the seating when you book your flight, you can ask for better seats when you check in. This doesn’t always work but it’s worth a try. As a last resort, if the flight is not full, the flight attendants will often allow you to switch seats if you ask them once you board the flight.How can you avoid flight delays? Well, most of the time there is nothing much you can do about this as you are at the whim of the weather, traffic, and other uncontrollable reasons for delay. However, booking a non-stop flight can lessen the likelihood that you will be delayed since there will be no airports to stop at in between which is the usual cause of going off schedule.Watch for thieves in the airports. Happy-go-lucky vacation-going people are easy prey for thieves in the airport because they often, in the excitement of a trip. don’t pay attention as well as they should. Keep a careful eye on your purse or carry-on.Check to see how early you need to arrive and make sure you allow time for traffic in order to get there on time. Due to all the security, lines can be very long so better to arrive early and have extra time than be rushing to the gate.Make sure you have all the paperwork you will need such as boarding ticket, passport if you need one, birth certificate if that may be needed, and photo ID.Get a list of what can and cannot be brought on board in your carry-ons. These rules change periodically so get an up-to-date list from your airline.Since airlines routinely overbook, assuming some people will not show up, you will want to reduce the possibility of getting bumped by either checking in online before you leave home, or arriving early to check in. This ensures the best chance of keeping your seat. The good news is if do happen to be bumped off your flight, the airline is required to pay you compensation. This could be tickets, seat upgrades, or frequent flyer miles, and other bonuses.Use these airline travel tips on your next flight, and you will reduce the possibility of having anything go wrong on your vacation.