CompTIA chief calls for closer collaboration between business and IT educators

Matthew Poyiadgi, European VP of CompTIA, wants the industry to help shape education

Matthew Poyiadgi has called for tighter links between business and academia

As worryingly high numbers of students continue to drop out of IT education at both school and college level, Matthew Poyiadgi, European VP of CompTIA, has called for more involvement from the IT industry in shaping technology-focused curriculums.

He argued that education and training in schools, colleges and universities should better match skills required by industry.

“The obvious solution is to get industry involved in shaping education,” said Poyiadgi. “On the one hand, those designing curriculums or certifications need to speak to industry about the skills they need. On the other, the IT industry needs to be frank and open about the challenges it faces and speak to those training and certifying their future employees.

“By showing people what IT can be used for, you show them what a job in IT might look like, you excite them by giving them the chance to use their skills to address real world problems, and you map out a tangible route to a successful career.”

CompTIA has been involved in developing IT certifications in collaboration with industry for some time, consulting with education institutions to identify which areas would benefit from new or updated certifications, according to Poyiadgi.

The association aims to identify areas where there is a genuine industry need. Recent examples have included green and entry-level IT, and CompTIA said it also places importance on issues such as security and networking.

“Once a need is identified, we run workshops with a broad range of experts that draw out their knowledge and identify the challenges,” explained Poyiadgi.

“For example, in developing our CompTIA A+ qualification, the industry standard for computer support technicians, we worked with organisations ranging from Microsoft and HP to schools and the US Army.”