Herausforderung Informationsgesellschaft : die Aus- und Weiterbildung von IT-Fachkräften vor einer konzeptionellen Neuorientierung (The challenge of the information society : Conceptual re-orientation in the basic training and continuing education of information technology specialists)

"The creation of an 'information society' is regarded as the central challenge to the future phase of development in Europe. Implementing it represents a profound change in the working life and occupational situation of many employees, thc necessity for reformulating existing occupational descriptions as well as career orientation guidelines is becoming apparent. This is especially true for information technology (IT) specialists; they must be accorded a key role in the creation of the information society. Ever since computers began to be used for commercial applications, IT specialists have been responsible primarily for setting up and operating isolated EDP systems, which to a large extent were restricted to automatic routine tasks. Up until now these tasks have provided the basis for the occupational profile of a technician in this occupational group. However, in the last few years the traditional 'EDP system' has increasingly expandet into integrated information systems crossing organizational lines and tasks within firms; through the networking of partial systems they now span an ever increasing range of tasks and increasingly more complex unstructured job areas. Hence, ever more firms are linking information technological innovations with organisational tasks and demands on job design. The resulting erosion of traditional skilted tasks requires that the qualifications of IT specialists be redefined; their occupational profile must undergo fundamental change. The forms of applying the computer in information technology the closeness to job design and the trend to new more cooperative forms of work should be included in the standards for professional competence and the occupational identity of this group, so that it can maintain its areas of responsibility in the social work process as well as expand them for purposes of future job security. This development poses a dilemma for the training system. Owing to the fact that the basic training and continuing education institutions in the IT area traditionally exhibit a reactive attitude towards the requirements of the market and interpret all changes from the conventional standpoint of the IT specialists as a technician, they are less and less in a position to confront the increasing dynamisation of the innovation processes and the erosion of the traditional skilled tasks in the occupational field of the IT specialist. This situation demands that the inadequate reactive attitude be replaced by a more active attitude towards the market. However, this calls for conceptual clarity and an adequate interpretation scheme for the changing trends. Two central requirements ,ust thus be fulfilled in reorienting the basic training and continuing education system of IT specialists during the transition to the information society: a) The institutions must reposition themselves in their relationship to the market: Instead of taking the traditionally reactive stance they should adopt a proactive stance towards changes in the market. It is of fundamental importance for them to intensify cooperative links to the scientific community as well as to practical information sciences within the framework of a functioning network. b) Basic training and continuing education institutions need a new type of interpretation scheme for analysing changes in qualifications as well as a corresponding model for qualifications: the paradigma of the IT specialist as a technician systematically annuls essential changes in qualifications. The authors suggest an alternative model of 'holistic job design competence', which focusses and reflects on changes in the traditional skilled tasks in the occupational field as influenced by essential development trends. This new model allows basic training and continuing education institutions to adequately reflect the changes in qualifications for the IT specialists in the transition to the information society and to apply the training concepts suitably for future needs." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))