IBM paves path to multi-billion dollar job ecosystem

Free online roadmaps to enterprise computing and Web 2.0 point to hot careers of the future

IBM (Thailand) announced a plan to help the next generation of business and IT experts at no charge with online resources designed to educate students about hot technologies. Six offerings are now available, providing students access to tutorials, forums, games and other resources, and helping them to develop marketable skills in hot job areas such as enterprise computing, Web 2.0 programming and database management.

Through the Student Portal on the IBM Academic Initiative web site, students can access a three-step tutorial on Service Science Management and Engineering (SSME), a new academic discipline that brings together ongoing work in the fields of science, engineering, and business management, combined with the study of social and legal sciences. The SSME resources prepare students to take advantage of a growing field of "hybrid" technology jobs that require multi-disciplinary backgrounds, such as environmental engineering, information analysis and urban architect planning.

Companies today are increasingly going global and looking for employees that offer deep technical knowledge and a broad understanding of business dynamics to help them expand into new markets. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that more than 4.6 million jobs will be created in the services sector between 2004 and 2014, and IT will continue to be one of the fastest growing sectors. In addition, new global employment opportunities are expected to emerge based on the demand for integrated business and technology skills.

"Colleges and universities worldwide are being challenged to develop a curriculum that offers students a practical combination of business and technical skills to meet industry demands," said Thanwa Laohasiriwong, Country General Manager, IBM Thailand Co.,Ltd. "This is why IBM is making available the largest collection of learning resources specifically on the key skill areas our customers are looking for. We anticipate that thousands of students this year alone will take the opportunity to become technically proficient on leading-edge technologies and increase their skills portfolio."