Three-quarters of companies see shortage of RFID talent to implement, service and support technology
Dallas — March 2, 2006 — Deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology continues to be hampered by a shortage of individuals skilled in the technology, according to a new survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). The survey results were released this week in conjunction with the RFID World 2006 conference in Dallas, Texas.
Seventy-five percent of the technology companies participating in the CompTIA survey said they do not believe there is a sufficient "pool of talent" in RFID technology from which to hire. That figure is down slightly from a similar survey conducted in 2005, when 80 percent of respondents said there was a shortage of RFID talent.
Among companies that believe there is a talent shortage, 80 percent said the lack of individuals skilled in RFID will impact adoption of the technology. The figure is significantly higher than a year ago, when 53 percent of responding companies said the shortage of talent would have a negative impact on RFID adoption.
"RFID is a complex and still evolving technology, and expertise is absolutely required for its usage to be a success," said David Sommer, vice president, electronic commerce, CompTIA. "The skill sets and "need-to-knows" related to RFID are many and varied. Clearly there is work to be done in our industry in terms of RFID education, training and professional certification."
Sommer presented the findings of the CompTIA RFID skills survey in a presentation at RFID World 2006.
CompTIA is working with more than 20 companies in the RFID market, including product manufacturers, distributors, system integrators, education and training providers, and end-user customers, to develop a professional certification of RFID skills for individuals working with the technology.
CompTIA RFID+T is a vendor-neutral certification of RFID skills that addresses the needs of RFID hardware/software manufacturers, value added resellers, training developers, and end-users of the technologies. The certification, scheduled for worldwide availability on March 28, is intended for technology professionals with six to 24 months of experience in RFID or related technologies.
Among the skills the certification exam will test are installation, configuration and maintenance of RFID hardware and device software; site surveys and site analysis; and tag selection, placement and testing.
Additional Articles of Interest
- — RFID technology has the potential to change the way supply chains are managed, but in order to be effective businesses need to take a holistic look at the deployment. Read more in the SDCExec.com article "Time for RFID: Applying RFID in the Supply Chain."
— A recent independent study revealed that Wal-Mart customers are finding the items they wanted in stock more often due to the retailer's use of RFID technologies when compared to control stores. Read more in "Wal-Mart Achieving Improved On-shelf Availability with RFID, Study Finds" on SDCExec.com.
— For a contrary view of the future of the RFID market, see the article "The O'RFID Factor: A 'No Spin' Look at Where Radio Frequency Identification Is Headed," in the October/November 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— For more information on trends relating to radio frequency identification (RFID), follow this link for an extensive listing of SDCExec.com articles, featuring the latest research findings on the RFID, including adoption, return on investment and barriers to implementation.
