Page 37 - BusinessWest August 4, 2021

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IT Labor Force Presents Challenges and Opportunities
hen the pandemic arrived early last year and many companies adjusted to remote work for their staff, it was IT professionals who got everyone up and run-
Technology
By Mark Morris
ning from their homes.
Now, as the world begins to move away from the
pandemic and companies begin bringing employees back to the office, the demand to hire IT pros is even higher than it was before COVID-19 emerged. And that poses challenges for employers.
In a normal year, said Delcie Bean, CEO of Paragus Strategic IT, the company sees about 10% turnover of people leaving and new staff being hired. During the pandemic, there was no turnover, as every one of the 50 Paragus employees stayed in their job.
In the last four months, however, as the economy has improved and COVID restrictions have eased, Bean has seen a “tremendous transition” among the IT labor force.
“Many of those who are leaving are pursuing remote-work opportunities that didn’t exist before the pandemic,” he said. “Most of these companies are not local and would never have interviewed or offered jobs to these workers in the past.”
Bean cited a number of reasons for the high
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