IT professionals no shortage at Heritage

USQ's Department of Information Systems has received an overwhelming stamp of approval from the Heritage Building Society.

Heritage currently employs more than 25 Information Technology (IT) graduates from USQ with another two in the process of completing their degrees.

Despite employers across the country struggling to find qualified IT professionals, Heritage General Manager for Technology and Payment Systems, John Williams, who is also a USQ graduate, said that the company only needed to look locally to fill IT positions.

'We employ 44 people in my department and for some of the roles a degree is essential and with others it's preferable,' Mr Williams said.

'Predominately we employ graduates for entry level positions, however it does depend on the level of the role and we are employing more quality people across the board.

'Importantly, I've found USQ graduates have the right attitude.  They are job-ready and have the fundamental skill sets for the role.

'At Heritage, we offer additional mentoring for graduates. Combined with their can-do attitude they become very valuable staff for the Society.'

Mr Williams said that as an employer Heritage is aware there are plenty of jobs available to IT graduates.

'There are plenty of jobs available, so it's hard to get qualified people to fill jobs.  There is a high demand now for IT graduates and it's only going to increase. The demand is going to be there for many years to come,' he said.

Head of the Information Systems Department at USQ, Dave Roberts, said he agrees with Mr Williams as more and more IT professionals are required outside the traditional IT roles.

'Today, more IT professionals work in business services or industries like banking, retail, property, transport and travel than in IT companies,' Mr Roberts said.

'Successful IT graduates need to be competent in business, a trend that has led to a totally different approach to educating IT professionals at USQ.

'USQ's Faculty of Business understands market needs and trends, and has worked hard at developing programs which combine both IT and Business.

'People need to realise that IT isn't a dead career option anymore. There are IT jobs out there and there is still time to apply to study at USQ in Semester One this year.'
 
For further information on how to apply and USQ offerings phone 1800 811 380 email applynow@usq.edu.au or visit www.usq.edu.au/

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: John Williams and his team of USQ graduates will be available at Heritage, 400 Ruthven St with USQ's Dave Roberts for interviews on Monday 15 January at 10am. 

Media Contact: Fiona Taylor, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559 or +61 423 808 462