The following article was written by IT-oLogy President, Lonnie Emard.
January marks five years of official history for this collaborative venture we now call IT-oLogy. A few of us (special thanks to Kristine Hooker, Bob Brookshire, Cindy Kellet and Sheryl Kline) had been thinking about it for another year before the official opening. At the start of this New Year, I have especially spent time reflecting on how many people we’ve interacted with and how many lives we’ve impacted during the growth of this belief system.
For anyone reading this, please do not take that statement lightly. Many things have changed in five years, but the focus of this organization has remained unwavering. IT-oLogy has always been about people. I don’t mean generically humanity, but rather a focused aspect of people. Focused in the following ways:
People in this country of all ages living lives influenced by technological and economic change
People who need a different set of capabilities to live, work and play
People who will start companies, work in companies, produce and lead
People who will recognize that IT is in everything and that change is all around them
People who want good jobs and to function well in the midst of great opportunity
Five years ago, 5.2 million people in this country worked in the profession of Information Technology and today that number is over 6 million, yet the skills shortage continues. IT-oLogy has reached over 100,000 people and still we’re just scratching the surface. IT jobs are everywhere in every industry for people with the right skills. That alignment of workforce capability to industry needs for people (the right people) is what the IT-oLogy non profit organization is all about.
At the intersection of capability and opportunity lies the road to success.
THANK YOU for being part of making an impact on history, for at every step along the path for each individual mentioned above as part of the collective people, your efforts toward IT-oLogy programs truly makes a difference.
