News

Posted On: 03/02/2006

RFID Talent Pool Still Shallow, Finds CompTIA Survey

PharmaManufacturing.com

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 Feb. 28 in conjunction with the RFID World 2006 conference.

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 to hire from. 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 major players 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+ 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 6-24 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.

For more about CompTIA RFID+ certification, or to register for an exam, please visit: www.comptia.org/certification/rfid/?nav=quick.

Additional information on the CompTIA RFID skill survey — including a downloadable summary and details on how to purchase the full report — is available at: www.comptia.org/sections/research.aspx.