Just as there are “pockets of workforce crisis,” there are “pockets of prosperity” as well – geographical and occupational areas that either are doing well now or will be soon. According to Ed Gordon, a futurist specializing in career and vocational education, there are more than 5 million vacant positions in the U.S. labor market today. The people who will do the best are those with skills in Information Technology (IT).
 
That category is clearly growing the fastest. With all the advancing technologies in mobile communications, social networking and systems software, this growth is par for the course. A recent study of hiring managers reported that 65 percent expect to add tech staff within the next six months.
 
More than 25 percent of those folks want to expand their IT staffs by more than 20 percent. On top of that, every time the U.S. Department of Labor issues lists of the fastest-growing jobs, people with IT skills are always in the top five.
 
With aging Baby Boomers worldwide and obesity becoming a global issue, we also will need increasing numbers of healthcare professionals in many occupational areas. Not only will we need 103,900 more registered nurses every year well into the next decade, but we also will need doctors of endocrinology and many “healthcare management and support staff” to ensure that systems run smoothly.
 
When we think about the expanding numbers of doctors, radiological technicians and physical and inhalation therapists, people often overlook the added support staff healthcare institutions will need.
 
Finally (for this week, anyway), as we have been saying for years, there is a critical shortage of engineers, particularly civil and industrial engineers. Note to college students who want their pick of job offers when they graduate: In a recent poll by The Society for Human Resource Management, a surprising 88 percent of employers expressed challenges in finding enough engineers.

Next week, we will cover another series of occupational areas we consider “pockets of prosperity.” Be sure to watch for Part 2 next week.