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IT Survival Skills (continued)

That's when the learning begins. "People come to the simulation and think, 'Wow, this is what I do when I come to work.' The value to the businesses is that the greater the level of complexity, the more you're able to be more efficient, more effective and more economical."

Orr notes that the program has been widely adopted across Europe and the Pacific Rim and is becoming increasingly important in the United States. "ITIL is all about service improvement," he says. "ITIL tries to connect business and IT overall."

Five Courses to Learn By
According to these experts, IT employees who want to progress in their career should take courses in the following five areas:

• Project management
• Group leadership
• Individual time and task management
• Communication, which includes communication across the company, with co-workers and with customers
• ITIL, or connecting business and IT

As software development becomes more streamlined and end users become more technically savvy, so-called "soft skills," especially project management and communication, will continue to become increasingly important for IT professionals and their employers. IT organizations must emphasize ongoing training in these areas in order to survive, thrive and add value to their businesses.

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