RFID skills shortage receding, but still hindering technology adoption
Radio frequency identification—technology that uses radio frequency tags and readers to track the movement of products—promises to speed the progress of merchandise along the retail supply chain. But the use of that technology is being hampered by a shortage of skilled technology workers, according to a new survey.
The survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association, an IT industry professional organization, found that 69% of the companies surveyed believe the hiring pool of RFID talent is insufficient. The figure is down slightly from the previous two years, 75% in 2006 and 80% in 2005.
Of the companies that believe there is a shortage of talent, 68% said the lack of skilled RFID workers will affect the adoption of the technology. That’s a decline from 2006 when 80% of companies surveyed said the skill shortage was affecting RFID adoption. In 2005, the figure was 53%.
David Sommer, vice president of e-business and software solutions for CompTIA, says the skills shortage is a contributing factor in the relatively slow adoption of RFID, but it’s not the only obstacle. He adds that while RFID adoption has been slower than some predicted, it is growing at a slow, steady pace.
“The number of RFID pilot programs, tests and closed-loop deployments designed to address specific business problems continues to grow,” he says.
CompTIA is addressing the skills shortage with its professional, vendor-neutral certification program, CompTIA RFID+, to validate technical competence in RFID technology. The curriculum built to support certification has become an industry standard for foundation-level skills for RFID technology specialists, according to the association.
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