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About this Publication:The Greater Pittsburgh Workforce
Quarterly is a publication produced by ImaginePittsburgh.com and
thePittsburgh Regional Alliance. These reports, published
quarterly, analyze and present primary and second-ary regional
labor supply and demand data to inform the public of the evolving
workforce landscape andthe challenges and opportunities they bear
for the region. It is our hope that the reports present
workforcedata in an easily digestible and visual way.
The demand data was made possible through a partnership with the
Pennsylvania Department of Laborand Industry.
About the Partners:ImaginePittsburgh.com is the Allegheny
Conference on Community Developments talent attractionand retention
platform with a unique job search engine at its core. The search
engine pulls in open jobsfrom over 900 different sources
representing the open positions in the 10-county Pittsburgh
regionThe Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA), markets the benefits
of conducting business in southwesternPennsylvania to companies all
over the world that are growing, relocating or expanding. The PRA
alsoworks to support the growth of existing regional employers.
Both ImaginePittsburgh.com and thePittsburgh Regional Alliance are
affiliates of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development
For more information regarding this report, please contact:
Meredith FaheyProject Manager, Workplace
Allegheny Conference on Community Development
[email protected]
P: 412.281.4783
Imaginepittsburgh.com
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The Greater Pittsburgh Workforce Quarterly Volume I, Issue I
IT-Related Careers:Shifting Perceptions to Meet Demand
No longer does IT describe a specific industry focused
on information and computer technology; rather it is a
broad collection of occupations that support a wide arrayof
industries. For example, 67% of all software developers
in the region were employed by the financial and busi-
ness services sector in 2012.1 And according to Imag-
inePittsburgh.coms job search engine aggregator, nearly
57% of all open positions across all sectors require some
level of IT-related knowledge.2
Nor do all IT-related jobs require a four-year degree.
Among 20 computer-related occupations identified by
the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA) the Pittsburgh
regions economic development marketing organization
seven do not require a four-year degree. In fact, web
developers, which require an associates degree, have ex-
perienced the fastest growth rate (21%) between 2007
and 2012 in the 10-county Pittsburgh region.3
In advanced manufacturing, for example, Ashley Wellner,
director of manufacturing at Aerotech, a precision motion
control manufacturing company, explains the changes
hes seen: Todays modern manufacturing relies on work-
ing smarter rather than working harder, Wellner says.
Modern production employees not only need to know
their trade, but in most cases are required to have an un-
derstanding of computer and programming skills.
There are IT-related opportunities available at all ed-ucation
levels, but those who wish to advance theircareers will need to be
active and engaged learners,he adds. Employees who are willing to
continuetheir education and training can leverage their in-creased
knowledge into higher wages and securelong-term careers.
As IT-related occupations spreadacross industries and education
levels,the IT sector itself remains strong andis growing
The PRA collects data annually on new business invest-ments and
expansions in the 10-county Pittsburgh re-gion. It found that in
2013, the IT sector experienced a54.5% growth in the number of
announced businessexpansions and new investment deals in the
Pittsburghregion called wins by the PRA. It was the highestgrowth
rate in six years.4 This rate outpaced eds andmeds and financial
and business services. The 51 an-nouncements among IT companies are
anticipated tocreate 1,417 jobs over the next several years.5 A
com-pany such as Computer Science Corporation recentlyannounced a
$14 million investment that will add ap-proximately 500 new IT and
IT-support jobs in the city.6
Since 2007, employment among software companiesgrew by more than
26% and is projected to continue itshealthy growth through
2022.7
In 2013, IT accounted for 27.5% of all announced
startupsidentified in the PRAs wins tracking.8 Those
startupsinclude Carnegie Robotics, which announced plans toadd 100
new jobs, and PHRQL, which plans to add 40new jobs.9 In 2011 (the
most recent year for this data)
there were more than 150 IT-related patents granted
inPittsburgh, twice the number granted five years earlier.10
Naturally, IT-related employment is also growing in theregion.
Between 2007 and 2012, computer-related oc-cupations increased by
4.8%, more than twice thegrowth rate nationally. The fastest
growing occupationsare web developers, which grew 21% from 2007
through2012, followed by database administrators, which had agrowth
rate of 15% during the same time period.
57%of all open positions across all sectors
require some level of technical knowledge.
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
IT-RELATED JOBS TOTAL JOBS
AdvancedManufacturing
Financial &Business Services
Energy
Healthcare &
Life Sciences
InformationTechnology
Other
The Greater Pittsburgh Workforce Quarterly
Percentage of IT-Related Occupations vs Total Jobs
Todays modern manufacturing relies on
working smarter rather than working harder,
Ashley Wellner,Director of Manufacturing, Aerotech
SOURCE: ImaginePittsburgh.com and Help Wanted Analytics
SOURCE: Economic Modeling Specialists Intl.
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IT Related Business Investment Deals in 2013
Among the 20 top computer-related occupations, com-
puter systems analysts (15% of total), computer user
support specialists (14%), software developers (12%) and
network and computer systems administrators (10%) ac-
count for both the highest proportion of workers and the
highest numbers of open positions.
What does the supply-side look like?
In the 2010-2011 academic year, there were 181,018 un-
dergraduate and graduate students at 53 colleges,
universities and degree-granting post-secondary
schools in the region. The Pittsburgh region gradu-
ates more than 36,000 individuals every year, but is it
graduating enough IT-related talent?
In 2012, a total of 1,555 IT-related bachelors and grad-uate
degrees were awarded in the region, according
to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of that
total, 621 graduated with a bachelors degree and 934
graduated with a masters or doctorate degree. Com-
puter science degrees were the most prevalent at the
bachelors level with 208 conferred, and information
technology degrees were the most popular at the
masters level with 438 degrees awarded. In May
2014, there were more than 3,464 computer-related
jobs postings on ImaginePittsburgh.com that required
at least a four-year degree.
Were seeing an increased need for information
technology skills. Weve been doing a lot of hiring o
computer science and computer engineering majorsand recruiting
into our IT leadership developmen
program. says Katie Heinritz, BNY Mellons globa
campus relations director. BNY Mellon is more than
an investments company; were really a tech com
pany in disguise.
Less apparent is which IT-related jobs do not require
a four-year degree and charting clear career pathway
for those occupations. Of the 20 largest computer-re
lated occupations, seven do not require a four-yea
degree. In the 10-county region, those seven occupa
tions account for more than 1,000 open positions
More than 800 of those open positions are in Al
legheny County alone. The Three Rivers Workforce In
vestment Board, which leads the public workforce
system in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, notes tha
of 2,645 people who have identified themselves as
looking for jobs in IT, nearly 40% or 1,082, have a high
school diploma but less than a four-year degree.
51Wins
54.5%Increase from
2012
1,417New Jobs
$26.1MCapital
Investment
BA
RRIERS
2
We need to invest in, promote and properly
value career and technical education and allow
it to become a pathway that people generally
acknowledge as one with many education out-
comes, including two-and four-year degrees.
Laura Fisher
Senior Vice PresidentAllegheny Conference on Community
Development
Bachelor and
Graduate Degrees Open Jobs
SOURCE: The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance
SOURCE: The National Center for Education Statistics,Three
Rivers Workforce Investment Board
SOURCE: The National Center for Education Statistics
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About the data in this publication:Intended to provide a deeper
understanding of workforce supply and demand and career
opportunities, the Greater
Pittsburgh Workforce Quarterly uses a variety of data sources,
including primary data, secondary data, proprietary
data, and government data. Primary sources may include surveys
and interviews. Proprietary data used in these re-
ports comes from the Conference Board Help Wanted Online Data
Series and Economic Modeling Specialists Intl
Government sources include but are not limited to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis
and the U.S. Census Bureau.
1 Computer Related Occupations Overview, Pittsburgh Regional
Alliance, 2013
2 According to an occupational report compiled by
ImaginePittsburgh.com using the Conference Board Help Wanted Online
Data Series, June 2014
3Computer Related Occupations Overview, Pittsburgh Regional
Alliance and Economic Modeling Specialists Intl., 2013
4 Economic Development Trends 2007-2013 chart, Pittsburgh
Regional Alliance, March 2014
5 Ibid
6 Economic Development Data, Pittsburgh Regional Alliance,
2013
7 Information and Communications Technology Sector Overview,
Pittsburgh Regional Alliance and Economic Modeling Specialists
Intl., 2013
8 Economic Development Data, Pittsburgh Regional Alliance,
2013
9 Ibid
10 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2011
11 Computer Related Occupations Overview, Pittsburgh Regional
Alliance and Economic Modeling Specialists Intl., 2013
12 Ibid
13 Ibid and Open Positions in Computer-Related Occupations, the
Conference Board Help Wanted Online Data Series, June 2014
14 Education Analysis: Academic Year 2010-2011 Pittsburgh
Regional Alliance, 2012
15 The National Center for Education Statistics, 2012
16 Ibid
17 Open Positions in Computer-Related Occupations, the
Conference Board Help Wanted Online Data Series, June 2014
18 Ibid
19 The National Center for Education Statistics, 2012
Because most people think of IT-related careers as re-
quiring a four-year degree, there are few clear career
pathways for many IT-related jobs that require an asso-
ciates degree, certificate or other training. Additionally,
experts say there are not enough quality short-term
training programs to redirect and prepare individuals
who could fill such high-demand jobs as quality assur-
ance specialists or computer user support specialists.
There are currently 624 job postings for computer user
support specialists listed on ImaginePittsburgh.com, forexample,
yet only 94 certifications and associates de-
grees were conferred in 2012 for that occupation.
We need to invest in, promote and properly value career
and technical education and allow it to become a path-
way that people generally acknowledge as one with
many education outcomes, including two - and four -
year degrees, says Laura Fisher, senior vice president a
the Allegheny Conference on Community Development
Conclusion
It is clear that individuals no longer need a four-year de-
gree to work in IT-related jobs, nor do IT-related careers
exist only at such companies such as Google, IBM or Mi-
crosoft. IT-related careers must be thought of broadly
because well-compensated IT-related jobs exist in every
industry in nearly every company and at every education
level. As demand for these occupations continues to
grow, it is important for the region to graduate and train
more individuals, to develop and promote clear career
pathways for all, and to have industry at the table to ap-
propriately align supply to demand.
The Greater Pittsburgh Workforce Quarterly
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