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.
