The Third Dimension of the IS Curriculum: The Importance of Soft Skills for IT Practitioners

This research reports some preliminary findings of an investigation into academic and soft skills that IS/IT practitioners regard as important in new graduates. The results confirm the work of others indicating that soft skills such as teamwork are seen as far more important that the hard skills such as programming. Surprisingly, skills in traditional business subjects such as accounting and economics were rated relatively lowly. A possible explanation for an apparent conflict with anecdotal views and current findings is offered.