Are companies expecting too much from Java Developers looking to join their organisations?

I currently deal with a range of clients who always seem to have a need for Java Developers; it is well known that there is a serious shortage of Java skilled professionals in Ireland, is one of the main reasons for this because as most of my clients they want a range of skills, for example not only will they require 5 years Java Development experience, but they will also have to have developed on a Unix Server and dealt specifically with shell scripting. Along with these they will need strong knowledge in TCP/IP or separate Networking experience. The criteria seems to get longer and longer meaning organisations have to wait longer and longer putting increasing pressure on their current staff.

As these skills are required for the projects the company is in an incredibly difficult position. Some are open to having for example 3 out of 4 skills sets, but the majority of the time they fall short in the one area they know they are weak. So effectively they won’t settle for anything other than 4 out of 4.  It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has a similar experience when trying to change job.

In the ever changing technology sector it is understandable that all the required skills are in place immediately for their senior java staff and in an ideal world they would receive these, but we live far from an ideal world and one idea for these organisations would be to invest in more training, not just for their internal programs but for new entrants, this is an expensive answer but it would allow companies to take on people with key skills and give the company the opportunity to up skill these new entrants  without using current key members of staff or management time. After speaking to numerous Java Developers who fall short, one thing in common does stand out, they all want to learn more, I would be confident all would pick up these skills quickly and get to a position where the organisation can have confidence they can do what’s required of them. Even if they worked on less pay or even free until they get up to scratch with the required skills it would give Developers a better opportunity to move to the larger organisations and gain that large project experience a lot crave. I know a lot of organisations have large training centres and of course train new staff, I more mean this for those who need one or two areas to brush up on as they wouldn’t need from scratch training.