An Effective Model for Successful ICT Professionals in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Information technology industry has become one of the primary indicators of economic outlook in any country. People who work and study in this field are the significant factors that drive information technology. The Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology has the important mission to promote ICT in Sri Lanka. Therefore, ICT labor should have enough resources with high potential, knowledge and skills.This research focuses on how inner characteristics and personalities affect IT professionals in Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to find out the whether the 13 Kings Model which deals with thinking preferences and Big 5 personality can be used to find out the strength of an IT professional. A self administered psychology questionnaire consisting of 130 closed questions was used in the present study where the sample size used was 495. The ICT work force can be divided into two groups as high skilled and low skilled. The number of low skilled is about 50% higher than the number of high skilled. The 9 IT jobs can be separated as 6 high skilled jobs and 3 low skilled jobs. Findings of the Study reveals that the 13 Kings Model is an effective career path model which can be used to determine thinking preferences and personality of IT professionals enabling the identification of their strengths, thus contributing to develop the intellectual capital of an organization. If the professional knows their strengths, they can find the suitable or preferred job which can consequently improve their performance and career path.