Age, Motivation, and Participation in Professional Development

Abstract

Modern organizations are increasingly dependent on information technology (IT) enabled business systems. Development of IT systems requires a competent IT professional (ITP) staff. However, organizations are hampered by a severe shortage of qualified ITPs. Furthermore, the looming graying of the workforce will aggravate the shortage unless organizations learn to retain and enhance the skills of ongoing staff. Research from related disciplines indicate that over time technical workers participate less in professional development, but still little is known about the relationships between personal demographics and participation in professional development.The major premise of this study is that since most professional development programs are voluntary, ITPs must first be motivated to participate before participation will occur. In addition, research suggests that motivation of ITPs may be related to personal demographics and, therefore, should be considered when designing and implementing professional development programs. Based upon this premise, the major objective of this study is to examine the relationships between selected personal demographics and the motivation of ITPs to participate in professional development.Survey data collected from a sample of 186 ITPs were analyzed to identify relationships between selected personal demographics (age, education level, gender) and motivation to participate in professional development activities. Findings suggest ITPs generally perceive desirable work outcomes to be positively influenced by level of professional ability. Correspondingly, they are highly motivated to participate in professional development activities. Although participation rates do vary, there is neither discernible decline in professional development motivation nor decline in perceptions of reward probabilities and this potentially negatively impacts their professional development motivation and participation rates.

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