A Study of Competency Mapping for the Software Programmer Role, in Information Technology Industry

Competencies are the core behavioural skills, knowledge and personal attributes
that are translations of organizational capabilities and are considered essential
for success. They go beyond traditional job descriptions because they focus on
how the employees perform their jobs, not simply on what they are doing. While
job descriptions point out speci c tasks, competencies include the tangible and
intangible abilities/skill the employees possess. In today’s environment Competency
Mapping is very important for Human Resources professional as the demand for
exemplary performance will always keep rising, and they may have to develop the
required competencies to keep up in the highly competitive markets. The IT industry
has grown in leaps and bounds and it is has led to massive employment generation
in India. This paper will aim at studying the different technical and non technical
competencies required for the software programmers in Software companies and to
suggest the training needs for the software programmer role. In this research, data
has been collected from software programmers and their superiors or reporting
bosses in various software companies. The differences between their ratings or the
competency gap were studied in order to bridge the lacking competencies which
would help the individual as well as the company to meet their desired goals.
Finally, the study will help to prepare or improvise the training plan which will be
a guide and reference to all the trainings planned and conducted in the IT industry.
In the prevailing cut throat environment, developing and training the employees
on the required competencies will aid in focused training, exemplary performance,
individual career growth and in turn organisational growth.