The deployment of RFID technology continues to be hampered by a shortage of individuals skilled in the technology, according to a new survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).

Seventy-five percent of the technology companies participating in the CompTIA survey said they do not believe there is a sufficient "pool of talent" in RFID technology to hire from. That figure is down slightly from a similar survey conducted in 2005, when 80% of respondents said there was a shortage of RFID talent.

Among companies that believe there is a talent shortage, 80% said the lack of individuals skilled in RFID will impact adoption of the technology. The figure is significantly higher than a year ago, when 53% of responding companies said the shortage of talent would have a negative impact on RFID adoption.

Complex and evolving

"RFID is a complex and still evolving technology, and expertise is absolutely required for its usage to be a success," said David Sommer, vice president, electronic commerce for CompTIA. "The skill sets and 'need-to-knows' related to RFID are many and varied. Clearly there is work to be done in our industry in terms of rfid education, training and professional certification."

CompTIA is currently working with more than 20 major players in the RFID market, including product manufacturers, distributors, system integrators, education and training providers, and end-user customers, to develop a professional certification of RFID skills for individuals working with the technology.

CompTIA's RFID+T is a vendor neutral certification of RFID skills that addresses the needs of RFID hardware/software manufacturers, value added resellers, training developers, and end-users of the technologies. The certification, scheduled for worldwide availability on 28th March 2006, is intended for technology professionals with 6-24 months of experience in RFID or related technologies. Among the skills the certification exam will test are installation, configuration and maintenance of RFID hardware and device software; site surveys and site analysis; and tag selection, placement and testing.

(Source: CompTIA, Using RFID)