Just like art forms can be taught - a person can learn music notes, learn dance steps and learn visual art techniques - so how to write software code can be taught too.
But what about those highly talented artists who, aside from this formal training, possess a quality that simply cannot be taught or bought. That of natural ability and passion. No matter how much other people are taught how to play music, dance, paint, draw or sculpt, their pieces will never quite be as good as those artists with innate talent.
IT is no different. Anybody can be taught how to write code and can become good developers, but those who have loved maths and science from a young age, who have critical problem-solving minds, and who have a natural affinity for code will most likely be better at it.
Not only does this make for skilled employees, but highly engaged ones too, as generally when someone is good at something, they're passionate about it as well.
This is a quality that ranks highly on prospective employer's checklists. I recently visited a string of Johannesburg-based clients who are all competing in a very demanding marketspace for software developers, and they all asked me for the same thing: passionate developers. They want talented developers who breathe, eat and sleep code.
That's not to say that if a person doesn't have a natural ability they should be excluded. Some arguments suggest that greatness isn't born, it's cultivated. And it's true, sometimes it simply takes the right mentor to reach inside a person, find that latent talent and nurture the passion that goes along with it.
Recruiting the right IT talent is half the battle won, retaining it is the other. In analysing the reasons why developers leave companies, the two most common reasons given are a lack of stimulation in their role and outdated technologies.
If your developers have a passion for what they do, they will want to be constantly challenged in their role. They will also want to work with the latest technologies and as a result, keep building their knowledge bank. Remember, once they stop learning, they start looking.
So when assessing IT candidates, view them holistically, from their experience right down to their personal love for their job. Candidates with great qualifications behind their names sometimes only look good on paper, and fall short in delivering the goods. While the right qualifications are obviously desirable, this shouldn't be the deciding factor in your IT recruitment decisions.
Many great developers do not have degrees. I have personally placed Java candidates with no matric and Java candidates with Master's degrees both within the same organisation. The qualities they had in common? Talent and passion.
