Novell Skills Gap Analysis Empowers IT Planners

• New performance improvement tool enables businesses to strategically forecast training and IT staffing requirements to meet demands of the one Net economy

PROVO, Ut — Nov. 7, 2000 — Novell, the leading provider of Net services software, is pleased to announce availability of the Skills Gap Analysis to all customers worldwide. The Skills Gap Analysis enables customers to accelerate their ability to support their eBusiness initiatives, reduce time to competency on the job and speed the adoption of Novell's Net Services for customers and partners. Available immediately through Novell Education, the Skills Gap Analysis is a performance improvement consulting engagement that assists customers in charting a training and education strategy utilizing proven assessment and reporting methodologies. Novell's Skills Gap Analysis provides customers with the following benefits:

• Focuses training dollars on mission critical needs of diverse customer technical environments.
• Increases retention of highly skilled technical staff - major issue in the "war for talent".
• Aligns management and staff expectations to accelerate drive to corporate objectives.
• Improves return on investment (ROI) by maximizing worker performance related to Net Services.

With an estimated 800,000 high tech jobs going unfilled this year in the U.S. alone, the need for skills planning has never been higher. Evaluating the impact of new and convergent technologies on people and processes within an organization is critical for companies, governments and schools of all sizes. Novell's Skills Gap Analysis is a systematic approach to improve productivity and competence.

"Novell's Skills Gap Analysis has evolved from the increasing complexity of our customers diverse systems and skills requirements," said Debbie Maucieri, vice president of Novell Education. "Our goal is to simplify the process required to harness the power of Novell Net Services software. This in turn helps our customers achieve their objectives."

Novell Education's Performance Improvement Consultants work individually with the client's management team, technical staff and cross functional staff members to determine business goals and what training and education services are required to meet those goals.

Findings are documented as part of the Skills Gap Analysis and a written report of recommendations is included. Novell Education and its worldwide partners can be contracted to develop a customized training plan and programs for an organization.

For more information about Novell Education and the Skills Gap Analysis go to www.novell.com/education or call 1-1800 IT Education.