Thread: Media campaign to increase H-1B

From Rob Sanchez' Job Destruction Newsletter:


<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1769 -- 10/09/2007 >>>>>

A dreadful article has been published on Informationweek. It's not the only
bad article to appear in the media lately; in fact people are sending me
stuff as fast as I can read them, and they are all bad. It's all part of
the fall campaign the get an H-1B increase, and of course the mainstream
media always plays the party line.

I'll probably send out another newsletter soon with a collection of the
stinkers. In the meantime read this one.

One positive thing I can say about the author of this article is that he
does read comments and has even replied to some of them. I left a couple
with my opinions under the pseudonym "RobSanz".

Speaking of a fall campaign to raise H-1B -- all of that and much, much
more is in HR 750. This Thursday they are having a hearing on it. At this
time they still haven't given a witness list, but it's probably a fair bet
that Roy Beck or Tom Tancredo won't be invited.

http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings.aspx?ID=183

Thursday 10/11/2007 - 10:00 AM
2237 Rayburn House Office Building
Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and
International Law
Hearing on H.R. 750, the "Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of
2007"
By Direction of the Chairman


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +

http://www.informationweek.com/story/sh ... =202300143

Down To Business: Worried About IT Talent Shortage? Do Something About It

Employers must work more closely with universities, invest more in
training, and take a chance on workers they deem overqualified or over the
hill.

By Rob Preston, InformationWeek
Oct. 6, 2007
URL:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/sh ... =202300143

For those of you still convinced that the IT talent shortage is a vast
conspiracy to depress salaries and control the tech-literate population,
consider the most recent evidence. For the first time in 10 Society for
Information Management surveys, the group's executive members cite an HR
issue--attracting, developing, and retaining tech talent--as their No. 1
concern.

No, those 130 CIOs and other business technology execs from 112 companies
didn't assemble around a mahogany conference table and coordinate their
responses. They're not attending SIM summits on how to keep the proletariat
down. They're worried. Worried that their baby boomer employees are
retiring and they don't have a deep enough bench. Worried that the nation's
universities aren't turning out enough tech graduates to fill the void, and
that the grads who do enter the market don't have the business acumen they
need.

And if they're worth their executive titles and salaries, they're worried
that they haven't done nearly enough to head off the situation they now
find themselves in.

Many tech workers, drawing mostly on anecdotes and creative interpretations
of the employment numbers and other research, claim that there's no talent
shortage, looming or otherwise. But the stats and surveys don't lie.

The unemployment rate for IT occupations fell to an all-time low of 2% in
the most recent quarter, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and
demographic data shows that more tech pros will retire from U.S. companies
over the next decade than can be hired domestically, even taking into
account foreign workers imported under H-1B and other visas.

Meantime, U.S. tech pros as a whole are more confident of their prospects
than workers in other sectors, according to a survey released last week by
staffing firm Hudson. Why the confidence? Tim Bosse, Hudson's executive VP,
attributes it to strong demand for tech talent, particularly for software
architects, business analysts, project managers, and Web developers.

Another indication that the tech labor pool is shallower than the general
one comes from a Conference Board CEO survey released last week. While the
SIM survey finds CIOs worried about attracting and keeping good people, the
Conference Board survey indicates that CEOs aren't nearly so troubled by
personnel issues. "Finding qualified managerial talent" is only the No. 6
concern cited by the 409 U.S. CEOs surveyed, followed by "top management
succession." (Finding qualified managerial talent is the No. 1 concern
among Asian company CEOs, however.)

Of course, plenty of IT pros, especially older ones, are having trouble
finding decent jobs. Many of them have stopped looking and are switching
careers, one reason the tech unemployment numbers, which measure only
active job seekers, are so low.

It is here where CIOs and other tech employers must step up. As a
whole--though with many admirable exceptions--they're not working closely
enough with universities to groom young people and establish a base of
skills; they're not investing enough in training and career development;
they're not taking a chance on workers they deem overqualified or over the
hill. And in certain high-profile cases, by their cavalier offshoring of
key tech groups and positions, they're signaling a bleak future for the
domestic profession.

If you're on the short end of the IT employment stick, forget about
returning to the halcyon days of yesteryear. Globalization is one trend
that's here to stay. But CIOs and other employers also have a
responsibility to think differently--about how they hire, who they hire,
where they hire, and how they treat and cultivate their people.

As a manager, if you're worried about the job market, try doing something
about it. You're not just a passive player.

Rob Preston,
VP/Editor In Chief rpreston@cmp.com

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Re:

they're not taking a chance on workers they deem overqualified or over the hill. And in certain high-profile cases, by their cavalier offshoring of key tech groups and positions, they're signaling a bleak future for the domestic profession

1. "workers they deem 'over the hill' - hmmm, sounds a bit like age discrimination to me. And, as we all know, discrimination based on age is expressly forbidden according to the US EEOC.

2. "signaling a bleak future for the domestic profession"... well, yeah - Duh! While they whittle down the compensation, job security, work conditions of IT professionals, 'they', in their infinite wisdom, wonder..." why can't we find the IT people [we claim] we need?" again - Duh!
Maybe most younger college-aged people are smart enough to see the handwriting on the wall, and will happily opt for a career which offers better pay and treatment - and probably can be done with 1 year less of university time as well...