councilor.org
| Source | D. Ohmans |
| Date | 99/05/01/02:19 |
| /* Written 5:39 AM Mar 17, 1998 by jshell@netcom.com in igc:labr.all */ /* ---------- "Tec Bosses Close Doors To Older Wor" ---------- */ > From owner-labor-tech@igc.org Fri Mar 13 12:03:27 1998 > Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 11:54:25 -0800 (PST) > From: Institute for Global Communications > Subject: Tec Bosses Close Doors To Older Work > > Certainly the labor market is tight. > Unemployment among computer scientists > and programmers has dipped below 2 > percent. > > But Peterson's story and those of > other unemployed programmers suggest > that there's more going on in > America's high-tech labor market than > a simple shortage of computer experts. > > Critics say other factors behind > high-tech's hiring crunch include: > > -- Subtle age bias against older > workers like Peterson. > > -- Rigid hiring practices that > eliminate some potentially good > workers. > > -- An industry that changes rapidly, > but has no organized strategy for > retraining its longtime workers. > > -- Workers who don't take the > initiative themselves in getting the > new skills they need. > > ``High-tech companies want the right > person with the right skills, who can > go from from 0 to 60 miles per hour in > 0 seconds flat,'' said Chris Benner of > Working Partnerships, a nonprofit > group affiliated with the South Bay > Labor Council in San Jose. > > ``They all want young people right out > of college who will give their lives > to whatever project they're working > on, putting in 70 or 80 hours a > week,'' he said. ``But this raises big > questions for older people. If they > don't make a fortune in their first 10 > or 15 years, where do they go?'' > > HIRING CRUNCH > > During the past two weeks, high-tech > industry leaders have told Congress > that they face a potentially > devastating labor shortage. They've > asked lawmakers to raise or eliminate > the cap on temporary work visas, which > currently allows 65,000 workers into > the United States each year. T.J. > Rodgers, chief executive of Cypress > Semiconductor in San Jose, said his > firm's situation is typical. > > ``We currently have 17 projects that > aren't launched because I don't have > the engineers to run them,'' Rodgers > said. > > He said this engineering shortage > limits overall job growth because > every engineer he puts to work creates > five additional jobs in manufacturing, > sales and administration. ``I'm not > trying to say the sky is falling,'' > Rodgers said. ``But there will be > fewer native-born Americans employed > one or two years from now if we do not > raise the number of skilled engineers > we can bring into the country.'' > > All sides in this debate agree on one > thing. The number of skilled computer > jobs in America is growing by leaps > and bounds -- from 1.5 million in 1996 > to an estimated 2.6 million in 2006. > > There's also no dispute that companies > are fighting each other tooth and nail > to get the people they want. > > ``Most applicants get two, three or > four job offers,'' said Roger King, a > recruiter with TechSearch in > Sausalito. ``Some applicants don't > even last a week (before they're hired > by someone else).'' > > The problem isn't a scarcity of > candidates. > > Yahoo, which adds several technical > people a month, gets hundreds of > resumes a week. Cisco Systems, with > 700 job openings worldwide, gets 2,500 > resumes a week. > > Managers say their problem is finding > qualified candidates -- people with > cutting-edge skills in the latest > technology. > > ``We get thousands of resumes a week, > and most of the people are just not > qualified,'' said Kenneth Alvares, > vice president for human resources at > Sun Microsystems. ``I'd say just 2 > percent of the jobs we fill are filled > from resumes. Most of the jobs in our > company are filled by referrals from > other employees.'' > > Companies say they can't take time to > train prospective employees because > technology moves too fast. > > ``Our product shelf life is less than > a year,'' said Alvares. ``We need > people in some jobs who are the > epitome of the state of the art.'' > > TOO SELECTIVE? > > However, critics say that companies > are sometimes too selective. Norman > Matloff, a computer science professor > at the University of California at > Davis, slams the computer industry for > refusing to hire older programmers who > just need to add a new skill or two. > Some longtime programmers agree. > ``Around Christmas, I applied for a > job that had a list of 15 > requirements,'' said Bob Searles, 55, > a San Jose expert in computer-assisted > design technology who has attended six > job fairs and mailed out 500 resumes > since being laid off last September. > > ``I passed 13 of the requirements very > favorably. There were just two I > didn't have, but I understood exactly > what they were looking for. I could > have gotten up to speed in a month.'' > > Matloff claims that high-tech firms > refuse to hire older programmers > because they cost more than foreign > workers or recent college graduates -- > a charge that high-tech executives > deny. > > CLAIMS OF BIAS > > Other critics say the industry has a > cultural bias against older workers -- > which in the young atmosphere of > Silicon Valley can mean anyone over > 40. ``Startups aren't interested in > older people, partly because of the > skill set but also because they're > thinking, `This is some old guy who is > set in his ways and won't think out of > the box,' '' said C.D. Rowsell, 47, a > longtime programmer and project > manager who currently is looking for > work. > > Bill McClaren, 51, believes that he > ran into age discrimination during an > interview last summer. ``As soon as > the interviewer saw me and realized I > wasn't 25 or 30, I saw this look on > his face,'' said McClaren, an Oakland > resident who has completed a 90- day > class with the Bay Area Video > Coalition aimed at retraining older > workers for high-tech jobs. ``It said, > `You can't work for me. You're too old > to be at the cutting edge.' '' > > Meanwhile, David Gilliss, 51, says he > gets a better response from potential > employers when he masks his age. > > ``I have better luck when I only put > jobs from 1980 onward on my resume,'' > said Gilliss, an unemployed high-tech > manufacturing manager from Sunnyvale. > ``Before I started doing that, one guy > even looked at my resume and said, > `Boy, you've had a lot of jobs.' '' > High-tech industry officials deny any > bias against older workers. > > They say any roadblocks lie with the > the skills and attitudes of older job > seekers. > > ``It doesn't have to do with age. It > has to do with the skill set,'' said > Jim Colby, regional human resources > director for Sony Electronics in San > Jose. ``If you're in your 30s and you > have a skill set from the 1970s that > you haven't upgraded, you'll be in as > much trouble as if you were in your > 60s or 70s.'' > > Some company officials acknowledge > that there are problems with the > hiring procedures of many Silicon > Valley firms. > > Recruiters sometimes don't understand > technology or the actual skills needed > for tech jobs. > > Software programs sort resumes by > searching for key buzzwords -- > ignoring the possibility that a C++ > programmer could easily learn Java. > ``The biggest mistake is made when > people read resumes and they screen > people out rather than screening > people in,'' said Ken Perluss, > technical recruiter for Yahoo. ``And > the screening (software) programs > really help them do that.'' > > OLDER SUCCESSES > > Of course, some older people do land > high-tech jobs, and their experience > provides lessons to others who might > want to try. Dan Jones was pushing 50 > two summers ago when he put 15 years > of mainframe computing behind him and > worked his way into San Francisco's > youthful Multimedia Gulch. He recalled > his first job interview. ``It was an > intimidating experience,'' Jones said. > ``I walked up the stairs, saw that > room full of twentysomethings, and > turned around and walked out.'' But he > eventually landed a consulting job > that ultimately led to his current > position as a vice president at > Novo/Ironlight, an Internet > advertising agency in San Francisco. > > ``I'm afraid too often people my age > want to get by on skills they learned > 15 years ago,'' Jones said. ``That > doesn't work. You have to keep the > skills updated.'' > > INDUSTRY'S ROLE > > The standard mantra in high-tech > circles is that it's up to individuals > to keep their skills current. > > But some observers suggest companies > should play a bigger role in > retraining older workers -- as a way > to ease the hiring crunch without > importing thousands of extra foreign > programmers. > > ``I support temporary work visas to > bring in the really top people, but > not the kinds of people who could be > trained in nine to 12 months,'' said > Robert Lerman, an economist at > American University and researcher at > the Urban Institute in Washington, > D.C. > > Some high-tech leaders concede the > industry hasn't made an organized > effort to retrain older workers or > develop a workforce with the skills > they need. > > Harris Miller, president of the > Information Technology Association of > America, compared high-tech to the > National Football League. > > ``The NFL relies on the colleges and > universities to fill their ranks, and > our industry has been like that,'' he > said. > > Miller said that today's hiring crunch > is making firms think about new ways > to develop talent. For example, the > Massachusetts Software Council has had > a 93 percent success rate at > retraining 40- to 60-year-olds for > software industry jobs. > > But such efforts are only in the > formative stages. In the meantime, > companies continue battling to hire > workers with cutting- edge skills -- > while less-desirable workers struggle > just to get interviewed. ``I've gone > so far as to offer to work for free to > get up to speed,'' said Peterson, the > engineer working at Radio Shack. > ``There hasn't even been interest in > that.'' > > Gilliss, the manufacturing manager, > observed, ``Everything you read in the > news says the economy is great and > unemployment is 3 percent. > > ``Well, it's 100 percent in my > house.'' > --------------------------------------- > > BC: > THE COMPUTER SCIENCE WORKFORCE > > -- Where do new computer scientists and programmers > come from? > 1987 > Computer science graduates 67% > Foreign workers 6% > Other 27% > . > 1996 > Computer science graduates 37% > Foreign workers 11% > Other 52% > . > Note: "Graduates" includes bachelor's and master's > degrees and Ph.D.s in computer science. "Other" > includes two-year college graduates; trade > school graduates; people with degrees in subjects such > as electrical > engineering or math who go into the computer field; and people > who are self-taught or who learn programming skills on the job. > Sources: National Software Alliance; U.S. Bureau of Labor > Statistics > . > High-tech unemployment > Systems analysts 1.1% > Programmers 1.6% > Natl. average > (all occupations) 4.9% > . > High-tech median income > Systems analysts $918 > Programmers $840 > Natl. average > (all occupations) $503 |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho