Soap Box: Labor Shortage Calls for Creative Solutions

TWO DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS in the U.S. workforce are converging to create a perfect storm for employers in the coming years.

First, the U.S. workforce is aging. By 2010 nearly one in three American workers will be over the age of 50.

Second, more than 21 million new jobs are expected to be created in the U.S. economy in the same time frame, but just 17 million new workers will enter the workforce. Labor shortages are projected in a growing number of sectors of the economy, including information technology (IT) and communications.

Jobs in the computing and communications technology account for five of the 20 fastest growing occupations in the next seven years. No less that 10 of the fastest growing occupations will rely almost entirely on the integration of IT into the work process.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that demand for IT professionals will grow by nearly 50 percent by 2012, with more than 1.5 million new computer and IT-related job openings. But the United States will have only half that many qualified graduates due to the declining number of students enrolling in math and science courses.

Competition for talent will increase significantly in the next five to 10 years. Not only will company be competing against company for the dwindling pool of workers; but so will industry versus industry, small business versus large enterprise, and region versus region. Added to the mix are foreign-based companies looking for U.S. workers to staff American operations.

Many companies are already faced with critical shortages of technically proficient, business-savvy workers for key roles ranging from leadership to sales to certain technical and professional disciplines and many skilled trades. As the relative proportion of younger workers declines, attracting and retaining experienced and reliable workers must become a core business strategy for all employers, regardless of size or type of business.

IT employers will have to make accommodations to address the shortage of workers by implementing new strategies and practices. One such accommodation should be to look beyond traditional pools of talent in the hope of attracting new groups into the IT industry.

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), and a dozen leading organizations in the IT industry and the training and education markets, are collaborating to open employment doors in our industry for populations that historically have been underrepresented.

The program is called Creating Futures. Its mission is to help individuals secure the education, training and professional certifications they need as initial stepping stones on the path to rewarding careers in technology. Creating Futures helps individuals overcome barriers to employment by providing training, certification and job placement assistance — all free of charge to participants.

Creating Futures is targeted at increasing the size, quality and diversity of the IT industry’s work force by providing career opportunities to four demographic groups: veterans transitioning out of the military, individuals with disabilities, at-risk youth and dislocated workers. The program works with employers to identify their hiring needs, then tailors education and training programs to help individuals obtain the skills employers are looking for.

In March, Creating Futures launched a pilot program in Jacksonville, Fla., to help transitioning service members prepare for their post-military careers. The program includes the following six steps: assessing an individual’s skills level, offering a scholarship, providing training, providing certification testing, securing an internship and helping individuals find full-time employment.

The pilot includes classroom education and hands-on training to prepare candidates to obtain CompTIA A+ certification. CompTIA A+ is the IT industry’s de facto standard credential for entry into a career in technology; and is recognized throughout the industry and around the world as validation of an individual’s foundation-level IT skills.

To date, about two dozen individuals have completed the program in Jacksonville and another 70 are currently enrolled. The goal is to expand the Jacksonville program to train 200 or more transitioning military personnel per year and to duplicate the program in other cities with large military presences.

A second pilot program is under way in Cleveland, and is aimed at providing the same services to at-risk youth.

Through the wonders of technology, our world is constantly changing, and that change is happening faster than ever before. People are at the heart of these rapid changes; people who need to learn new skills and to be prepared for their next work assignment. That’s what Creating Futures is all about — helping people become successful contributors to our industry and to society.

Financial support, materials and expertise for Creating Futures is coming from organizations such as Element K, Giant Campus, Global Mentoring Solutions, Hewlett-Packard, MeasureUp, New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Jacksonville, Fla., Pearson VUE, Prometric, Ricoh Americas Corp., Service 800, Technology Training and Services Corp., and TechSkills.

As industry support grows, Creating Futures will expand its presence further into the United States. I strongly encourage others in our industry to investigate the potential that Creating Futures has to offer. It’s a solid investment that will make a direct impact on someone’s life and build a better future for our industry as a whole.

Clarification

As stated in the story, “Vocio Tailors TEM for SMBs,” in the September issue of PHONE+, the company’s V-Vision product does indeed cater to small and medium companies, but it is companies with $25,000 to $500,000 in monthly telecom spend, not annual telecom spend. PHONE+ regrets the error.