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IT Worker Shortage, 1998

Immigration

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Colleges not training enough workers to fill jobs, say tech firms Aug 13, 1998, Seattle Times "Washington state's higher-education system is failing to produce enough people to program, design or run computer systems, according to educators and industry officials....What irritates local information-technology companies is that there is no lack of people who want to work in these businesses. There just aren't enough classes available to provide the skills that potential workers need."
Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage by Prof. Norman Matloff, UC Davis. "'Vaporware.' That is the term used in the software industry when a firm announces a new product which actually does not exist. Extending the term a bit, one can say that the industry's latest vaporware is the claim of a desperate software labor shortage. The fact is that there is no such shortage."
Now Hiring! If You're Young Norman Matloff, New York Times Op-Ed, January 26, 1998. "The real story here is more profound: the rampant age discrimination in the industry. High-tech companies save money by shunning most midcareer programmers and focusing their hiring on new or recent college graduates, who are cheaper and can work lots of overtime."
The Labor Market for Information Technology Workers Testimony before the Subcommittee on Immigration Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate, Dr. Robert I. Lerman, Director, Human Resources Policy enter, Urban Institute and Professor of Economics, American University, February 25, 1998.
The IT Labor Shortage: Fact or Fiction? By Richard Ellis, Dr. Dobbs Journal, April, 2000. "A hard look at the factors contributing to the so-called high-tech labor shortage"
'Cheep' Labor by Mike McGraw, Mother Jones Interactive: "Programs place Americans low in the pecking order"
How and Why Government, Universities, and Industry Create Domestic Labor Shortages of Scientists and High-Tech Workers by Eric Weinstein, Project on the Economics of Advanced Training, Harvard University / National Bureau for Economic Research. Working Draft.
Hiring From Within Mother Jones, July/August, 1998. "High rates of legal immigration provide cheap, nonunion labor for big business, a steady stream of domestic servants for the overclass, and lower wages for American workers. So why do so many liberals support them? Michael Lind makes a provocative case for immigration reform."
Study: Immigrants Boon for Tech by Joanna Glasner, Wired News, July 2, 1999. "New research showing that about a quarter of Silicon Valley technology companies are headed by immigrants may add oomph to the industry's efforts to raise the immigration cap for foreign technology workers."
National IT Worker Shortage Convocation Launches Quest for Systematic Solutions ITAA press release.
Are tech workers in short supply? CNet News, September 28, 2000. "It is common for companies across America to complain about a shortage of information technology workers. The reality, however, is that there is no widespread lack of workers, but a shortfall in the ability of companies to recruit IT employees, to assess their talent and to make their jobs rewarding enough to keep them from quitting, claims a study by Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli."
Congress Debates Tech Visas by Lakshmi Chaudhry and Declan McCullagh, Wired News, August 6, 1999. "The top lobbyist for the AFL-CIO told Congress on Thursday there's no need to let additional workers into the country -- no matter what Silicon Valley firms say about a worker shortage. 'It is premature to even consider another increase in the number of H-1B visas,' Smith told a House Immigration subcommittee."
Is There a Shortage of High-Tech Workers? "When it comes to providing graduate education for engineers and creating a competitive and growing high-tech sector, the United States is the envy of the world. Now we hear that the future of our high-tech industries depends upon the hiring of foreign engineers and scientists. Do we, in fact, have a shortage of engineers and scientists?"
H.R. 3273 - A proposal to write into law that there is a shortage of IT professionals This bill, introduced by Representative Moran of Virginia on February 25, 1998 is one of five bills in the range H.R. 3270 to H.R. 3274 that benefit employers. H.R. 3273 is a model of indirectness, since the effects of the proposed legislation are not disclosed. Please refer to the "Permanent Labor Certification" link for clarification. It is similar to the 1976 Eilberg Amendment, described in the Pandora Project link.
U.S. Department of Labor - Foreign Labor Certifications The U.S. Department of Labor has been given the task of implementing a system to permit immigration of workers to the U.S. while protecting U.S. worker's wages and working conditions. Refer to the link provided under the heading "Permanent Labor Certification" - Part 656, Subpart A to see a clear and concise description of the purpose and scope of Part 656. Use this material to understand the proposed legislation H.R. 3273 and S.798.
High-Tech Melting Pot by Monica Mehta, Mother Jones, August 4, 1998. "Silicon Valley's foreign professionals assimilate with a smile, and a little 'intercultural training.'"
H-1B visa count drops sharply in February CNET News.com, March 20, 2001. "The number of H-1B visas requested during the month of February fell sharply compared with earlier months, suggesting the downturn in the U.S. economy may be affecting the demand for foreign workers."
Tech's Major Decline College Students Turning Away From Bits and Bytes, by Ellen McCarthy, Washington Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2002, Page E01. "The tech industry's financial problems are enough to bankrupt the dreams of some fair-weather students. But now there's another consequence of the tech bust: Enrollment growth in undergraduate computer science departments has come to a halt."
Arthur Hu's Pro-Immigration Answer Page A lengthy rebuttal to Norm Matloff's arguments.
Has demand for foreign workers fallen? CNET News.com, March 16, 2001. "The Immigration and Naturalization Service will tell Congress on Monday how many H-1B visas have been issued this fiscal year--shedding light on whether the economic downturn has reduced the once red-hot demand for foreign workers."
Huddled Masses Yearning to Write Java By Karl Schoenberger, The Industry Standard, May 1, 2000. "With unusual bipartisan consensus, Congress and Clinton are expected this month to approve a bill that would ease limits on the immigration of high-tech workers. But many charge that the U.S. labor shortage is a fiction exploited by business to the detriment of American programmers."
Hill pushes tech firms toward education CNET News.com, March 19, 2001. "Congress believes that too many high-tech visas have been issued and expects the private sector to do something about it."
Visa Compromise Reached "Congress has reached a compromise that would allow the high-tech industry to import nearly twice as many foreign programmers and engineers over the next three years. The compromise, announced Friday, would force companies crying worker shortage to swear that they didn't lay off an American worker simply to hire a foreign worker, and attest that they will not funnel skilled immigrants to other firms that use them to replace laid-off workers."
The Supply of Information Technology Workers in the United States A study from the Computing Research Association "to improve the understanding of the supply of and demand for information technology (IT) workers in the United States, and the surrounding contextual issues." Contains many sensible recommendations.
Brain drain by Sarita Sarvate, Salon, January 10, 2000. "A bill that would give visas to high-tech foreign students will exploit the greatest minds of the third world for the sake of American industry."
What IT Labor What IT Labor Shortage? Redefining the IT in by Catherine Beise and Martha Myers, Ubiquity, April 11, 2000.
American Engineering Association Link includes information on immigration, trade and a few other items with several related links listed.
New H-1B Bill FAQ A brief overview of the current (September 2000) H1-B bill before Congress.
Clinton Outlines High-Tech Worker Visa Goals New York Times, May 12, 2000. "Racing to keep up with a booming economy, President Clinton on Thursday proposed an increase of more than 85 percent in the number of skilled foreign workers who could be admitted to the United States to fill job openings in high-technology industries."
Debate over Scarcity and Skills of IT Workers Knowledge@Emory, August, 2002. "Software coder Soujanya Dasigi has a hard time believing the latest report on the technology job market from the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). According to the trade groups May study, 'Bouncing Back: Jobs, Skills and the Continuing Demand for IT Workers,' U.S. companies will be short nearly 600,000 qualified IT professionals over the next 12 months. Dasigi lost her job at software firm Compuware in April 2001, and has fruitlessly applied to between 200 and 250 jobs since then. To the San Jose, Calif. resident, life in the IT trenches and often-grim economic news suggest the ITAA is way off base."
Foreign Worker Debate Heats Up by Lakshmi Chaudhry, Wired News, May 15, 2000. "Some industry players are asking Congress to give foreign workers green cards instead of increasing the number of employment visas, but immigration advocates aren't cheering."
Congress Backs Big Increase in Visas for Skilled Workers New York Times, October 4, 2000. "Congress today passed a bill to increase significantly the number of visas for educated foreigners who temporarily fill specialized American jobs, largely in the high-technology industry. Rapid approval by President Clinton appears virtually certain."
Report Indicates Decrease in High-Tech Degrees by Pamela Mendels, New York Times, May 5, 1999.

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IT Worker Shortage, 1998