WSJ: Shortage of Skilled Labor, especially IT

[walterbyrd]

You can leave comments on the site.

I wonder if all of these sources are entirely unbiased? Institute for Supply Management, National Federation of Independent Business, LPL Financial, PNC

April 5, 2012

> The Institute for Supply Management-New York said this week that 20% of its members say the shortage of skilled labor is an obstacle to business. On Thursday, the National Federation of Independent Business reported a rising share of small business owners who say they have jobs that are hard to fill.

> John Canally, economist at LPL Financial, wanted to find out where the mismatch was greatest. By looking at the Labor Department‘s job-openings data, he found the need for high-skilled workers was most acute at small and medium-sized businesses in the South.

> A PNC survey found 45% of small and medium sized businesses say their labor requirements are higher than in the recent past. What’s on the wish list? Computer/technical abilities, experience “in the field” and communication skills.

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/04/05/small-medium-sized-businesses-find-jobs-hard-to-fill/

[pitz]

Hmmm, it didn't accept my "Myths and Facts" post yet.  Did it accept your post? 

[walterbyrd]

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pitz wrote:

Hmmm, it didn't accept my "Myths and Facts" post yet.  Did it accept your post? 

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Haven't tried yet.

[bbtr]

I like this comment, although I don't agree with the intent of the post.

>Dave hit the nail on the head. Most of the job listings that I see tend to be asking for people with some really incredible skill sets but want to pay assistant manager at McDonald’s money. One local high profile company for example was looking for an EDI expert to design and implement their b2b interchange system , oversee the integration of their various network transmission protocols and train their personnel in how to use the system. 13 bucks an hour. Yep. That’s not a typo. 13 dollars an hour.

Not sure about the $13/hr rate, but the fact of the matter is that employers are reluctant to hire US workers for routine development work.  By now, it's standard practive for most businesses to offshore IT operations.  There's still a relatively high demand for architects though.

Also, the internet job boards and corporate web sites have enabled every tom, dk, and harry to apply for jobs.  There might actually be a shortage of skilled workers with the required skill set, just based on the sheer number of resumes employers get from unqualified people.

[pitz]

Also, the internet job boards and corporate web sites have enabled every tom, dk, and harry to apply for jobs. There might actually be a shortage of skilled workers with the required skill set, just based on the sheer number of resumes employers get from unqualified people.

I highly doubt this.  People generally do not waste their time applying to jobs they're not qualified for.  Usually when this has happened, the employer hasn't really framed the job correctly in terms of what the job really is, and asks for an insane level of qualifications, most of which are bogus. 

[L1IsTheEnemy]

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pitz wrote:

Also, the internet job boards and corporate web sites have enabled every tom, dk, and harry to apply for jobs. There might actually be a shortage of skilled workers with the required skill set, just based on the sheer number of resumes employers get from unqualified people.

I highly doubt this.  People generally do not waste their time applying to jobs they're not qualified for.  Usually when this has happened, the employer hasn't really framed the job correctly in terms of what the job really is, and asks for an insane level of qualifications, most of which are bogus. 

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Really?? That might be true for the 'middle aged white guy'  brigade who generally don't need to **bleep**. How about all the tens of throusands (yes tens of thousands) of small bdoyshops that flood every single job opening with their laundry list of available  7-11 ..erm  'skilled' workers resumes!

A vital part of the system in the Western world of applying for jobs was that you didn't bother applying if you weren't at least a partial fit for the job. Common sense and ethics.   

[twins.fan]

Thanks Walter!!

hoapres posted:

I just can’t find people that spend 10+ years in college to get a PhD willing to work for 168 hours a week getting paid $300 a week with no benefits. I need to get an H1B.

[walterbyrd]

Notably missing from their list of sources, is anybody representing tech workers. Seems to me their sources are banks, and lobbyists, and the like.

> The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is a lobbying organization with its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee and offices in Washington, D.C. USA, and in all 50 state capitals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Federation_of_Independent_Business

[IAmNumber813]

"How about all the tens of throusands (yes tens of thousands) of small bdoyshops that flood every single job opening with their laundry list of available  7-11 ..erm  'skilled' workers resumes!"

Bingo. Here's a comment that I recently posted on a computerworld.com article on the rampant behavior of Indians in the U.S. and India flooding resume queues of U.S. companies.

"IEEE says L-1 visa not intended for outsourcers"

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225818/IEEE_says_L_1_visa_not_intended_for_outsourcers

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>> The AFL-CIO contends that the L-1 visa "is largely a black box." <<

For many Indians in India, the L-1 and H-1B are one-way tickets to the U.S.

Frequently, whenever a U.S.-based IT job is posted in a technical group on LinkedIn, many Indian citizens located in India are usually the very first ones to reply to the poster by responding with a comment such as "I'm interested in the job, etc." or by responding that they've sent their resumes to the recruiter and/or company. In most cases, the LinkedIn profiles for these Indian citizens located in India indicate that they are currently employed by one of the Indian bodyshops (Tata, Wipro, HCL, Infosys, etc.).

Since these Indians are located in India, the obvious question is why are they applying for American IT jobs based in the U.S.? Its apparent that the Indian bodyshops are improperly using the L-1 and B-1 and other visas to illegally compete for and apply for IT jobs in the U.S. When IT jobs are posted on U.S. internet job boards and LinkedIn, Indians located in India are flooding the companies resume queues and making it more difficult for American IT professionals to be properly considered for employment.

We are long past the point where federal legislation is needed to stop the abuse of L-1, B-1, H-1B and other visas. One stopgap solution would be to require U.S. job boards to block or ignore non-U.S. IP addresses similar to how many Indian job boards block non-India IP addresses (or require that the candidate correctly identify his/her current country location).

U.S. companies essentially want the unfettered ability to hire anybody from anyplace in the world (a.k.a. "globalization") but, in contrast, many companies favor laws and regulations that restrict the ability of people to purchase necessary products (i.e., insurance, drugs, etc.) to companies located in the U.S. and/or their home states (a.k.a. "monopoly").

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Some American IT professionals may not realize the full extent to which Indian nationals and bodyshops are flooding the resume queues of U.S. companies whenever any technology related job is posted on a public internet job board:

- Individual Indian nationals located in the U.S.

- Individual Indian nationals located in India

- Indian bodyshop companies located in the U.S.

- Indian bodyshop companies located in India

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Boycott Companies That Boycott American STEM Professionals

[0xFFFFFFFF]

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pitz wrote:

bbtr wrote:

Also, the internet job boards and corporate web sites have enabled every tom, dk, and harry to apply for jobs. There might actually be a shortage of skilled workers with the required skill set, just based on the sheer number of resumes employers get from unqualified people.

I highly doubt this.  People generally do not waste their time applying to jobs they're not qualified for.  Usually when this has happened, the employer hasn't really framed the job correctly in terms of what the job really is, and asks for an insane level of qualifications, most of which are bogus. 

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I dunno pitz, I'm with bbtr on this one. Most job listings are flooded with resumes of all sorts.  Actually bbtr's point is very strong, that that makes it look like there's a shortage of qualifications, rather than a longage of inappropriate responses.

Of course your point is valid, too, that anything close should be plenty good enough.

Of course my point is always that if the money was there, so would the candidates be.

Finally is the point based on yours, that if companies took a longer view and trained people, there wouldn't be even a hint of a shortage, it's only their short-sighted,greedy attitudes that are on display here.