Communications of the ACM
How to Save .s. It Jobs
Responding to recent activity in Washington, where Congress has been considering H-1B and L-1 visa reform measures, a number of technology industry leaders weigh in with their own plans for saving U.S. IT jobs. The plans vary on the scale and scope of government intervention, depending on the extent to which the IT leaders view Congress's recent efforts to curb offshore outsourcing as a form of political posturing meant to appeal to the protectionist lobby. In interviews with CIO.com, leading academics and analysts, consultants and IT services executives weigh in on what the federal government ought to do to help create IT jobs and maintain U.S. competitiveness in the global technology market.
The U.S. government can play an important role in saving IT jobs. For example, Congress can make the domestic workforce priority number one by acting to reduce business taxes and cultivate the available domestic workforce first. Congress can approach H-1B as a temporary fix to cyclical shortages, rather than a long-term supply of preferred workers who are tied to their employer. Federal funds can be used to address the supply side of the problem by encourage more U.S. college students graduating in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) areas. In addition, given the federal government's purchasing power as the largest customer of IT services in the country, it can require its suppliers to meet certain onshore U.S.-citizen hiring requirements.
The current free market system in the United States should be used to improve the competitiveness of American business as a whole. The federal government should invest heavily in math and science education, especially at the elementary through secondary school levels, to expand the skills sets needed to run the IT operations of tomorrow. It also needs to put in place programs that continue to attract the world's smartest people to America and keep them here. Finally, the government needs to provide incentives for businesses to hire workers. Education policy should align skills development with business requirements, providing training incentives to those providing IT services.
From CIO.com
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