Vina Leite, human resources manager at UNICOM in Woonsocket, said that when she is hiring for low- to mid-level positions she can almost always find suitable applicants within the state or from Massachusetts.
Finding high-level computer technicians and systems engineers, however, creates bigger challenges.
"In recruiting for those positions, I’m being overwhelmed with applications from other states and other countries," she said. "I’m able to find the skill set, but they’re somewhere else."
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Three of UNICOM employees joined the company using the H-1B classification, a special visa available to skilled professionals.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, there are 1,250 foreign skilled workers in Rhode Island who have been granted H-1B classification.
In response to IT industry surveys indicating a need for a more highly skilled work force, more opportunities for Rhode Islanders and less dependence on H-1B workers, Rhode Island Technology Council (RITEC) has proposed a program for the training and retraining of workers in the state. RITEC is awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of Labor for the Technology Partnership Project, a grant that would provide $3 million in source funds to further the training of 750 workers in the state.
As the technology industry and the demand for highly skilled workers grew in the 1990s, so did the cap on H-1B visas, expanding from 65,000 in 1990 – reached for the first time in fiscal year 1997 – to 115,000 for fiscal years 1999 and 2000 and to 107,500 for fiscal year 2001. The American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act, passed by the 106th Congress, temporarily raised the cap to 195,000 for fiscal years 2001 through 2003.
U.S. Department of Labor statistics indicate that 70 percent of workers in Rhode Island on H-1Bs are working in the IT field.
"We don’t look locally, we look globally," said Jack Sommer, executive director of RITEC.
A key component to the plan involves higher standards for colleges, raising students to a skill level that would qualify for mid-level jobs upon graduation. According to RITEC, IT professionals with three to seven years’ experience are in greatest demand. Companies would purchase IT training from colleges and universities by specifying their needs and contracting with institutions through a "request for proposals basis."
Other workers would be trained or retrained to fill the low-level jobs.
Like Leite, Brad Waugh, president and chief executive officer of Watch Hill Partners in Providence, has three employees classified as H-1B. Waugh cited education as the most effective way to eliminate or reduce hiring difficulties for the Ocean State’s IT employers.
"When I was at c.w. Costello in the late 90s we were so desperate for qualified personnel, that we established a ‘boot camp’ for college graduates," he said. "Ron Matchley (president of Bryant College) teamed with CWC to set this camp at Bryant. We needed to do this, because the colleges were behind the proverbial eight ball when it came to training the students in the newest technologies. Today we are seeing a heavy and increasing demand for expertise in XML, Java, Onyx, Siebel and mobile infrastructure. The educational institutions are going to have to stay aware of the business needs as they arise. If they don’t, U.S. businesses will continue to look overseas for the necessary expertise."
Jeff Deckman, president of SyNet Inc. in Warwick, and also the president of the RITEC Board of Directors, agrees.
"Providing funding for – and the creation of – places of learning and the necessary curricula development is crucial," he said. "In addition, these two items must be created by a team of educators and industry members with the industry members defining the need and the educators developing the teaching methods which will allow for the effective transference of knowledge and experiences to the students of real world, current and applicable technologies and skill sets."
Deckman also said industry must commit to being part of the long-term process of work-force development. Likewise, educators must be committed to providing the best students – those that meet the industry’s needs.
"To date this has not happened effectively, although we are getting closer," he said. "Both parties have a long way to go in order to make the necessary paradigm shifts that will result in the creation of a sustainable and productive educational system that provides maximum value to both employee and employer."
