Offshoring May Be Overblown; IT Shortage Is Too
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There is a good post on TechRepublic reporting on the Society of Information Management's recent IT trends study that makes the case for there possibly being more hype than reality when it comes to offshoring. The basic argument is that as a measure against the total of IT budgets, offshoring is still a minor piece of IT management on an annual basis. These are very good points on offshoring and ones that are likely to heat up as economic pressures continue to press upon what most have categorized as an economy that has affected IT very little up to this point. U.S. government data has suggested as much all year. That seems to be changing with Sun layoffs and just about every tech company from Intel, SAP, EMC and others all revising their numbers for 2008 while lowering their expectations for 2009. I don't think there is anyone now who doesn't think IT will have cuts like every other industry. The question is--how deep will they go? The issue I take with the TechRepublic post, however, has to do with claim that the IT labor shortage is real and not overblown. Baseline did some coverage earlier in 2008 that looked closely at the numbers around the IT labor shortage, and the conclusions were that when looking at the macro level, an IT labor shortage is highly suspect. Academic experts from Duke University and Rochester Institute of Technology called a time out on the facts as wages haven't risen as a result, claims to Congress by Bill Gates and Craig Barrett haven't been scrutinized, and there is a disconnect between hiring recruiters knowledge for IT jobs and candidates real, transferable skills. Read the explanations in the in-depth Baseline article and see how you think about it after. With that said, that doesn't completely end the discussion on specific shortages within technology jobs. When you get in to specific IT shortages the few places that recruiters always pitch us are SAP application experts, SOA/web services, security and IT managers with business adaptability. These are not easy skills to find, necessarily, and I imagine you probably need a good chunk of experience in the technologies underlying application development to begin with (not to mention team management experience). Whether it be issues with H1-B workers and policies, offshoring or technology layoffs, the discussions and scrutiny of technology jobs are likely to increase in 2009. Here are the tech skills in demand in the fourth quarter of 2008 according to Robert Half Technology. Also, be sure and check out this CIO Insight reader's post on why companies aren't willing to train employees enough (and that there is a disconnect between what they say and what they do.) |
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Comments (20)
YOU FLIPPIN THINK???
It's NEVER been about any shortage.
It's NEVER been about the brightest and best.
Its ALWAYS been about the cheapest!
Posted by Mark Reinertson | November 18, 2008 12:45 PM
And, if we say it long enough and loud enough, there is a small chance the Obama administration might hear us and take another look at H1B requests by those companies who have been hard at work driving down compensation and training.
Posted by Lee | November 18, 2008 12:54 PM
Anyone can make a shortage for any job by adding "requirements" that can never be met. This is a common practice when either the job needs to be fast-tracked to a specific individual or make the case for a H1B Visa. It would be an interestuing exercise to gather all of the IT job posts and analyze these for reality like asking for mandatory Java experience of more than 15 years. I am sure you have the resources to do this kind of research. After that we can discuss the real case about IT shortage.
Regards
Posted by Amin Adatia | November 18, 2008 1:55 PM
The Society of Information Management's tactics are anti American worker. They do not serve technology. They are policy and legislative focused only.
Posted by Anonymous | November 18, 2008 2:13 PM
In this downturn of the economy much has been said about illigal emigrants taking jobs from Americans, without thinking that most of those jobs are those that no American would take. Now the field owners go to Mexico, buy land and farm there exporting their goods to America.
What is OUTSOURCING? is not it taking jobs to (illigal emigrants) that don't have to come to america to make money and don't have to pay american taxes, nor spend their income in America, thus helping American economy???
No wonder we are in such a deep...
Posted by F J Aranda | November 18, 2008 2:21 PM
The Society of Information Management's tactics are anti American worker. They do not serve technology. They are policy and legislative focused only.
Posted by Anonymous | November 18, 2008 2:21 PM
Employer: "I am shocked, shocked I say, to discover there IS NO IT shortage!"
Congressman: "Your H1B winnings, er.. visas, Sir..."
Posted by DB | November 18, 2008 2:29 PM
Bill Gates is LYING to congress about a fake IT labor shortage...next you will tell me Bill is lying about Vista being a great product! Gasp.
There is NO LABOR shortage. Even in SAP, there is no shortage. Just technology clueless recruiters nit picking resumes over trivial differences in versions of software or firms feux interviewing Americans to tell INS they cant find an American and need more H1B's.
If Gates is having such a talent shortage, how come Microsoft NEVER recruits at job fairs and doesn't post on Monster, DICE, or TechJObs? It is all a scam to get more H1b's
Posted by Bill Gates Lies | November 18, 2008 2:35 PM
Shortage my ass! If there is an IT personnel shortage in the U.S., it's because there is no commitment from corporate America. Why should anyone invest in a degree in computer science (or any other IT degree for that matter) when, at the first sign of a financial downturn, corporate America threatens IT with outsourcing? If corporate America (Bill Gates for one) makes a commitment to hiring, then the home grown resources will be there.
Posted by Dave B | November 18, 2008 2:39 PM
I have been doing SAP for 12 years, there is no shortage even in SAP. Its just indians hiring indians, so they get the cheapest H1b that they can get and still charge the client the same rates. This consulting companies underbid and then force the H1bs to work extra hours every week on top of the 40 hours for free.
Posted by debug | November 18, 2008 3:15 PM
There NEVER has been a shortage of qualified IT workers, but there IS a shortage of qualified IT workers prepared to work for pennies on the dollar - It's all about money.
Posted by Peter Dixon | November 18, 2008 4:47 PM
Is there anybody that matters listening!!!????
THERE ARE PLENTY OF QULAIFIED AMERICANS OUT OF WORK IN THE USA!!!! I KNOW I AM ONE OF THEM AND HAVE BEEN SINCE 2001!!!
Signed
Overqualified, Underqualified, too old, not current, too current, asking too much $$$, asking too little money (i.e. overqualified!)...wrong 'version'....wrong experience...learned nothing in 25+ years of quality service........etc etc
Get your hands out of the the lobbists pockets CxOs and politicians....!!!
OBAMA are you listening??
FOUR years is a very short time!!!!!
Posted by john | November 18, 2008 5:18 PM
How about companies like Cognizant which have their "home" office in NJ and claim to be american based. In reality some 80% of their workforce is a mix of H1B and offshore. Kick them out and tax the hell out of them.
Hopefully the Obama administration will back up their words with actions. Penalize the Offshoring companies and the companies who use the offshoring companies.
Posted by John | November 18, 2008 5:52 PM
I like the comments above, your story is actually true this time. What planet your writers are on most of the time is up for debate.
Posted by Lab Mouse | November 18, 2008 6:29 PM
Just the other week in a local newspaper in the Northern Virginia Technology coridor, there was an article about a technology company was fined by the federal government for paying it's off-shore employees a lower wage than it's American counterparts. Basically, they off-shored a bunch of jobs, paid them less then the american jobs they replaced and now they got caught..Now they have to pay a multi-hundred-million dollar fine.
I wonder how many of these companies actually get caught?
Ed
web/gadget guru
Posted by Ed | November 18, 2008 7:33 PM
Sure seems like most posts have said it all. Shortage? NOT!
Posted by cristaldi | November 18, 2008 9:13 PM
I've got 21+ years programming experience in intel, z80 and 6502 assembler, C, C++ and C#. I'm doubly certified by Microsoft (MCSD and MCSE) and I have been out of work since I was layed off in February. If there's an IT shortage, I'd be glad to have one of those empty spots!
-M
Posted by Mike | November 18, 2008 9:56 PM
Don't just sit around and whine, do something constructive to help you and your fellow American IT workers!
Email Senator Dick Durbin or Senator Chuck Grassley regarding S.1035, The H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007.
This legislation would overhaul the H-1B and L-1 visa programs to give priority to American workers and crack down on unscrupulous employers who deprive qualified Americans of high-skill jobs. See http://tinyurl.com/durbin-h1b-fraud for more info.
Sen. Grassley sent a letter to the head of Customs and Immigration Services in October, as a response to the H1-B fraud and abuse the CIS reported. Check http://tinyurl.com/grassley-h1b-fraud for more info.
L-1 visas are just as evil as H1-B visas!
Posted by Siege | November 18, 2008 10:00 PM
No shortage of IT folks - next you'll be telling us it is cold in winter. Of COURSE there is no shortage.
The H1-B issue is a scam - everybody involved in IT knows that. But the top people at the large companies keep up the charade as a way of getting cheap workers into their companies.
Posted by EllenO | November 18, 2008 10:19 PM
It goes back to the need to organize and the IT worker mindset. In 2000 before the dotcom bubble burst, IT workers for IBM were that close to organzing the first IT union, but the thinking that a better job was just a hop, skip, jump away prevailed. After the bubble burst they decided to organize (good timing!) and IBM shot them down. So revisiting this debacle and hopefully learning a lesson, an organized strike would be the best message to get to the greedy CIO that thinks they can offshore at the drop of a hat and send the needed hardball message to Bill Gates and Co.
Posted by ipsofacto | November 20, 2008 1:24 PM