Monday, February 14, 2000 - Tightness in High-Tech Labor Market
By BRADLEY BROOKS Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) -Oliver Sharp constantly worries about where he'll find his next hire. As the chief technology officer of iTurf.com, which is set to launch a Web portal aimed at teens and their spending power, Sharp is obsessed with finding qualified high-tech workers in the tightest of tight labor markets. ``When I came to iTurf, nothing mattered except assembling a team,'' Sharp said. ``It was an absolute occupation of mine and it remains one today.''
The issue faced by Sharp and others like him has raised enough concerns to get the ear of Congress. Nineteen senators co-sponsored a bill introduced Wednesday to increase the number of H-1B visas - six-year, temporary visas granted to foreigners with college degrees - to 195,000 for the next three years.
Congress has already increased the number of H-1B visas from 65,000 in fiscal 1998 to 115,000 annually for both 1999 and 2000. But many in the industry say the H-1B visa doesn't go far enough to help the technology industry, as the H-1B visa is available for all ``professionals,'' from lawyers to physical therapists to fashion models. About half of all H-1B visa requests for 1999 came from outside the technology industry, according to the Labor Department. For that reason, Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va., introduced the HITEC Act in late September that would create an entirely new class of visa - the ``T'' visa - just for foreign technology workers. It is now before the Judiciary Committee. ``The U.S. pushed globalization, but somewhere along the line the trade advocates forgot to tell immigration,'' said Paul O'Malley, a New York attorney specializing in immigration. ``This industry changes much faster than the legal parameters for visas or green cards.'' For instance, in fiscal year 1999 ending Sept. 30, the quota for the H-1B visa was reached by mid-June, and O'Malley fears it will be reached much sooner this year. Those opposed to allowing more foreign workers into the United States say high-tech companies simply want to take advantage of less-costly foreign workers, perhaps only hiring them temporarily.
Immigrants come to the United States, said Paul Donnelly, with the Immigration Reform Coalition, because they want to be permanent residents. Yet high tech companies have no intentions of sponsoring them for green cards - which would give them more freedom to move to a different job. O'Malley said the temporary hiring charge is right, that technology companies often work on a project-by-project basis, and resistance to that is an example of an antiquated notion of how the industry works.
The T visa legislation addresses the allegation that technology companies are seeking foreign workers at lower wages by requiring that a job offer a salary of at least $60,000. Workers would be required to hold a master's or doctoral degree in mathematics, science, engineering or computer science from a U.S. university. Businesses would pay $1,000 for each T visa, which would be good for five years, and $500 for a five-year extension.
Despite disagreement over the solution, most parties at least agree that there is a problem finding technology workers. A report released by the Office of Technology Policy within the Department of Commerce indicates symptoms of a tight technology labor market exist: low unemployment, high salaries, and an expanding market. The Computing Technology Industry Association, an industry trade group, claims that the United States needs some 268,000 high tech workers - a problem it says costs U.S. businesses $4.5 billion a year in lost productivity.
But even the addition of the T visa or an increase in H-1B visas might not allow enough skilled workers in. The Commerce report notes that roughly 32 percent of core technology workers don't have a four-year college degree. In addition, many high-tech workers who have a degree got it in a subject other than that required by the T visa legislation.
Take the case of Ehud Lavski of Tel Aviv, Israel, who would like to work in the United States. At 25, he has seven years experience in new media work, giving him veteran-status in the industry. He's designed several CD-ROMs. He did a stint with a multimedia company. He's been a freelance graphic designer, directed music videos, and to top it off he has written and illustrated a children's book. In short, he's a talent that most new media companies would salivate over. His one drawback: He doesn't hold a degree. ``I had this thought that if you're good enough and a company wants you, that it would be instantaneous. I was a little naive,'' Lavski said. ``People can't hire me based on my talent.'' For now, Lavski said he and his brother are going into business together producing CD-ROMs in Israel. One option that the Commerce report found hard-pressed companies taking is the outsourcing of their lower-level programming to other countries, where it can be done cheaply.
Hussam Hamadeh, a co-founder of Vault.com, a job search Web site, said his company would prefer to keep programming on-site, even though it would cost $100 an hour versus $20 an hour in India. But, he said. Vault.com has 12 core technology workers and needs to fill seven more positions. ``There are a lot of new features we want to add to the site that we just can't add,'' Hamadeh said. So, he said, Vault.com is considering outsourcing as an option, reluctantly. ``It is easier and more efficient than having someone overseas who'll send the work back, and then you realize that they might not have understood the project,'' Hamadeh said, echoing a common concern in the industry.
For Sharp at iTurf, the issue of whether or not more foreign technology workers should be in the United States is a no-brainer, complexities of the situation aside. ``To the extent that talented, ambitious people want to come to work in the U.S.,'' Sharp said, ``I say 'hallelujah. Let the skies rain those people down on us.' ''
