July/August 1999

Shortage of High Tech Workers Means Jobs
Are Plentiful

Then why are these people looking for work?

By Jennifer Read

The headlines are full of stories about the difficulty companies in high tech industries are having trying to find qualified workers. Demographics, the crisis in education in the U.S., attitude changes among young people, and other factors have combined to create a near catastrophic shortage of trained labor. Employees and community colleges are experimenting with solutions: importing workers from other countries where math and science are taught more effectively; industry-academic partnerships to train workers for specific jobs on the factory floor are two examples.

In the wire harness industry the situation is acute. Tom Myers, president of Careersplus, an executive search firm specializing in electronic manufacturing, says, "I am being used by companies to recruit from Peter to fill Paul's job vacancy. We need new talent coming into the field. The industry is going to have to make a conscious effort to attract young people. We need a public relations campaign and some programs aimed at changing perceptions. Like the aviation industry's "Learn to Fly" campaign. We need to make wire sexy."

Is that possible? Well, yes says Myers. "No matter how spectacular the technology of the electronic device, it won't work unless you plug it in. That's what we do in the wire harness industry. It is important. We make it possible for other products to function. And there are interesting developments—like fiber optics—that can interest young people." But young people coming into the job market have high expectations and not enough skills to justify them, from the employers' perspective. "The perception among young people is that in this tight job market, their annual salary should be 2-3 times their age right out of the chute. If they are 25, they want $50-75,000 a year. Employers aren't convinced they have the ability to make a contribution to the organization in line with that." The problem is there aren't enough graduates with engineering degrees to fill the positions that are created by the expansion in, say, telecommunications. So those graduates with those degrees figure they can demand top salaries.

And the problem just keeps getting worse. The American Electronics Association reports that the high-tech industry is now the nation's third-largest employer with 4.8 million workers, following the construction and financial-services industries. The shortage means competition for workers, and that means higher salaries. In 1997, tech industry workers had average annual salaries 77 percent greater than salaries of people in other fields. High tech workers are defined as those in computers, consumer electronics, communication equipment, electronic components, semiconductors, industrial electronics, photonics, software services, data processing and defense electronics.

In spite of these high salaries, fewer American college students are choosing engineering as their major. At U.S. universities, colleges, community colleges, and technical schools, the number of degrees awarded in high-tech fields fell by 5 percent, or about 11,000, from 216,820 in 1990 to 207,684 in 1996. At the same time, when all fields from English to biology are counted, the schools issued a total of about 2.2 million degrees, a 16 percent increase, or a gain of about 300,000 from 1990. When you consider the fact that AOL alone added 10,000 high tech jobs during that period, it is no wonder employers are panicked.

Why don't young people in America study engineering? The American Electronics Association report suggests that our education system is partly to blame, a conclusion that is not surprising to many U.S. parents who have been complaining about the schools for at least a decade. The U.S. lags behind other industrialized nations in scores in math and science. Experiments like open enrollment and charter schools have put some pressure on the public school bureaucracy to become more responsive to parents, but there is still a long way to go.

And the schools are not the only problem. The heroes of pop culture do not wear pocket protectors. Many assume they will get rich if they are just clever enough. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, after all, and look how much money he has. And since anyone with a money market account is getting wealthy just watching the Dow skyrocket, it is hard to convince young people they need to work hard at their math problems. "The sons and daughters of Silicon Valley are choosing to make granola, not study calculus," commented Tom Myers of Careersplus. This generation is watching the job market carefully and making what to them are rational choices about lifestyle and quality of life. That means they are choosing easier ways to acquire wealth.

But that doesn't mean that everyone can find a job. Another reality of this job market is workers must be prepared to change jobs at the drop of a pink slip. Mergers and acquisitions, re-engineering, and other management consultant "tricks of the trade" result in a short-term glut of certain types of workers. The recent AMP/Tyco situation is one example. When the dust settled on that acquisition, nearly 8,000 workers were looking for work at the same time, worldwide. Three thousand of them were in Harrisburg. One such worker, we'll call him Frank, is trying to find another job close to Harrisburg so his family doesn't have to move. Frank has been working with Careersplus. In many ways he is the ideal candidate for a job in the wire harness industry. He graduated in 1977, so he has about 20 years experience, which is just about right—not too much, nor too little. "Normally, this person would be easy to place. But Frank doesn't want to move, and there are 2,999 others in a similar situation looking for work at exactly the same time. No matter how hot the job market, no industry can absorb that many new workers," explained Myers.

So Frank is trying to find work in another industry. "I have management and sales experience, and that translates well into other careers. I am going to give it one more month. If I can't land a job around here, I guess we will have to think about moving," he sighed.

So what can the wire harness industry do to insure an adequate supply of trained workers for the next millennium? According to Myers, people in the industry now have to lead the charge. "We have Pork Awareness Month, for goodness sake. Surely we can organize ourselves enough to get the word out that ours is an industry that is worth taking a look at." What Myers suggests is that the industry promote itself, starting with the readers of Wiring Harness News. "Take your sons and daughters to work with you. Let them know that the Internet doesn't just happen out of thin air. Show them how vital the wire harness and cable assembly industry is to the high tech products and services they know and love."

And Myers has some suggestions for victims of the pink slip. "Having a professional recruiter represent you can be one of the best ways to advance your career. Recruiters frequently have a specialty or area of expertise. The name of the game is who you know. A good agent will maximize your strengths. He/she will focus on employers that have positions available with a better title and more responsibility, or manufacturers that are innovative leaders in their field. People who get to the top are pro-active. They know they want to advance, and they do something about it. A successful career means making the right choices at the right time. Recruiters can help you make those right choices."

Tom Myers can be reached at (310) 317-6113. For information about his company, visit Internet: http://www. careersplus.com.