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In the October 10, 1997 Issue:
DEMAND EXCEEDING SUPPLY OF INFO TECH WORKERS
Job growth in information technology (IT) now exceeds the production of talent, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy (OTP) study, America's New Deficit: The Shortage of Information Technology Workers. A recent survey of mid- and large-size U.S. companies by the Information Technology Association of American (ITAA) concluded that there are about 190,000 unfilled IT jobs in the U.S. today due to a shortage of qualified workers.Because information technology is an enabling technology that affects the entire economy, the failure to meet the growing demand for information technology professionals could have severe consequences for the United States' competitiveness, economic growth, and job creation.
Evidence suggests that job growth in IT fields now exceeds the production of talent. Between 1994 and 2005, more than a million new computer scientists and engineers, systems analysts, and computer programmers will be required in the U.S., an average of 95,000 per year. In 1994, only 24,533 students earned a bachelor's degree in computer and information sciences.
The study explores this problem by considering the state of supply and demand for information technology workers, and assesses the potential consequences of failing to meet the country's need for these workers. The study also highlights some of the measures that companies are taking to meet their need for workers.
The study concludes that it is essential to improve the understanding of the information technology labor market. In particular, there is a lack of detailed indicators and statistics, the need for a better understanding of linkages, and a need for stakeholder partnerships.
The U.S. Department of Commerce, in partnership with the Department of Education, the Information Technology Association of American, and the University of California-Berkeley, has formed six task forces which bring together leaders in industry, government, and academia to discuss the underlying factors which may be causing an information technology worker shortage. The task forces will meet throughout the fall of 1997 to explore these issues and develop strategies to address them. These strategies will be discussed at a national convocation in January 1998.
America's New Deficit: The Shortage of Information Technology Workers is available on the Internet at http://www.ta.doc.gov/otpolicy/reports.htm. Acrobat 3.01 is required to download the report.
SBA ANNOUNCES TIBBETS AWARD WINNERS
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced this year's Tibbetts Award winners. The 68 winners represent individuals and organizations that were judged to be models of excellence in technology through participation in or support for the SBIR program.The companies and individuals were selected based on the economic impact of their technological innovation and their overall business achievements. All 50 states and the District of Columbia had at least one award winner.
The awards, named for Roland Tibbetts who was instrumental in the creation of the SBIR program, were established last year when 67 individuals and companies were recognized. This year's awards will be presented at an October 16 ceremony in Washington, D.C.
A complete list of the award winners can be found on the web at http://www.sbaonline. sba.gov/gopher/SBA-Press-Releases/Current/ pres10.txt or by contacting SSTI at 614/421-SSTI (7784).
NIH SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GENOME PROJECT
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, has invited scientists to nominate "susceptibility" genes for a large-scale study.The genes to be studied in the Environmental Genome Project are ones that make people more or less susceptible to natural and man-made chemicals, metals, dietary constituents and other environmental and workplace factors that can cause human diseases.
Among these, the project seeks to identify for study 200 genes whose variations are most likely to have a major role in whether a person gets a disease or disorder following an exposure. The nominated genes will be peer-reviewed to determine which should be included. They may include such classes of genes as detoxification genes, DNA repair genes, cell cycle and cell death control genes, and genes mediating immune or nutritional factors.
According to NIH, the study is part of the answer to why everyone has a story about an "Uncle James" who smoked, drank, ate too much, and worked in a dangerous industry and lived to be 102 whereas most other people with this history died prematurely.
Scientists are invited to make their nominations electronically on the NIEHS homepage www.niehs.nih.gov/dirosd/policy/egp and/or by participating in a Symposium on the Environmental Genome to be held October 17 and 18 at the National Institutes of Health.
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER SUMMIT PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE
The proceedings of the Technology Transfer Metrics Summit is now available from the Technology Transfer Society. The book is based on the first working conference on measurement and evaluation for the technology transfer community, co-sponsored by the Engineering Foundation and the Technology Transfer Society.Topics include measurement of federal laboratory/university/industry partnering, state programs, intermediaries and economic development, manufacturing extension, and commercialization programs.
The 370-page proceedings brings together industry case studies, international approaches, a conference executive summary, workshop summaries, and benchmarking examples. It also includes two items which evolved from the conference itself: 1) a matrix of standard metrics by organizational sector, and 2) a metrics standardization proposal.
The cost for the publication is $75. Contact the Society at 312/644-0828 or by e-mail at 102234.166@compuserve.com to order.
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