IP: NRC -- Workforce issues in Information Technology -- ATTN: Silicon valley IPers

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

The committee on workforce needs
in information technology will have a hearing on Sept 24, Friday, in Silicon
Valley to hear from individuals in the information technology workforce at
large.


To: Whom It May Concern

Subject: A Study of Workforce Needs in Information Technology and Other High
Technology Fields

This message should be forwarded to any and all individuals or groups that may
be interested.

-----------------------------------------------


Career opportunities in information technology (IT) are getting a lot of
attention.  Employers complain that jobs go begging, educators are pitching new
and improved training programs, and some people working in IT 
complain that they
are frozen out of the better jobs, training, or advancement.  With arguments
flying, policy decisions are being made--about education and training,
immigration, and so on.

Cognizant of these arguments, the U.S. Congress asked the National Research
Council (NRC) of the National Academies (which include the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of 
Medicine) to
undertake a study of the high technology workforce, with a special emphasis on
workforce needs in information technology.  The purpose of this study is to
establish a common base for national discussions on such issues, which include
matters related to immigration, the use of foreign talent, and career paths of
older workers in these fields.  More information on this project is 
available on
the project website at<http://www4.nationalacademies.org/cpsma/itwpublic2.nsf>,
including a listing of committee members responsible for this project.

Precisely because workforce issues are so controversial, the committee is
interested in understanding the issues from the perspective of individuals with
a direct stake in them, and it seeks the broadest range of input possible.
Please help us.

COMMUNICATING WITH THE COMMITTEE

Information technology professionals are invited to communicate with the
committee in one or more of the following ways.



·    Go to the project's online input form, which can be found at
<http://www4.nationalacademies.org/cpsma/itwpublic2.nsf>.  This form contains a
number of questions, mostly about your personal job experiences, your concerns
about careers in information technology, and your perspectives on public policy
in this area.

·    Submit e-mail with comments to ITWINPUT () NAS EDU

·    Send comments via U.S. Mail:
     Workforce Project
     c/o Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
     National Research Council
     Mail Stop HA-560
     2101 Constitution Avenue, NW
     Washington, DC  20418

·    Testify in person at one of the committee's regional hearings (see
"REGIONAL HEARINGS" below).

PRIVACY POLICY

The information you provide through the first three channels will be used only
by the NRC's Committee on Workforce Issues in Information Technology for the
project and by project staff. However, we will feel free to quote 
your responses
(without specific attribution to you) in our final report or and other derived
works unless you indicate otherwise.  In any event, no identifying information
will be made available to committee members, some of whom are senior executives
in the information technology industry.

REGIONAL HEARINGS

The committee will be holding a number of regional hearings to solicit input
from the field.  The first hearing will be held on Friday, September 24, 1999,
from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm at the Biltmore Hotel & Suites, 2151 Laurelwood Road,
Santa Clara, CA 95045.

In the interests of hearing the maximum number of people, speakers will be
limited to a statement of 5 minutes each.  Anyone who wishes to give oral
testimony should submit his or her request to testimony should submit his or her request to ITWINPUT () NAS EDU.  
However, so
that we can plan the time effectively, requests for oral testimony will be
honored on a first-come, first-served basis, but only if received 
before noon on
Monday, September 20.  We strongly encourage you to submit written testimony,
whether or not you testify in person.  Note that the oral testimony will be
recorded (for later use by the committee and its staff (and no one else)).

The committee is especially interested in obtaining comments from workers in IT
occupations about the workplace environment, opportunities to upgrade skills,
the relevance of formal education to skills needed once employed, compensation,
opportunities for promotion and career paths.  It would be helpful, given those
considerations, to hear views about whether there is a "shortage" of IT workers
and, if there is, how it affects life at work.

The complete schedule of regional hearings has not yet been determined, though
one will be held in the Boston area in the December 8-10 time frame; a schedule
of hearings and locations will be posted at the project web site
<http://www4.nationalacademies.org/cpsma/itwpublic2.nsf> as 
individual locations
become known.  If these hearings are inconvenient, individuals may submit
requests for personal presentations to the committee or to individual committee
members at other times through these channels.  The committee will respond
affirmatively to the extent possible, but time and resource constraints will
limit the number of such requests that can be honored.

OPEN MEETINGS

In addition to these regional hearings, members of the interested public are
invited to attend the open sessions of future committee meetings.  At present,
the meeting schedule is

     September 22-24 in Santa Clara, California
     December 8-10 in Boston, Massachusetts
     April 24-26 in Washington, DC

Locations and meeting agendas (indicating the open portions of 
meetings) will be
available through the project web site at
<http://www4.nationalacademies.org/cpsma/itwpublic2.nsf>.

On the National Research Council

The National Research Council (NRC) is the operating arm of the National
Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy
of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The NRC is a source of impartial
and independent advice to the federal government and other policy 
makers that is
able to bring to bear the best scientific and technical talent in the nation to
answer questions of national significance.  In addition, it often acts as a
neutral party in convening meetings among multiple stakeholders on any given
issue, thereby facilitating the generation of consensus on 
controversial issues.

The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB), the NRC unit leading
this project, considers technical and policy issues pertaining to computer
science, telecommunications, and associated technologies.  CSTB monitors the
health of the computer science, computing technology, and telecommunications
fields, including attention as appropriate to the issues of human resources and
information infrastructure and initiates studies involving computer science,
computing technology, and telecommunications as critical resources and sources
of national economic strength.  More information on CSTB can be found at
<http://www.cstb.org>.