U.S. Gov't Calls IT Training Grant Program "Ineffective"
4/24/2002 -- According to a story published April 15 in the San Jose Mercury News, the White House is looking to gut a $138 million fund for technology training in order to speed up the processing of H1-B visas.
The H1-B Technical Skills Training Grants program originated in 1998 as part of a compromise to increase the cap on H1-B visas, the article says. The goal of the the program was to encourage U.S. citizens to train for IT positions, thus offsetting the need for companies to fill jobs with foreign employees. However, according to reporter Jennifer Bjorhus, in a budget proposal sent to congress in February, the Bush administration called the program is "ineffective" and said that it "'has no prospect' of educating workers to take the place of people on H1-B visas."
"According to the Bush administration, the H1-B Technical Skills Training Grants are teaching low-level computer skills that aren't lifting US workers up to the level of highly educated foreigners on H1-B visas.." she writes.
Money for the program is currently taken in part from H-1 B visa application fees. According to the story, the Bush administration would rather use the $138 million in funds to speed up the processing of H1-B visas which, in some cases, can take up to five years to process.
To read the full story from the San Jose Mercury News, click here.  - B.N.
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There are 64  user Comments for “U.S. Gov't Calls IT Training Grant Program "Ineffective"”
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| 4/30/02: Anonymous says: |
Get to works???????????????? Don't you mean get to work? This is EXACTLY what I'm talking about. See Anonymous from 3 posts ago. Moron!!!! |
| 5/1/02: Mark Jackson from Las Vegas says: |
Maxime, read the article next time. "The Bush Administration" did not say they don't support the program, they said it was ineffective. Geez! Ray from LA - take an economics class, dude. Do you think I.T. folks were paid a 'fair' wage during the dot com era? hmmm? You need to grow up and realize that you are paid exactly what the job you do is worth at that time. BTW I don't have to take in to account the cost of living. You chose to live in that cess pool with lefty pols taxing you to death, no me. Speaking of taxes; those are what kill the 'working class' you socialist idiot. D from Rochester. They did say they want higher skill levels, DUHHHH. You seem to know nothing of our gov. The administration does not pass the laws that govern this 'handout'; the congress created this monster not Bush. Damn are you people studpid? |
| 5/1/02: Mark Jackson from Las Vegas says: |
IT Manager from Chitown. You realize that we excel at being creative, right? You understand that can not be measured by a standardized test? No, gee I am shocked. Canada H1B holder. Why do think (like all big company drones) that a college degree makes you educated? Why do you think that IT jobs need a college degree? I don't have a college degree, but I am damn good at what I do. That is the great thing about America; you are judged on what you can do, not some piece of paper. BTW if Canadian thinking is so great, why are you here? |
| 5/1/02: ITFXU says: |
Don't forget the golden rule: He who has the gold makes the rules! ( and workers don't have the gold! ;-) |
| 5/1/02: Boogie Dunn from Atlanta says: |
Im currently in the military as a Systems Analyst. I have about 2 years left, and you guys are making it hard for me to make a decision about getting out :) Im not doubting my skills or nothing, but I have no college degree keep in mind. I only have numerous techinical certificates and Net plus, A plus, and ccna certs. If I were getting out tomorrow, I would be basically looking for a job with 6 years of "IT" exp. "IT" is generalized because in the army we dont have one specific area of emphasis as systems analyst. So my question is: What do I need to do to prepare myself for the outside world, in terms of education? |
| 5/1/02: Joe Blow from Our nations Capital says: |
The only shortage of IT labour in this town is for those that hold Secret (or better clearances) Apart from that the "demand for skilled labour" is a joke. As for H1-B's helping to fill that gap, sorry only US citizens are eligible for clearances. So the upshot is: the politicians are lying through their teeth, why am i not suprised ? |
| 5/2/02: ITManager from Chicago,IL says: |
In terms of education a graduate with a degree in Computer Science would traditionally be looked at first, but that really depends on where you apply at. It used to be the norm but today what is the norm? Several of my friends work at one of those companies I mentioned earlier (Allstate, State Farm, Prudential or Caterpillar) that are heavily into using outsource/externals for IT staffing. What horrier stories I hear. Once they get their hands on you they make it hard for you to leave from places like that. They have subdivided tasks so much that no one is really specialized in anything and try leaving there. Forget it. No one outside those companies has any use for them because they have no marketable skills regardless of all the certification they may have. The best damn way to control your IT staff is by militarily using the tactic of divide and conquer. Which is what they do. If you don't like working with H1-B's tough because your not going anywhere. Anywhere I mean internally or externally. If a position opens up internally chances are that it will go to an external (H1-B). If I was looking for a job right now I would be looking at a small to medium size company that offers you the ability to jump in and be a jack of all trades so to speak to broaden your working experience. Those companies I mentioned above stay away from at all cost. If you interview with anyone the first question you need to ask is if they outsource or use external staffing. If they do use externals don't walk but run for the door as fast as you possibly you can. Geez you wouldn't believe the stupid shit I have seen that externals (H1-B's) do through communications from inside those companies I have received. I say those companies deserve it. Every bit that they get. In the short term they think they are saving money by cutting IT labor cost but gawd what a mess they can make of a companies DP shop in terms of programming, design,etc. |
| 5/11/02: David from Phoenix says: |
Reading this is amazing. Citizens of this country, which says it is capitalist and the protector of free trade, want to put limits on the the rights of business owners to run their businesses as they see fit in the most economical manner possible? What would you rather have? A Communist-style command economy? Think through what you're asking for! |
| 5/13/02: ITManager from Chicago,IL says: |
Wrong, David from Phoenix. I've known of good IT technical people who have lost their jobs because of the HI-B's. Guaranteed you'll change your tune if you lost your job. "Greed" is exactly what those companies are all about. Those H1-B's don't buy homes, lawnmowers, and about everything else associated with keeping the economy viable. Those corporate zealots don't give a da** about you or your family! Enron should have been a good enough example for you. |
| 5/15/02: Publius says: |
Something I have failed to notice in this discussion is the distinction between H1-B recipients and immigrants. H1-Bs are not settling here. They are largely foreign nationals staffing technical positions. Why do we have thousands of foreign nationals in our country who benefit from a country we built. If the H1-Bs actually had the obligation of citizenship, I would be all for it. You want to make a new life here, outstanding! If you want to float through and take advantage of the situation, get lost! On a different note, if we want to trash Americans for poor test scores, I would have to look at a cross section of the country of origin of the H1-B recipient making the remark. If we are looking at India or China, you have an obscenely large population. Hmm, 100% literacy in India. Bull----! We are looking at the top end of the labor pool. It happens to be huge because some of these countries have trouble limiting reproduction. We get people who work like slaves because they come from labor situations not seen here for a hundred years. We have ( shh ) been technologically advanced well beyond these third world countries for many years. What did we work for? Here we have hoardes of people undercutting the standard of living we built in the first place. Is it the employer's choice? We are a democracy.We are not some fly by night shambles of a government. We have the ability to lobby for reform. I think the largest barrier to real action is a certain egotism and myopia by some of our programmers. "Go out and learn some skills and compete", some have said. I think we have ample room to compete amongst ourselves. We don't need the rest of the world's opportunists to complicate the situation. |
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