Lakewood, NJ - According to Michael Diamond, "Faced with a shortage of workers with science and math skills, New Jersey should embrace policies that make it easier for women and immigrants to thrive in the workplace, the leader of the state's technology trade group said Friday."
At stake is the state's ability to reap the benefits of having one of the nation's most highly educated labor forces, said James Barrood, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Technology Council.
"No longer is it us competing against other states," Barrood said. "It's global. We are fighting for tech talent."
New Jersey historically has been a hub of innovation, but the state has stumbled finding its bearings since the Great Recession ended in 2009. Its giant corporations have consolidated. Its casinos have downsized. And the huge millennial generation is gravitating to cities, leaving the suburbs behind.
While the nation has regained all of the nearly 9 million jobs that it lost during the recession, and then some, New Jersey is only about two-thirds of the way back.
Whether there truly is a shortage of American workers with science, technology, education and math skills, or STEM for short, is fiercely debated. Some observers say employers haven't offered high enough wages and good enough benefits to attract them.
For the full article: http://www.app.com/story/money/industries/technology/2015/05/15/nj-tech-workers/27394491/
"No longer is it us competing against other states," Barrood said. "It's global. We are fighting for tech talent."
New Jersey historically has been a hub of innovation, but the state has stumbled finding its bearings since the Great Recession ended in 2009. Its giant corporations have consolidated. Its casinos have downsized. And the huge millennial generation is gravitating to cities, leaving the suburbs behind.
While the nation has regained all of the nearly 9 million jobs that it lost during the recession, and then some, New Jersey is only about two-thirds of the way back.
Whether there truly is a shortage of American workers with science, technology, education and math skills, or STEM for short, is fiercely debated. Some observers say employers haven't offered high enough wages and good enough benefits to attract them.
For the full article: http://www.app.com/story/money/industries/technology/2015/05/15/nj-tech-workers/27394491/
