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The idea that American workers are being left in the dust because they lack technological savvy does not stand up to scrutiny. Our focus should be on coordination and communication between workers and employers.
Technology enthusiasts and entrepreneurs are among the loudest voices declaiming this conventional wisdom (see "The Hunt for Qualified Workers").
Two recent developments have heightened debate over the idea of a "skills gap": an unemployment rate below 5 percent, and the growing fear that automation will render less-skilled workers permanently unemployable.
Proponents of the idea tell an intuitively appealing story: information technology has hit American firms like a whirlwind, intensifying demand for technical skills and leaving unprepared American workers in the dust. The mismatch between high employer requirements and low employee skills leads to bad outcomes such as high unemployment and slow economic growth.
The problem is, when we look closely at the data, this story doesn't match the facts. What's more, this view of the nation's economic challenges distracts us from more productive ways of thinking about skills and economic growth while promoting unproductive hand-wringing and a blinkered focus on only the supply side of the labor market—that is, the workers.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608707/the-myth-of-the-skills-gap/
What do you think, is there a shortage of skilled workers ??
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday August 25 2017, @05:14PM (3 children)
You can get a used car for as low as $500. This advice isn't helpful for all tech workers, as cars are a big inconvenience in some urban areas (like NYC), but there's tons of tech employers outside those places and a car is a necessity to work there. So tech workers should be happy buying old used cars and living in them if necessary, or when they're raking in more money they can upgrade to living in a small apartment with a few roommates.
The fundamental problem is this crazy idea that highly-educated and experienced tech workers are entitled to being paid enough to enjoy a middle-class lifestyle.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Friday August 25 2017, @08:32PM (2 children)
Having a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in is "middle class lifestyle" now? That's sad.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday August 25 2017, @08:43PM
Having a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in is "middle class lifestyle" now? That's sad.
See, there's that entitlement mentality I was talking about. You should be happy to be getting enough to pay off your loans in 20 years and to eat and afford a Y membership for showering. You'll also have enough money to afford a computer which you can use to keep your tech skills sharp, so you can provide more value to your employer, so your CEO can afford a bigger yacht so his family can enjoy nicer vacations. Stop being so selfish and thinking about yourself all the time, and think more about what you can do for your company and your CEO.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 25 2017, @08:59PM
Pretty sure Grishnakh is being satirical here. Poe's Law strikes again!
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...