So it turns out the United States is not, in fact, the educational wasteland tech industry lobbyists would have you think. Companies like Microsoft often claim that America is suffering from an economically hobbling shortage of science, math, and computer talent. The solution, they argue, is to let employers fill their hiring gaps by importing tens of … Continue reading
It is conventional wisdom that the United States is suffering from a severe skills shortage, for which low-performing public schools and inadequate teachers must shoulder part of the blame (see here and here, for example). Employers complain that they cannot fill open slots because there are no Americans skilled enough to fill them, while pundits … Continue reading
News that oilsands recruiters have been appearing at British Columbia’s junior hockey games isn’t going over well with the resource sector on this side of the provincial border who are chasing the same pool of skilled workers. B.C.’s mining, forestry and energy sectors are expecting to need as many as 10,000 people over the next … Continue reading
Remember the bumper sticker from the ‘80s, “Please God, let there be another oil boom. I promise not to piss it all away the next time.” That, of course, was two booms ago. Now we are on the cusp, the very beginning of the third. We seem to be getting smarter at this, but not … Continue reading