Des Moines Register
02-12-07
High-tech jobs abound in Iowa. Why aren't workers filling them?
By DONNELLE ELLER
REGISTER BUSINESS WRITER
A tech company new to Des Moines — BayTPS — needs a couple of dozen
electronic detectives who will help the California company find online users who
illegally download clients' music, movies, TV shows and other materials.
But the jobs — paying $21,000 to $70,000 annually — have gone begging.
"We've had to be a lot more proactive about it," hitting the university and
community college circuit to recruit workers as well as advertising the positions,
said Jim Graham, a spokesman for BayTPS, based in Los Gatos.
A lot more companies are working a lot harder to find the computer and
information technology workers they need.
Some companies are paying rates that near $125,000 annually to contract
companies for experienced tech workers, paying signing bonuses, recruiting
workers' friends, colleagues and former college classmates, as well as looking
overseas for potential workers.
"There's tremendous need for skilled IT workers — across the board," said
Leeann Jacobson, president of the Technology Association of Iowa, who added
that about 80 percent of its 200 members are looking for workers.
"We have more jobs than workers to fill them," said Mike Lang, chairman of the
group's board. He also leads a tech consulting and recruitment company. "It goes
in cycles ... but I think we're at a critical point."
Shea Daniels, a computer science student at Iowa State University, received
offers for two jobs at Principal Financial Group. He was recruited at Principal
after meeting a computer contract worker for the Des Moines company in a
martial arts class. "I just stumbled into it," said the Marion native.
Principal sweetened Daniels' signing bonus by $1,000 to $2,500 when the 22year-old said he was concerned he should search further before committing. It
wasn't a salary negotiations ploy, said Daniels, who will be an IT applications
analyst at Principal. "I just called the recruiter to talk about what I was thinking."
Officials worry the worker crunch could slow efforts to build Iowa's fledgling tech
industry. For example, the state is investing $800,000 in BayTSP, which has
promised to create 75 jobs that pay an average of $47,840 annually. The
company has pledged to invest about $1.4 million in its Des Moines operations.
Technology jobs also are critical to Iowa's fast-growing financial and insurance
industries, experts say. "If companies can't find the workers, the jobs will go
where the workers are," Jacobson said.
State lawmakers are considering spending $10.55 million next budget year to
attract more workers in advanced manufacturing, technology and biosciences three industries identified as key to the state's economy.
The proposal would work to attract high school and college students to
technology, upgrade existing workers' skills and expand internships. It also would
better connect large businesses with small technology companies for services
that in the past would have completed in-house. And it would better market
Iowa's technology opportunities.
Gary Dickey Jr., a state economic development administrator, said the proposed
approach is comprehensive — tackling everything from making technology fun
for students to developing more entrepreneurs. "There's no silver bullet," he said.
Iowa faces losing students like Amy Joines, an ISU computer science engineer,
who would like a job with the U.S. Department of Defense in Washington, D.C.
She said she's attracted to the East Coast, but more important, the job
opportunities. She could work to track terrorists electronically or help defend
national data from hackers. "There's a lot of opportunity out there," Joines said. "I
feel like I'll have my choice of location, company and type of work that I want to
do."
Here's what contributing to the tech shortage:
- Fewer students: The dot-com bust in 2001 and concern that companies will
continue outsourcing tech jobs overseas is keeping students from getting
computer science, management information and other tech-related degrees.
Their worries are showing up in enrollment numbers. ISU, for example, had
about 800 computer science students six years ago vs. 250 now. Management
information students have dropped from 800 to fewer than 200. "It becomes a
self-fulfilling prophecy," said Doug Jacobson, a computer engineering
professor at Iowa State University.
- Greater demand: Fewer workers entering technology-related fields comes at a
time when demand for computer know-how is increasing. "They're putting
computers in just about everything," said ISU's Jacobson, driving the need for
technology workers to help design and manufacture products, install equipment,
manage the systems and help consumers use it.
And Iowa - better known for farming than technology - struggles to compete
against states with bigger, better-known tech clusters.
Sireesha Suryadevara, a software developer recruited from Los Angeles to work
at GCommerce Inc. in Des Moines, said she's been telling friends, family and
former co-workers that they should consider Iowa and the Midwest.
"They don't know how many good companies are here or how good the market
is," Suryadevara said.
Finding experienced workers like Suryadevara is critical for companies like
GCommerce, said Jason Popillion, the company's chief technology officer.
The company — whose products allow retailers, distributors and manufacturers
to communicate — tried to recruit workers by itself, but the process took too
much time, Popillion said.
That's why the company decided to pay $60 to $90 an hour to Lang's company,
Alliance Technologies, to provide "contract to hire" workers. Suryadevara was
the first worker hired under the deal, which gives a company a couple of months
to try out a worker before deciding whether to hire.
A native of India, Suryadevara said she's struggled with Iowa's cold, but she likes
the short commutes and lower cost of living. Suryadevara, who is looking for a
house with her husband, Hemanth, said GCommerce's atmosphere is family-like.
"It makes a big difference," said Suryadevara, 27.
Jacobson, the leader of the state technology group, said she believes that the
tech demand can provide opportunities for a wide range of Iowans - from stay-athome moms to seniors looking for a second career to workers who have
struggled to find employment.
Jay Nickelson, an instructor at Des Moines Area Community College, said he
believes the school could place twice as many students graduating with a twoyear degree. About 200 students leave the school each year with technologyrelated degrees.
Karl Lantz was driving a delivery truck for a national home improvement store
when he decided to go to the Des Moines-area college for a tech degree. Before
that, he worked in a soybean processing plant, and before that, as a valet at a
casino.
Today, the 31-year-old is a digital video network technician at Iowa Networks
Services in Des Moines. He helps download, process and deliver a 200-channel
lineup of digital video for cable customers of independent Iowa telephone
companies. It's his third technology job since graduating.
"It's let me make a change from working at jobs to building a career."
Reporter Donnelle Eller can be reached at (515) 284-8457 or deller@dmreg.com