For Release: Thursday, June 23, 2005
Contact: David Gillies: 202-225-5661
COSTELLO HOSTS ROUNDTABLE ON OFF-SHORING OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY JOBS
Washington - Hope for the growth of domestic science and technology industries depends largely on whether we have the scientists, engineers and technologists trained and ready to meet demands. Today, Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) and other House Science Committee members hosted the first in a series of bipartisan discussions on realities facing the industry and U.S. workers. Expert panelists from industry and academia addressed current challenges regarding the continued loss of science and technology jobs to overseas locations.
"What we hope to accomplish today is to gain a better understanding of what the actual effects of off-shoring jobs are on our workforce and economy. Better information on this problem is needed in order to make appropriate public policy decisions as they relate to tech workers and other industries," said Costello.
Current trends are disturbing. The U.S. has low enrollment in university science and engineering by women and minorities; a heavy-dependence on foreign labor in our workforce, coupled with a declining interest by foreign students in attending U.S. universities; increasing numbers of well-trained scientists and engineers in India and China and other low-labor-cost countries; and an apparent trend for US companies to expand their off-shoring of science and engineering jobs.
Science Committee Members pointed out that the loss of domestic S&T jobs has not been seriously addressed, and the consequences of doing nothing could be profound. What's more, U.S. Federal research and development (R&D) funding over the last decade and a half is faltering.
"This is not a partisan issue. Members of both parties need to come together, roll up our sleeves and seriously study the off-shoring of U.S. jobs. Our economy depends on it. Other countries are now investing heavily in their high-tech infrastructure and producing highly educated workers and cutting-edge companies. They are catching up to the United States," continued Costello.
It is difficult to determine how many jobs have actually been lost in recent years because there is a lack of sufficient or accurate data on the problem. For example, the U.S. Department of Labor reported as part of a new survey that 4,633 jobs moved overseas during the first three months of 2004. Yet, a report by a large Indian trade group known as the National Association of Software and Service Companies suggests that outsourcing from the U.S. is creating huge numbers of jobs in that country-around 200,000 technology jobs at the end of May 2004.
Panelist Michael Teitelbaum, a program director with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation said that the truth of the matter is that, "no person or organization known to me has any credible way of forecasting what science and engineering sectors of the U.S. economy will look like in 2010 or 2012."
Even with the lack of credible data, off-shoring's effect on U.S. education and educational institutions is evident. Of the 25 to 30 percent of students who intend to major in science and engineering fields upon entering college, less than half of those earn a degree in those fields within 5 years. "In the U.S. labor market, there are attractive career opportunities that do not require years of advanced science and engineering training," stated Dr. George Langford, Dartmouth professor and Immediate Past Chairman of the National Science Board Committee on Education and Human Resources.
"It is not simply coincidence that the IT job market in India is red hot, while the U.S. market languishes," added Dr. Ron Hira, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and author of the new book Outsourcing America: What's Behind our National Crisis and How We Can Reclaim American Jobs . "The U.S. needs a coordinated national strategy to sustain its technological leadership and promote job creation in response to the concerted strategies being used by other countries to attract U.S. industries and jobs."
"If we don't determine what tomorrow will look like, others will determine it for us," commented panelist and former Congressman Dave McCurdy, President of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). He cited findings from a recent report compiled by EIA that put forth 'policy solutions' designed to "allow the U.S. to continue to enjoy world leadership and realize the benefits of free trade."
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