Loading Events

Scott Passeser

May 16, 2008 @ 12:00 am EDT


,

Attend this meeting

Limba Logo

Scott Passeser, Director of Industrial Outreach for Stony Brook University’s Economic Development programs, spoke at LIMBA this morning            

 Scott was able to provide some interesting stats on the needed workforce. While we are lamenting the existence of high paid manufacturing jobs there is no shortage of high tech jobs. There is, in fact, a dire need of high tech workers, according to Passeser. There is a projected need of 5 million tech jobs nationwide, but that does not take into account the industries that are transforming themselves into high tech enterprises. In on other words that is just the tip of the iceberg.

In Europe, Scott told us, the government intercedes when critical needs such as trained worker shortages occur. Philosophically, we do not believe in that kind of help to the workforce. And the problems are getting worse. SUNY has always been a leader in graduating computer science majors. Yet today the number of computer science graduates is actually falling over the last three years.

He also informed us that the top 10 jobs that are emerging didn’t even exist 5 years ago. The fields of bio-tech and alternative energy have been around for a long time, but they never employed more than a very small percentage of the population. Today they are among the fastest growing fields of endeavor and the schools cannot keep up with the needs of those industries.

The inability for America to produce the workers that are needed has caused the US to fall into the 19th ranking in broadband coverage. Even Luxemburg is ahead of the US on that score. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the only way to go is up. 

Scott spoke about the transforming effects that The Center for Excellence in Wireless Information Technology ( www.cewit.org)  and the Advanced Energy  and Research  Center at SUNY Stony Brook  (www.aertc.org) will bring. They are creating emerging technologies that are desperate for people to understand them and work in those fields.  Learn more about the technology efforts that are being conducted at SUNY using the links above