Nashville Tech Story (1/5/10)
In the 90’s it was Y2K and how would we respond to this potentially crippling exercise. Where would we find thousands of Cobalt programmers to fix antiquated programs? Companies spent the necessary resources to get the problem corrected; others ditched old programs and upgraded their systems and software. Now we are faced with a new, larger challenge – Technology Workforce Development for the next decade.
This problem of having a sufficient talent pool in technology is nationwide, but is exacerbated in Tennessee due to a lower tech graduation rate. In fact, it is 8% lower than the national average.
Are we prepared for 2010? No, we aren’t. Nashville’s economy is growing at an annual clip of 2 to 2.5% per year. According to Census.gov, the Nashville CBSA is estimated to be 1,585,000. We have added over 250,000 new residents in the past 10 years. In 1980, we only had a population of 912,000. My, how the city has changed. By the time the next decade rolls in, we will be over two million.
So as we prepare for 2010, we should introduce a new concept Y2KXY. Look strange? Y2K + X + Y. Year 2010 is Y2KX and Y for the Y Generation or Millennials. It is time that we take the same effort of fixing the Y2KXY problem as we did for Y2K. We have a shortage of professional technology talent and it will hurt us in our recruiting efforts, innovation, and overall productivity if we don’t solve it quickly.
Other industries like engineering, nursing, and accounting have already experienced this issue, so we need to look to other industries and see what has worked for them.
Solutions
There are several solutions. First, let’s start with recognition by the C-Suite. Mr. CEO, we are going to have to pay more for Tech Talent in the future, including this year. There is less talent to go around and we need to pay for more training. The alternative is to get involved with organizations like the Nashville Technology Council to help grow the talent pool. Technology should be a strategic advantage for the business. If it is not a strategic advantage in your company, then ignore the rest of this post. You should be fine crushing stones.
Second, we have to understand the needs of the next generation. In their 2007 book, Junco and Mastrodicasa expanded on the work of Howe and Strauss to include research-based information about the personality profiles of Millennials, especially as it relates to higher education. This generation is using more technology, but they aren’t pursuing technology degrees in Tennessee (source: Wikipedia). They have very different expectations than Gen X or the Baby Boomers.
Third, we need to continue to attract outside companies to the region. Tennessee, Nashville in particular, has a very strategic advantage as it relates to quality of life, cost of living, and a diversified economy. We need to leverage this advantage to attract younger technology workers in our key industry areas: healthcare IT, digital content, publishing, transactions, software development, and logistics.
Fourth, we need to transform our existing workforce. This has two elements: professional development and re-engineering. The area of professional development is easier to tackle. Unfortunately, a lot of the best training for advanced software occurs on the Coasts. We are working to bring more of these trainers and highly specialized organizations to the Nashville region and allow our member companies to share the costs, thus lowering travel costs and improving the existing workforce.
The area of re-engineering is much tougher to address, but is every bit as critical. With the Saturn plant closing, we have a flood of potential new technology workers. They will require training, but they are eager and have a basic process engineering understanding. There are other pools of employees that can be retrained, retooled to be the next generation of technologist in Middle Tennessee.
Fifth, we need to encourage students in high school and college to pursue technology degrees. Our state is falling behind in this area, with Tennessee being 8% behind the national average in producing technology graduates. The root of the problem is the lack of introductory technology programs and parental encouragement at the middle and high school levels. Technology and healthcare are two of the fastest growing occupations and both pay very well. We need help at all levels if we are going to reverse this trend and get back to average.
Conclusion
Y2KXY is here. You may already be feeling the effects of this new paradigm shift. As a community, we can mitigate these trends through three ways: 1. Attract more technology companies to the region from other states, 2. Transform our existing workforce into technology workers through professional development and re-engineering, and 3. Encourage students to pursue technology degrees.
Kate O’Neill has earned a reputation as a passionate advocate for innovative, interactive online experiences in business. Working in online content in Silicon Valley during the 1990s heyday, she introduced the techniques of blogging (before it was called blogging and before there were fantastic tools like Wordpress) to many companies as an employee and later as a consultant. As social networks and social media have sprung up, Kate has been a vocal advocate for their inclusion in savvy business and marketing strategy, as well, both for the SEO boost they often imply and for the way they can strengthen a business’s relationship with its customers and enhance the customer experience.
