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CBIA is helping Connecticut's schools and business ...
February 13, 2001
CBIA is helping Connecticut's schools and businesses work together to better teach today's students the skills they need to handle tomorrow's IT jobs. There are roughly 8,800 openings for entry-level information jobs in the state. A recent CBIA survey showed that 37% of Connecticut companies plan to increase their staffing with entry level IT workers over the next two years. Lt. Governor M. Jodi Rell and Sen. Majority Leader George Jepsen, (D.-Stamford) and Michael Cheshire, CBIA vice chair and chairman of Gerber Scientific, spoke recently regarding the state's critical need for technology workers. Lt. Gov. Rell discussed her 19-point plan, approved by the governor and the legislature during the 2000 session, to advance the use of technology in Connecticut's schools. Sen. Jepson reported that legislators have taken steps to understand the importance of technology in the state. He called for legislators to continue that effort this year in the form of support for scholarships, strategic planning and the new Workforce Development and Training committee. Mr. Cheshire explained how his company, although providing generous benefits in an attempt to attract and retain workers has a 55% turnover rate for IT positions. And the state's "brain drain" is a major contributor to that workforce supply problem. He stated that the state ranks 49th in the country in the number of 18-year olds who remain upon completing high school. CBIA is working with the Stamford Public Schools and the Northwest Center for Emerging Technologies in Bellevue, Washington, on tailoring IT skills standards used by teachers for Connecticut businesses' needs. Students at Stamford's new Academy for Information Technology will learn IT skills derived from those standards during this school year. That information will be given to the State Department of Education for use in developing IT curriculum standards across the state.
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