DOE unveils IT hiring plans
- By Judi Hasson
- Sep 11, 2000
With the shortage of high-tech workers increasing, Energy Secretary Bill
Richardson last week announced new initiatives to help train women for technically
skilled jobs.
Citing recent work by the Commission on the Advancement of Women and
Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology Development, Richardson
said Sept. 6 that the agency must tap into a workforce in which women will
be the majority in just a few years.
Experts have been warning for some time that the current shortage of high-tech
workers in the United States will only worsen. Over the next year alone,
the shortfall is expected to reach 850,000, according to the Information
Technology Association of America.
"Women today — young women still in school and those who already are
on their career paths — cannot lose sight of the many opportunities in science
and technology that beg for their involvement," Richardson said.
His initiatives include:
* A database for lab directors, contractors and managers to monitor
progress toward equal opportunities in the workforce.
* Aggressive outreach to recruit and retain women and minorities in high-tech
jobs.
* More programs to teach hands-on science education.
* Mentoring programs with scientists to encourage more women to enter
technology fields.
Since Richardson has been at the Energy Department, nearly half of all
political appointees have been women, and more than 80 percent of DOE's
$17.3 billion budget is managed by women.