Employers say high-tech help surprisingly hard to find in Missoula – Computer jobs lose luster as young techies aspire to other careers

When the makers of Palm Pilot opened an office in Missoula in January, manager Julie Loucks thought she would have a stable of qualified, eager employees in no time.

But six months and many "help wanted" ads later, Loucks shrugs her shoulders.

"I don’t understand it. If I could, I could fix it, right?" she said. PalmOne has hired four employees but could use as many as 11 more.
Her staffing problem won’t likely force her to close the Milpitas, Calif.-based company’s local office, but it has forced her to question the conventional wisdom that Missoula has a highly educated, loyal and ready work force, she said.

"I didn’t get a lot of applicants, and I don’t know why that is," Loucks said.

Larry Gianchetta, dean of the business school at the University of Montana, said perceptions among prospective applicants might be a hurdle. Some graduates might not consider working in Missoula because they don’t believe jobs exist locally.

"We think that’s changing," Gianchetta said.

Nevertheless, there is a problem, he said. At least one recent recruiter who visited the campus got no applicants. Gianchetta didn’t confirm that specific case, but he admitted the problem is there. And he is doing something about it.

The business school is hiring "what we’re calling a career-advancement person around this whole issue," he said. The right person for the job would help match students with jobs.

***********

Montana-Jobs.net Featured Career ~ Director of Career Advancement – University of Montana School of Business Administration

The University of Montana, School of Business Administration Missoula, MT

The University of Montana Missoula provides undergraduate and graduate education to more than 13,000 students. The School of Business Administration has more than 1500 undergraduate and 150 graduate students and more than 50 full-time and part-time faculty members.

Full Information about this position at: http://www.montana-jobs.net/job.ihtml?1406

***********

By ROBERT STRUCKMAN of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2005/06/26/news/local/news04.txt

**********

Tech job decline

Computer jobs lose luster as young techies aspire to other careers

By Rachel Konrad AP Technology Writer

STANFORD, Calif. — As an eager freshman in the fall of 2001, Andrew Mo’s career trajectory seemed preordained: He’d learn C++ and Java languages while earning a computer science degree at Stanford University, then land a Silicon Valley technology job.

The 22-year-old Shanghai native graduated this month with a major in computer science and a minor in economics. But he no longer plans to write code for a living, or even work at a tech company.

Mo begins work in the fall as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, helping to lead projects at multinational companies. Consulting, he says, will insulate him from the offshore outsourcing that’s sending thousands of once-desirable computer programming jobs overseas.

More important, Mo believes his consulting gig is more lucrative, rewarding and imaginative than a traditional tech job. He characterized his summer programming internships as ‘‘too focused or localized, even meaningless.”

Full Story: http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2005/06/26/featuresbusiness/hjjejdheiagahj.txt

*******

Tight labor market challenges many companies in Billings

By DAVE BURGESS
Western Business News

A common refrain among employers in Yellowstone County these days is "Why can’t I get job applicants?"

Many are also grumbling about the work ethic of younger workers and their level of commitment. It is a problem that is getting attention as a long-term challenge to economic development.

Staffing is a year-round task for Wendy’s of Montana. "The pool of applicants is a little slimmer this year," said Leah Johnson, human resources director for Wendy’s of Montana.

The company normally hires 10 to 20 people per month for its five restaurants in Billings, depending on retention and availability of applicants. When the school year ends, the company’s hiring rises, mostly because of availability of applicants, she said.

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/06/28/build/business/30-labor-market.inc