WASHINGTON (24 October 2006)
—
Because the offshoring of U.S. engineering and
other high-skill jobs to developing countries is
increasing, America needs a coordinated national
strategy to maintain its technological
leadership and promote job creation, IEEE-USA
President Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr. said at the
National Academy of Engineering today.
Wyndrum, speaking during the Academy's two-day
"Workshop on the Offshoring of Engineering:
Facts, Myths, Unknowns and Implications," said
the offshoring of the U.S. engineering
enterprise is an almost inevitable outcome of
globalization.
"Labor cost is undoubtedly the major factor at
present, but offshoring is much more complex
than that," Wyndrum said. "Business is also
motivated by such considerations as market
access and market development, access to talent,
the cost of capital, governmental economic
incentives, special or lower cost
infrastructures and capabilities (e.g.
subsidized telecommunications or Internet),
access to universities and research centers,
comparative government regulations, and a host
of other factors. Even if labor cost-margins
narrow, there will still be strong incentives
for offshoring."
Wyndrum's panel, "Implications for the
Engineering Workforce and Profession," included
Richard Freeman, the Herbert S. Ascherman
professor of economics at Harvard University;
and Vivek Wadhwa, executive-in-residence and
adjunct professor at Duke University's Pratt
School of Engineering. Lori Kletzer, professor
of economics and department chair at the
University of California, Santa Cruz, served as
moderator.
Although U.S. engineers cannot guarantee their
jobs will not be offshored, Wyndrum recommended
mid-career and lifelong education, as well as
being innovative and entrepreneurial to remain
employed. "It will require a modicum of tough
love at times to change engineers' thinking
about their careers," he said. "And it will take
time to affect changes and see the results."
For
more on the workshop, go to
www.nae.edu/nae/engecocom.nsf/weblinks/PGIS-6SKKDZ?OpenDocument.
See
Wyndrum's presentation at
www.ieeeusa.org/communications/presidentscolumn/wyndrum/WyndrumNAEOffshoring.pdf
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largest technical professional society with
360,000 members in 150 countries. See
www.ieeeusa.org.
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