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  Press Release
For Immediate Release
4/16/04
Contact: Roger Herman

More High-Income Jobs Forecast To Leave U.S.

GREENSBORO, NC. High-paying jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will be going overseas in the years ahead, say workforce forecasters Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia. The trend-watchers assert that the fault lies with America's educational system, not economics. The United States is simply not producing enough engineers and scientists to meet current and future needs for researchers, innovators, designers, and product development specialists.

At a recent meeting of the the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Microsoft Executive Vice President Robert Herbold presented data indicating that the U.S. is producing a declining share of global science and engineering degrees (both baccalaureate and graduate), and that long-term shifts are likely in countries' shares of global science and engineering talent. He added that foreign countries producing significantly more science and engineering graduates typically have low wages, attracting R&D investment and numerous jobs. Until the standard of living in those countries rises substantially, he said, the disparity will cause some U.S. companies to outsource jobs to those countries in order to remain competitive. Herman and Gioia point out that off-shoring that work will degrade America's leadership position in innovation.

Workforce futurists Herman and Gioia, principals of The Herman Group, warn that corporations, research and development centers, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and funded research programs will be forced to source foreign nationals to accomplish their work. Some of these foreign nationals will be based in the United States, but many of them--with their support teams--will be located in other countries. The nation's economic competitiveness is threatened by the inadequate preparation in mathematics and science, discouraging American students from pursuing these vital careers.

Watching the trends, the futurists note that about half of the engineering students in American universities are foreign nationals. With a locally-based system of education in the United States, federal initiatives can only go so far. Herman and Gioia, watching the trends, advise that the most viable solution is for local school boards to allocate significantly more resources to science and mathematics. Community leaders and parents must drive this change if their students are to compete on the world stage in the years ahead. Herman and Gioia, authors of the Business Best Seller (#5*), "Impending Crisis: Too Many Jobs, Too Few People," are keenly aware of transnational labor trends. They assert that Americans complaining about jobs going off-shore must look deeper at the cause of our current and future dilemmas.

* CEO READ Best Seller List, March 2004.

The Herman Group is a firm of consulting futurists concentrating on workforce and workplace trends and their implications. Emphasis is placed on employee selection and retention as critical strategies. Included in the firm are researchers, professional speakers, authors, and consultants. The Herman Group is based in Greensboro, NC, with affiliates in Sao Paulo, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Port Louis, Mauritius. Contact Joyce Gioia-Herman at 336-210-3548 or e-mail: joyce@hermangroup.com.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            


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