Wanted....Educated Workers

[TheArtist]

I wish OSU Tulsa would hop on this opportunity to expand and create an engineering program. Looks like the need has been going on for a while now if companies are having to look outside the US to hire qualified engineers, draftsmen, etc. This may mean there is a dirth of those qualified individuals in the US so OSU Tulsa could become a supplier not just to the Tulsa area but to other cities and states as well. In the article it states that OSU as a whole does not have certain engineering programs and since OSU and OSU Tulsa are not supposed to duplicate programs I would sure like to see OSU Tulsa offer those programs.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=071219_5_E2_spanc55316

[spoonbill]

This is a huge problem!  We hire many technical fields and there is simply no one to hire.  The students coming out of the OSU and OU programs, are simply not competent enough, and the ones that are leave the state.  Tri-tech in Bartlesville produces great drafters, but not enough.

Some of the instructors at OSU have come to work for us, but reality and academics are two completely different worlds and they tend to perform worse than their first year interns.

The technology is moving so fast that most of these institutions and instructors cannot afford to, or are unwilling to, keep up with it.  We sponsor very active internships so that we can provide training that these kids simply cannot get in school.  

We also find that some of the brightest kids simply don't want to take classes from an instructor that is less talented than they are, or learn a software platform or curriculum that is outdated.  What can you do?

[cannon_fodder]

Great thought Artist.  

I don't think most Americans have any feel at all about what jobs are in demand.  Too many just want companies to "hire Americans" and never pay attention to if there are qualified Americans.  Engineering has been a chronic shortage since the 1980's and we continue to import Japanese, Korean, Indian and European engineers to get our work done.  Currently, new engineering plants are being located over seas - where the supply of useful educated labor is.

If you have a kid who does not know what he wants to do, point him toward engineering.  Chemical engineering currently pays the best if you're wondering.  

Same goes for OSU's med center.  The AMA has maintained a wonderful monopoly on the supply of doctors and has managed to keep MDs as the only standing guild (the American Bar Association lost this right in the 80's, the Supreme Court ruled access to an attorney was a necessity in a free society so restricting access was improper).   Restrict supply and access, thereby demanding whatever pay you want.  Brilliant!  

Doctors are really deserving of high salaries, but I fail to see how restricting access to a set number (which is currently 1500 - 2000 PER YEAR short of what we demand) serves the medical community. And that, my friends, is why 30% of American doctors are foreign born and educated.  Wouldn't it makes sense to educated more qualified American's who want to be MDs?  I don't get it.

OSU - we want more doctors and more engineers in Tulsa.  Step up!

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder



If you have a kid who does not know what he wants to do, point him toward engineering.  Chemical engineering currently pays the best if you're wondering.  

no, if your kid doesn't know what to do, turn off the TV and Xbox and pull out some learning Chinese CDs.  He will need to know how to talk to his future boss and coworkers.

the problem with businesses in this state is the inbred discriminating practice of giving preference to the in state schools.  Every time I encounter a dumbass at work guess where they are from?  Either OU or OSU.  When I hire people I now do just the opposite, I give top priority to anyone not from an Oklahoma school and I tell HR to stick it with those stupid hire local policies.