IEEE-USA eNL 2002-12-02

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   IEEE-USA President Describes Threats Facing U.S. Engineers at Summit
               on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce

     WASHINGTON (2 December 2002) - IEEE-USA President LeEarl Bryant
pointed to recent sharp increases in engineering unemployment and declining
real   wages as serious threats to the long-term viability of U.S.
engineering careers at the National Academies' Pan Organizational Summit on
the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce last month.

     Bryant expressed serious concerns about the potentially adverse,
long-term effects of workforce utilization practices that are making
engineering jobs less secure and engineering careers more tenuous than
ever. She cited the increasing reliance by employers on temporary foreign
workers,   non-standard   employment   arrangements   and   outsourcing of
engineering work to lower cost, offshore locations. Non-standard employment
arrangements utilize contingent, part-time, or contract workers instead of
regular,   full-time   employees to reduce labor costs and facilitate
just-in-time delivery of high value-added products and services, Bryant
explained.

     Unfortunately, management's short-term emphasis on labor flexibility
seems to be creating long-term disincentives to continuing participation by
many   of   the nation's best and brightest in America's engineering
enterprise, the IEEE-USA president said.

     Many aspiring and experienced engineers, when confronted with the
prospect of periodic unemployment and flat or declining real wages, are
voting with their feet and opting for careers in fields that offer more
long-term job security and higher real wages ? fields such as business
administration, law and medicine.

     Other important issues highlighted by the IEEE-USA president included
the need to: provide timely information on engineering labor market
conditions; strengthen math and science education in grades K-12; expand
engineering educational and employment opportunities for women, minorities,
handicapped and older Americans; improve lifelong learning (continuing
education) for practicing engineers and scientists; and reform the nation's
educational and employment-based immigration system.

     For          the          entire          work,          go         to
http://www.ieeeusa.org/forum/POLICY/12nov02.pdf.

     The 11-12 November invitational meeting was hosted by the National
Academies' Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR) and
attended by representatives from more than 40 national organizations,
including   business associations, educational institutions, government
agencies and professional societies. Its purpose was to enable stakeholders
to identify causes and recommend solutions to problems affecting supply and
demand for U.S. scientists and engineers. For more information on GUIRR, go
to http://www7.nationalacademies.org/guirr/.

     IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics   Engineers   created in 1973 to promote the careers and
public-policy interests of the more than 235,000 electrical, electronics,
computer and software engineers who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE
is   the   world's   largest   technical professional society. For more
information, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org.

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