14 DAY TRIAL // The Redmond-based technology giant Microsoft has about 6,000 job openings at this moment, but it claims that the available labor pool in the Unites States forces it to look on other continents for new employees.
What’s more, Microsoft emphasized that the Congress should issue more high-tech visas for foreign IT workers, while all collected funds could be then used for other training programs.
According to InformationWeek, Microsoft currently has 6,000 job openings, 3,400 of which are aimed at IT pros such as software engineers and developers.
There are only 40,000 STEM graduates every year in the United States, said Microsoft Chief Counsel Brad Smith during a forum on immigration policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
What’s more, finding qualified workers for areas such as cloud computing and mobility is quite a difficult challenge, as the number of applicants is surprisingly low.
This means that large IT corporations in the United States have to face a terrible shortage when it comes to IT professionals, so searching outside the country is the only viable solution.
There’s a big problem however, even when trying to hire employees based in Europe or in Asia: the government doesn’t issue enough visas, so foreigners can’t be employed in the United States.
Smith said that the Congress should approve an additional 20,000 STEM visas each year, but also 20,000 new green cards for tech employees.
Microsoft’s official emphasized that the government could collect up to $500 million if companies would be charged between $10,000 and $15,000 for each visa, so all the money could be then used to support similar training programs across the United States.