The next tech generation ?

Silicon valley north companies have always been cognoscente of the value of educating the next tech generation. During the summer you will find Son’s and Daughter’s of employees working in various roles. Co-ops from universities like Waterloo are highly sought after and have proven to not only be effective workers but great value for their prospective companies.

People not familiar with the hiring trends of companies in the area have pulled me aside and suggested that hiring Son’s and Daughter’s of employees is not a fair hiring practice. As a person who always tries to tread the high moral ground, I have given this alot of thought.

My parents were not able to help me with finding a job when I was growing up and that forced me to find my own employment when I was 15. I’ve been in the workforce ever since (Except for the four years at College, where I worked during the summer). Both my wife and I worked the entire time we attended University doing our courses in the evenings. Comparing us to our children just doesn’t work onĀ  so many levels.

I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s on the tail end of the baby boom. The bulk of the people in the world were my age and the world always caters to the needs of the majority. When my wife and I graduated the first time from college, she had nine job offers and I had seven. Kids graduating today from Universities are lucky to have a single job offer. The January 21, 2013 issue of Maclean’s magazine featured an article on the new underclass. They attempted to explain why our children should not expect to have what their parents have.

Yes there are alot of bright new grads out there and the world is not the same place it was when we graduated. I look at this an an opportunity for our generation to continue to add to its legacy by helping these new grads establish themselves specifically in the tech industry. Groups like the Wesley Clover Foundation are actually putting together new grads with seasoned veterans to establish new ventures. Most of us are not in a position to start our own foundations but we can help in other ways.

We can start by helping new grads get established in existing tech companies with summer placements. That helps the grads and the parents by putting a little cash in the students pockets. That does not mean that we should hire just any student, we need to make sure they are qualified to do what we are asking of them. There are a number of different types of jobs that we can save up and make available to students.

Another way we can help is by helping companies like The Wesley Clover Foundation to invest in these new ventures. During the month of February I will feature one of these companies each day in my posts. I encourage you to read the summaries and invest. You can invest with money, with product ideas, by helping with marketing, by buying / recommending their products or maybe even by joining their teams.

At one point just prior to the tech bubble burst, technology workers outnumbered government workers in Ottawa (Canada’s capital). That is no longer the case but we have the power to change that. Please read and comment on the posts in February and I will make sure that all of your comments get to the right people.

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