Training Fund Fiasco

Training Fund Fiasco - Part 2

Date: Friday, May 03, 2002 10:47 AM

*** H-1B NEWSLETTER ***

Get the Facts on H-1B at www.ZaZona.com

Finally, after waiting two to three weeks, jobless workers were able to attend a two hour, Nova orientation in Sunnyvale, California. They came to hear an instructor tell them how NovaWorks http://www.novaworks.org/ will help them obtain H-1B training funds that they can use to upgrade their skills. Nova calls this training "Skills Gap Grants" from the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). It is quite ironic that most people that go to these meetings probably don't even know that their training is being funded by the H-1Bs that replaced them. (See Training Fund Fiasco Part 1 for details on WIA)

These American workers were replaced by the cheap young blood of the growing population of H-1B workers that are flooding the job market in Silicon Valley. Jobless, dispirited, and desperate to find employment, they came to this meeting to get the training that is supposed to make them competitive against their H-1B replacements. They hope to receive training in the newest skills that employers say they can't find in the American workforce. Jobs are waiting for those with the skills according to Nova.

The application process for getting training was simple enough. Basically if they qualified for unemployment they will probably be able to qualify for H-1B training funds. Filled with hope, they turned in their forms and waited to see where and when they would get their training.

The Nova instructor announced that they have been overwhelmed by the huge numbers of unemployed that have been applying - and that was the good news. Tempers flared when the instructor told them that Nova won't have more money for training until July. The H-1B funds received from the government just haven't been enough to keep up with the surge of jobless workers that seek to get training for a new job.

It's a good thing that the instructor didn't announce the fact that President Bush is going to gut the training program. Bush wants to use this money to help H-1Bs get Green Cards faster so that they can permanently take away those jobs. This anxious gathering of jobless Americans might have turned riotous had they known how hopeless their situation is.

I received faxes of some of the forms that were given out to these applicants. If you qualify for training, you will get to attend a course at a local community college or training school. Courses run 6-9 months. Here is a list of some of the courses you can take:

* certified nursing assistant CNA * medical billing * physician assistant * licensed vocational nurse LVN * Cisco Network administrator * UNIX system admin * UNIX systems engineering * Oracle database and admin * Oracle applications development * database administration * Linux system admin * MCSE * Electronic Tech * Other high tech occupations

Notice that most of these jobs are already glutted by H-1Bs. Also note that these jobs probably pay much less than what these jobless professionals are used to making. No employer is going to hire a 50 year old professional that gets a system administrator certificate or some technician training. These programmers will be called "over-qualified" when they apply for these jobs. Employers have no desire to hire these workers as long as the H-1B spigot is held open.

This isn't training that will help them get a job but it might keep them busy for awhile. Perhaps that's the main idea.

<<<<<<>>>>>> An unemployed high-tech worker wrote this letter to congresswoman Eshoo. Check out her callous reply below that.

Anna G. Eshoo Member of Congress

I am an unemployed software engineer and scientist. I recently attended a NOVA orientation workshop. The NOVA instructor said that the program is swamped and could not handle the huge load of applicants. Specifically, one would not even be eligible for consideration for a training program at a local college until July 1! This was due to the heavy overload of people already using the program. The example they used was that if you wanted to take a UNIX administrator class at Foothill College, you were not even eligible for consideration until July 1. They are so backlogged with applicants for the orientation meeting that they indicated we were lucky to have even obtained a slot. They said the system is overloaded due to the huge number of lay offs. Those attending the orientation said they needed to take classes at Foothill or wherever but NOVA appears to be under funded. You may want to attend a NOVA orientation meeting to learn how overloaded they are (408)730-7671. The attendees will give you an earful.

What I do not understand is that if you go to the http://www.zazona.com/LCA-Data/ database, you will find that many companies have a huge number of H-1Bs taking valuable positions from those job seekers attending the NOVA program.

The H-1B law says it is to "temporarily import and employ ... specialized jobs not filled by U.S. workers". Thus, the law was intended for "temporary" rather than permanent labor (http://www.dol.gov/dol/eta/public/regs/fedreg/final/2000122001.htm). The law was clearly not intended to deny U.S. citizens jobs but this is precisely what it is doing during this difficult economic time. Apparently, the $1,000 each company pays the government for each H-1B is not going to the NOVA program. So not only do the H-1Bs take limited job positions but the government does not retrain those of us who have lost a job. Something is seriously wrong. I hope you move to eliminate the H-1B program so individuals like myself who voted for you can get back to work. Thank you for your help.

Dear [name removed],

Thank you for contacting me with regard to the H-1B visa program.

As you may know, I'm a supporter of the H-1B visa program. Legislation which passed in 2000 increased the number of H1-B visas from 115,000 to 200,000 and the 200,000 mark will remain for the next three years. The bill doubled the amount of fees companies now pay for visas from $500 to $1,000. These monies are used to fund education and training programs that include: (1) financial assistance for math and science teachers, (2) funding for math and science programs, (3) National Science Foundation scholarships, and (4) money for regional job training programs.

H-1B workers must possess specialty skills needed by the U.S. employer who sponsors their visa petition. Moreover, H-1B workers are supposed to earn the same salary and benefits as their American counterparts. This program was established to solve the worker shortage the technology industry had in the late 1990s. The INS approved 163,200 visas, 31,800 less than the total allowed. This number does not reflect the number of foreign workers who actually came to the U.S.

Although we may not agree on this issue, I appreciate hearing from you and ask you to continue to inform me on issues you care about. I always need and welcome the benefit of your thoughts and ideas.

Sincerely, Anna G. Eshoo Member of Congress

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