Louisiana’s small but growing tech industry got a shot in the arm last fall when DXC Technology announced a 2,000-job center in New Orleans.
As Business Report details in a feature in the current issue, the firm joined the trend of large tech companies seeking out lower cost regions—be it countries like India or middle U.S. states—to save a few bucks, especially on labor costs.
But only a few months before the DXC announcement, another large tech firm that located to Louisiana—IBM—announced it fell short of its employment target of 800 jobs.
The state is giving IBM another two years to hire enough people to meet its jobs target, but the issue highlights Louisiana’s ongoing struggle to provide enough skilled workers for the tech industry.
The workforce problem is not unique to Louisiana. Nationally, competition is “fierce” for skilled tech workers, says Stephen Barnes, assistant professor of economics at LSU.
“The talent we’re developing here in Louisiana is going to be fought for not just by those companies here, but also by companies nationally that are looking for workers in this field,” he says.
So what’s going to change the calculus to allow DXC to find its 2,000 tech workers and how will IBM meet its job obligations?
One key is education. Universities are getting an infusion of cash—$25 million—from the DXC deal, which for LSU comes on top of $14 million from the IBM deal. All that money is designed to bolster and update the computer science programs at Louisiana schools.
Read the full feature. Send your comments to editor@businessreport.com.
