ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070068
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
There's apparently no surplus of high-skilled technicians in Western Virginia, although it's unclear whether companies here struggle to hire computer experts as do technology firms in the Telecom Corridor in Texas.
The Virginia Employment Commission said it is aware of instances where companies couldn't find the technical expertise they needed.
"We run into trouble when we get into very specific types of computer skills," said Marjorie Skidmore, who manages the Roanoke VEC office, which helps match companies and workers.
Representatives of some local companies, saying they were not authorized to speak on the record, confirmed their firms have struggled to find the people they need - even though such jobs typically pay high wages. Computer analysts can earn about $45,000 a year in this area, according to state and federal labor officials.
But there is no scarcity of people who can design a document on a word processing program, put numbers into a database or perform other basic computer tasks, Skidmore said. Such skills are needed for most any job, whether at a bank, auto dealership or retailer, and many workers have them or are in the process of learning, she said.
Reflecting how companies value computer knowledge, a panel of business leaders pushed for a new graduation requirement in Roanoke County that was adopted a few months ago and takes effect in 2002. It says seniors must pass a keyboard typing class or test to graduate.<:wq!
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB