Last week, we heard that Sacramento did not make “the cut” for Amazon’s 2nd headquarters. An official with the organization charged with recruiting business to the area, the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, believes that Sacramento needs to “focus on providing more digital-skills training.” This is not a bad idea, but how will the region make this happen in a meaningful way that generates new business and jobs?
It seems that most technology jobs in the Sacramento area require at least 5 years of relevant experience. While many jobs in technology provide an excellent salary, most new tech workers don’t have 5 years of experience and will need to start near the base of a career ladder. As they learn how to apply their skills in a way that provides value for their employers, they can begin to climb their own career ladder. If they find something they like and stick with it, they will soon have 5 years of technology experience and can apply for those more advanced positions (with higher pay, of course).
The problem here is that there are not that many good entry-level technology positions in the Sacramento region. What may have been entry-level positions in years past, now require years of experience that new workers just don’t have. And let’s face it, when an employer hires a new technologist, they end up providing them with quite a bit of training and orientation anyway. Employers: Why not reduce the experience requirements so that local, less experienced tech workers can earn their stripes at your workplace?
Just think about it.
