Electronics Industry Sees Manpower Shortage

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The technical manpower shortage in the electronics industry is going to be acute, says a report by the American Electronics Association, and it will be felt particularly by small companies.

AEA spokeswoman Pat Hill Hubbard estimates that firms with up to 50 employees should expect a 176% increase in the need for technical professionals, and a 284% growth in their technical paraprofessional work force. Firms in the 5,000- to 10,000-employee range project growth rates of only 15% and 7% in those two categories.

The shortage can't be cured by the industry alone, the report concludes. The AEA has put together a commission of industry leaders and academics to review proposals on encouraging better technical education in the nation's public and private school systems. The report also calls for "recognition by Congress and by state and local governments... that there is a problem."

But the industry really isn't counting on the federal government for help. As the AEA's Hubbard puts it, "Because of the tight money situation, we aren't overoptimistic about receiving much direct federal support."