Tech Council backs bill that would produce better-prepared workforce

A bill to create “stackable” education credentials — and ultimately produce a better-prepared workforce — has the backing of the Utah Technology Council (UTC).

A bill to create “stackable” education credentials — and ultimately produce a better-prepared workforce — has the backing of the Utah Technology Council (UTC).

SB103 and several others were discussed recently during the council’s legislative day, in which a pair of lawmakers discussed bills being weighed during the current general legislative session, which ends Thursday.

SB103, sponsored by Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, would establish a process for investing in workforce development through the development of “stackable” credentials using a regional grant process. It would use $5 million in ongoing funding from the Education Fund and be an incentive to create short-term training options for high-paying, high-demand, high-impact jobs to address the information technology talent shortage in Utah.

Generally, a stackable credential system would allow people to attain certifications to immediately enter the workforce for tech-related jobs, but also allow them to obtain additional credentials as they advance through the post-secondary education system while also working.

As of the middle of last week, the bill had advanced through the Senate and on to the House for consideration.

Millner told the UTC crowd that the tech-heavy “Silicon Slopes” area has been nurtured for years “and now is accelerating exponentially.” The state has the same needs as that area: more software engineers and developers.

“I think if we don’t get pretty targeted on meeting the needs of this workforce, we’re going to see companies move out of state because they can’t find the workforce they need here,” she said. “It really is, at the end of the day, about the talent. People don’t go to Boston and Silicon Valley because it’s ‘business regulation lite’ or it’s a cheap place to do business. They go because of the talent.

“There’s no reason in Utah that we can’t do that same thing. We have one of the youngest workforces in the country. We just need that workforce to be prepared.”

Richard Nelson, UTC’s president and chief executive officer, said there are 15,000 postings for open positions for the state’s top three tech jobs. “This is not just serious; it’s a very severe, huge issue for the industry,” Nelson said.

A recent UTC survey indicated that 39,000 jobs would be needed over the next five years at the 49 companies surveyed. They included both production- and professional-level positions. “And we are going to have to be able to meet those needs,” Millner said. “This [survey] is only directional — it’s not scientific, I know that — but it tells us that there is significant need for us to be able to prepare the workforce,” she said.

The other main speaker at the UTC event was House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, but he discussed a bill on which the UTC has not taken a position. HB261 would prohibit employers from entering into post-employment non-compete agreements with employees. Exceptions would allow for non-compete contracts to protect trade secrets, plus proprietary or confidential information or processes of the employer.

At press time, the bill had advanced through the House and on to the Senate.

Some states, including California, have banned non-compete contractors, but Hughes said Utah does not need a complete prohibition.

“What we don’t want to see happen is, we don’t want to see a vibrant economy, a qualified workforce, a trained workforce that is somehow stymied in its ability to move and to be a part of startups and to be a part of the entrepreneurial spirit but even to move job to job,” Hughes said.

Hughes said that while growing up in Pittsburgh, he saw many unemployed former steelworkers and also saw steel mills close.

“I’ve been a right-to-work guy like you’ve never known,” he said. “I think I’ve seen first-hand the consequences of not being a right-to-work state. But just remember this: If, as employers, we can hire and fire and make those decisions that are important to our business and even to the employees that we deem necessary, we also have to be careful that we’re not telling employees that they’re not able to leave employment or find employment elsewhere.”

If that becomes reality, he said people likely would turn to unions for help if they believe they have been unfairly terminated.

“I worry that if we’re not careful and we’re not looking at these things in a more broad approach, that’s where I think you’ll find organized labor has a stronger cause, and maybe even a valid cause, if we don’t see that flow of workforce occur,” he said.

Other UTC priorities for the legislative session are:

• $15 million in funding for the STEM Action Center as a way to better address inadequate math preparation. Data from the first year of implementation indicates that participating students are improving in their math progress.

• HB61, which would make changes to the corporate franchise income tax to make it more competitive among states. UTC contends that the bill would result in more companies being attracted to the state and maintain Utah’s reputation as a business-friendly state. At press time, it had passed the House and advanced to the Senate.

• HB277, which would provide teachers with professional development, update technology capabilities in classrooms, and provide hardware and software for schools. At press time, it had advanced through the House and advanced to the Senate.

• SB178, which would provide certain sales and use tax exemptions for qualifying enterprise data centers and make technical changes. The UTC says Utah has seen growth in the number of data centers and the bill would allow that to continue. The bill had advanced through the Senate and moved on to the House.