Obama to announce initiative to train US' young skilled force

Washington, Mar 9: With Americans facing tough competition from high-skilled workers from countries like India and China, US President Barack Obama is likely to announce a new initiative to train his country's young skilled force for hi-tech jobs.

This is part of efforts by the US President to have Americans fill up most of the estimated half a million jobs in the IT sector and not import workers from overseas like the highly skilled IT professionals from India.

Obama is expected to announce the details of his initiative in his remarks at the National League of Cities annual Congressional City Conference, sources here said.

"In his remarks, the President will announce a new initiative to get more Americans rapidly trained for well-paying technology jobs. This initiative will include collaboration with local government leaders -- working with each other and with national employers -- that are committed to expanding access to tech jobs in their communities," a White House official said.

America has about five million open jobs today, more than at any point since 2001, the official said on condition on anonymity.

"Over half a million of those job openings are in information technology fields like software development, network administration and cybersecurity, many of which did not even exist just a decade ago," the official said.

"The average salary in a job that requires information technology (IT) skills –- whether in manufacturing, advertising, retail or banking -– is 50 per cent higher than the average private-sector American job. Helping more Americans train and connect to these jobs is a key element of the President's middle-class economics agenda," the White House official said.

PTI