Bill Gates dupes students at Waterloo University
Bill Gates dupes students at Waterloo University
Date: Thursday, February 28, 2008 9:53 PM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1825 -- 2/28/2008 >>>>>
Bill Gates is doing a speaking tour of college campuses in order to get naive
students interested in Computer/IT careers, and to push his immigration
agenda. As part of that tour he went to the University of Waterloo in Canada
where he gave a speech to an audience of high school and college students.
The university has a web page where you can find out more about the Bill Gates
visit. They even have a video of the entire presentation.
http://communications.uwaterloo.ca/events/billgates/
I made a short 2 minute clip of the video (at about 52 minutes into the 1 hour
presentation) where he criticized the H-1B program because he thinks it's too
restrictive. He praised Canada for its loose immigration policies that make it
easy for foreigners to get work visas. Bill Gates said that there must be a
"free flow of talent" between the U.S. and Canada but never mentioned how that
large labor pool enriches his portfolio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB2OhaGLIp8
The articles below have a few comments by Gates that are worth mentioning.
This explains why it's so difficult for anyone over the age of 35 to find jobs
at Microsoft:
"Why do young people play such an important role in innovation,
even though older people have greater breadth of knowledge and
a deeper understanding of their field? [snipped]
It's not unusual to have the best solution to a tough problem
come from one of the youngest people working to solve it.
Often, our first reaction is that what they are suggesting is
crazy, until we understand that they have come at the problem
in a creative, new way.
Lots of brouhaha was published in the media when Microsoft set up a
development center in Vancouver, Canada. Bill Gates said that the Canadian
office was necessary because it was so difficult and expensive to import H-1Bs
into the U.S. Gates praised Canada because: "The Canadian government makes it
easier to bring in smart people from various countries".
You might wonder where all the smart people are coming from to work in
Vancouver. Buried in the Financial Post article below the truth is revealed.
The smart people Gates adores so much are coming from China, although Gates
also mentioned "other countries", which probably means India. I doubt that
Gates includes Canadians on his list of smart people anymore than he includes
Americans.
He said Microsoft has looked to other countries such as China to
help fill "a pretty significant shortage" of IT workers and has
set up development centres, including one in Vancouver, to
develop new talent.
The following statement by Gates needs some discussion because there is far
more to it than meets the eye:
"There should be a free-flow of talent from the U.S. to Canada and
Canada to the U.S. There's bright person who wants a job - it
shouldn't be hard to go across the border and do that. We should
make it as seamless as possible."
Gates is only telling half the truth, because it is very easy for Canadians to
cross the border to work in the U.S. Microsoft or any other employer can
obtain TN (Trade NAFTA) visas for anyone that they need to transfer between
the Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. TN visas are unlimited and quick and easy to
obtain, so Microsoft should have no problem moving as many people as they want
to the U.S.
So what is Bill Gates complaining about?
Moving Canadians into the U.S. isn't an issue for Gates, but moving foreigners
who work in Canada is. In order to get a TN visa Microsoft's Chinese and
Indian employees must become naturalized citizens of Canada, otherwise they
have to get H-1B visas which are in short supply. Getting naturalized in
Canada isn't a big deal for those who have jobs but Bill Gates probably
doesn't want to use Vancouver as a drop house for non-Canadians any longer
than he has too.
I have contended since the opening of that Vancouver office that Gates
intended to use it as a backdoor to get foreign workers into the U.S.
Apparently he is having some trouble getting as many TN visas as he would
like, so now he is on another lobbying campaign to increase the H-1B cap.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080221/gates_ontario_080221/20080221?hub=SciTech
Microsoft looks for talent in developing countries
Microsoft founder Bill Gates speaks to university and high school students
during a stop in Waterloo, Ont. on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. (Adrian Wyld /THE
CANADIAN PRESS)
The Canadian Press
Updated: Thu. Feb. 21 2008 5:32 PM ET
WATERLOO, Ont. -- A widespread shortage of information technology graduates
across North America is forcing Microsoft Corp. and other software companies
to look to developing countries such as China to meet their needs, Microsoft
chairman Bill Gates says.
"When we want to hire lots of software engineers there is a shortage in North
America - a pretty significant shortage," Gates said Thursday in an interview.
"We have this tough problem: If you can't get the engineers, then you have to
have those other jobs be (relocated to) where the engineers are."
Gates was at the University of Waterloo, which has historically been a
favourite hiring ground for Microsoft, on Thursday to deliver a speech to
students about the state of developing technology.
But Gates also told the students that IT jobs are in high demand.
"It's partly that the enrolment in the field is going down," he said
afterwards.
Enrolment in the computer sciences program at the University of Waterloo
tumbled 5.1 per cent last year compared to 2006. Overall, the school saw
408 freshmen students join the program from 430 a year earlier.
University representatives said the enrolment numbers still are higher than
similar programs at other North American universities.
The shortage of talent "is one of the reasons why we opened an office in
Vancouver," Gates said.
Microsoft has a strategy of tapping into a global market for technical talent
by setting up development centres in multiple locations.
The Vancouver location, about 200 kilometres north of Microsoft's headquarters
in Redmond, Wash., has the advantage of being close to the company's main
development area, but outside the United States.
"The Canadian government makes it easier to bring in smart people from various
countries and create a group that's both Canadians, Asians, Europeans working
together on software," Gates said.
Industry watchers have pegged the period after the 2000-2002 technology
downturn as the time when students began to move away from computer-oriented
jobs in fear that the sector would be bogged down with layoffs.
But the opposite happened, said Amy Parlous, executive director of the
mathematics department at University of Waterloo.
"IT is just so pervasive in every sector now it's certainly not in one pocket.
It's in public policy, it's in education, it's in health - it's everywhere, so
there are more jobs," Parlous said.
Turning that trend around appears to be the greatest problem, especially since
statistics suggest the country the hole left by retiring tech workers is only
speeding up the shortage.
A recent report by the Conference Board of Canada suggested that the country
will need 90,000 IT workers within the next five years, in part to fuel the
explosion in wireless and Internet businesses.
Each position that isn't filled will cost the economy an estimated $120,000
per year.
Gates suggested that teenagers could gain interest in programing jobs by
incorporating technology into their own lives.
"If you wanted people to go into a job area you could make sexy products like
IPods and Xboxes," he said.
"We've done those tactics and they seem to be working in China and India."
During his speech Gates showed his lighter side by screening a documentary-
style short film in which he pokes fun at his retirement alongside celebrities
like rapper Jay-Z and U2's Bono.
He also fielded questions from students and recalled when he went to
university in "the Dark Ages" and learned about computers on his own time.
"Fortunately for all of you, you're in a generation where all of these courses
are going to be online and basically free. I'm taking solid state physics from
MIT, though MIT doesn't know it," he said.
"You are far more empowered in terms of your ongoing education than any other
generation has ever been."
Gates also criticized the United States government for its strict adherence to
the H-1B visa, which allows American companies to bring in skilled workers
from other countries temporarily, as long as they fall under a list of
"specialty occupations."
Gates called the visa the "worst disaster."
The rules are strict and only apply to highly specialized workers.
"If I could just change one law in the U.S. it would be this," he said.
"There should be a free-flow of talent from the U.S. to Canada and Canada to
the U.S. There's bright person who wants a job - it shouldn't be hard to go
across the border and do that. We should make it as seamless as possible."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080225.wagendagates0225/BNStory/robAgenda/home
What's right with young people today
BILL GATES
Globe and Mail Update
February 25, 2008 at 6:09 AM EST
One of the striking things about human progress is that so many of the world's
most important new ideas were the work of young people. From Isaac Newton's
discoveries as a 23-year-old that formed the basis for calculus, to Charles
Darwin, who surveyed the Galapagos Islands at age 26, and Albert Einstein, who
published his paper on relativity at age 26, young people have been
responsible for breakthroughs that form the foundation for much of our
understanding of how the world works.
Young people have played a central role in many other fields, including
business and technology. Paul Allen and I were in high school when we started
thinking about the personal computer, and I was 20 when we founded Microsoft.
Steve Jobs launched Apple at age 21. Sergey Brin and Larry Page were graduate
students at Stanford when they developed their first search engine. Yahoo was
launched by Stanford graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo.
Why do young people play such an important role in innovation, even though
older people have greater breadth of knowledge and a deeper understanding of
their field? My theory is that young people aren't as constrained by
traditional ways of thinking. They haven't yet completely absorbed the "right"
way to do things, so they are free to pursue ideas that seem impossible to
those of us with more experience.
I often see this at Microsoft. It's not unusual to have the best solution to a
tough problem come from one of the youngest people working to solve it. Often,
our first reaction is that what they are suggesting is crazy, until we
understand that they have come at the problem in a creative, new way.
I saw this kind of innovative thinking when I visited the University of
Waterloo this past week and spent time with students there who are focused on
pushing the envelope in science, engineering, and other fields.
I am optimistic that college and high school students will continue to produce
groundbreaking ideas that will change people's lives for the better in the
years ahead. But I have some concerns.
In particular, I'm concerned that too few young people are acquiring the
knowledge they need to use technology in creative and innovative ways.
During the last decade, the number of college students who study math and
science in Canada and the United States has declined dramatically. Today,
there simply aren't enough people with the right skills to fill the growing
demand for computer scientists and computer engineers. This is a critical
problem because technology holds the key to progress, and to addressing many
of the world's most pressing problems, including health care, education,
global inequality, and climate change.
We can all help address this issue. As parents, we must help our children
appreciate the joys of learning and discovery. Teachers and educators must
find ways to teach science and math so it is relevant and exciting. We look to
government to help improve educational excellence in our schools and ensure
that all high school graduates have solid math and science skills.
Companies like Microsoft must contribute, too, by working with schools to
foster interest in science and mathematics and provide training that is
relevant to the needs of business. That's why we recently launched a new
program called Microsoft DreamSpark. Through DreamSpark, we are providing
professional software development and design tools to university students
around the world as a download at no cost.
Our goal is to help students expand their skills and knowledge, and,
hopefully, to inspire them to find new ways to turn their great ideas into
businesses that create real opportunities and solutions that address real-
world problems.
Although the world has changed dramatically during the last 30 years, I
believe we are only at the very beginning of what is possible. If we do our
jobs as adults, and equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need
to turn their great ideas into breakthrough innovations, I believe they will
find solutions for many of the difficult problems our world faces today. Their
future - and ours - depends on it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.financialpost.com/small_business/businesssolutions/story.html?id=326083
Friday, February 22, 2008
'Pretty significant shortage' of IT workers alarms Gates Touts opportunity to
work on 'sexy products'
Jordana Huber, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, February 22, 2008
WATERLOO, Ont. - People who choose careers in information technology have the
opportunity to work on "sexy products," Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates
said yesteday at the University of Waterloo, where he gave a speech about how
technology and innovation will benefit the world in the "second digital
decade."
Mr. Gates, who plans to step down this summer from day-to-day operations at
the software giant to focus on his charitable foundation, said while enrolment
rates in math and sciences are facing "scary trends," the jobs that stem from
those fields are some of the most exciting to work in.
"These are fun jobs," Mr. Gates said on his second-to-last stop of a five-
campus tour of North American universities.
"They are not jobs where you are just in a cubby hole throughout your whole
life. They are about changing the world."
He said Microsoft has looked to other countries such as China to help fill "a
pretty significant shortage" of IT workers and has set up development centres,
including one in Vancouver, to develop new talent.
Though Microsoft's headquarters is less than two hours away from Vancouver in
Redmond, Wash., Mr. Gates said it was much easier to bring "smart people" to
Canada because of visa restrictions south of the border.
A report released this year by the Conference Board of Canada blamed Canada's
looming shortage of technology workers on a "perfect storm" of
sociodemographic factors, negative perceptions about the dot-com bubble burst
of 2002 and weakened university enrolment of IT grads.
The report said 90,000 more tech workers will be needed in Canada in the next
five years. Jobs that go unfilled could cost the economy more than $10-
billion.
During his 45-minute talk, Mr. Gates focused on what the next decades will
bring in technological innovation, painting a world where computers, phones
and televisions are seamlessly integrated. But he also encouraged students,
whatever their field, to spend some of their time focusing on how to help the
world's poor, noting their problems are often "more important" to solve.
Mr. Gates said until recently, more money was spent on researching baldness
than malaria.
"People who have no money essentially have no voice," he said. "They have no
input into what the market does. It is only through some combination of
enlightened value systems that those problems will get solved."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Newsletter Homepage:
http://www.JobDestruction.com/shameh1b/JobDestructionNews.htm
Support this Newsletter and www.JobDestruction.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm
To Be removed from this mailing list, reply to this email with UNSUbSCRIBE in
the subject window
Back to archives