APRIL 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 17
POINT OF VIEW
TECH TROUBLES
RECRUITMENT
CHALLENGES PERSIST
By PAUL TRAPANI
President of LISTnet
paul@listnet.org
At Long Island Software & Technology
Network, or LISTnet for short,
one of the things we often hear
from executives is how hard it is to
hire the tech people they need. This
is true for companies anywhere,
but in addition to other challenges,
local companies must also deal with
the allure of New York City, especially
for younger workers.
“The overall goal is to create two-way connections
between business and academia that can help to
grow the Long Island tech ecosystem."
When it looked like Amazon was
heading to our area, most local
technology leaders saw it as positive
overall. It was an opportunity
to attract more attention to our
region as a technology hub. One
shared concern, though, was that
Amazon would be hiring many
tech people, potentially making it
harder for LI companies to hire the
people they needed.
Though Amazon changed its plans,
companies like Google, Facebook,
and Microsoft are continuing to
expand in the City and others will
surely follow. As could have been
the case with Amazon, this can be
a good thing if it helps enhance
the growing perception of the
New York metro area overall as
a technology hub. Hopefully, this
will attract more students to area
colleges, universities and trade
schools, with the net result that
some of those students choose to
live and work on the Island.
For Long Island schools to attract
those students, they need to be
aware of local companies and the
potential opportunities they have.
Companies can build this awareness
by engaging with students at
LI colleges, universities and trade
schools. The best time to do this
is while the students are still in
school. Companies that start their
recruiting efforts only after graduation
may find that a student took
a job with a company they did an
internship with or a company that
visited campus when that student
was a sophomore.
Companies can and should look
to build relationships with the
Island’s students and schools.
This includes hiring interns,
participating in co-op programs,
or externships. This also includes
taking opportunities to participate
in events and speak at these
schools when possible.
Part of what we do at LISTnet is
help our member companies make
these types of connections with
the local schools. We also help
provide feedback to the schools
from our members, about what
they are looking for in graduates.
The overall goal is to create
two-way connections between
business and academia that can
help to grow the Long Island tech
ecosystem.
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