New Canaan resident John Bemis, president and founder of Benchmark IT, joined representatives of 55 companies from across the country at the 17th annual TechServe Alliance Legislative Conference held in Washington D.C. on May 23-24 to address the need for more workers in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math in Connecticut.
Benchmark IT is a Stamford-based technology recruiting firm. TechServe Alliance is a trade organization representing U.S.-based IT staffing, engineering and solutions firms.
“We met with the offices of U.S. senators Blumenthal and Murphy (D-CT), Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Jim Himes (D-CT 4th District) with a two-fold purpose,” explained Bemis. “The first was to demonstrate the urgent need for Congress to support not only K-12 STEM education, but also to increase access and support at technical schools, community colleges and universities with the goal of producing “work-ready” graduates.”
According to CareerBuilder.com, the ratio of open jobs in Connecticut vs. available tech talent for hot jobs such as web and app developers is a staggering 6:1.
“While increasing STEM education is a necessary part of the long-term solution, it’s critical that our industry has continued access to foreign H-1B visa talent in the near-term. Otherwise, U.S. businesses may well ship their entire IT operations off-shore, leading to fewer U.S. jobs — the direct opposite of what the proposed legislation intends to prevent.”
The H-1B visa program is a long-debated program that’s not without controversy. A March 2017 “60 Minutes” segment detailed abuses within the program, which have contributed to its scrutiny. “Unfortunately, some bad actors have made a tenuous situation even worse,” remarked Bemis. “There are some good aspects of the proposed legislation that call for integrity and transparency within the program. We’re all for that. The bottom line is that mid-market, Connecticut-based companies need access to this talent in order to keep and grow local jobs. That’s our primary mission.”
To that end, Benchmark IT does outreach to support STEM education locally. For the past two years, Bemis has presented at the NCHS Career Night, promoting the benefits and possibilities of STEM careers to local students. This year, Benchmark IT sponsored its first NCHS senior intern, Peter Windas, who aims to pursue a career in technology at the University of Maryland in September. Additionally, the firm has formed an alliance with Sacred Heart University that acquired the former GE Corporate Campus in Fairfield, Conn. to house its growing School of Computing.
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