Offshoring of IT Jobs Expected to Accelerate
By Sharon Gaudin
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/career/print.php/3110511
Textile mills closed their doors, sending their jobs to foreign shores where labor is cheaper. Shoe manufactures did the same. Then manufacturers started handing out pink slips to their U.S. workers, sending the jobs, and the pay, offshore.
Today, the IT industry is the next one to fall.
Analysts call it 'globalization', but IT workers, especially programmers and technicians in corporate call centers, will call it unemployment. And it's coming in a time when the industry is still reeling from the shattering of the dot-com boom, several years of economic turbulence and a high-tech slump. IT workers, who only a few years ago had the hottest jobs on the market and raked in great money, are either unemployed themselves or know people who are.

And industry watchers say that's about to get much worse.

''IT, as people understand it now, is never going to be the same,'' says Dale Smith, an information and technology advisor to the British Consulate, speaking at CDExpo in Las Vegas. ''The model has changed. The world has changed... That process is unstoppable. Companies will continue to seek lower-cost labor markets. IT workers must think about how they will survive this. How do we have a career in this new market?''

And it's a market that will change quickly.

Today, approximately 8 percent of IT work is outsourced, according to Gordon Brooks, president and CEO of E5 Systems, Inc., an IT outsourcing company based in Waltham, Mass. In five years, that number will have exploded to 55 percent.

Forrester Research predicts that $136 billion in wages, or 3.3 million jobs, will move offshore in the next 15 years.

Most of the analysts speaking at CDExpo say that number, as large as it sounds, might be wishful thinking. The actual numbers will be much higher.

''We thought for the last 10 years we had seen big change in IT,'' says Brooks. ''That was nothing. You can't stop this move. People in IT will have to reinvent what they're doing. They will have to figure out how to take advantage of this.''

Analysts say that despite any social and political outcry, IT jobs will increasingly move offshore. It's a matter of math.

Brooks reports that computer programming is generally calculated to cost $80 per hour. In India, that figure drops to $22 per hour, and in China it falls to $15 an hour.

''We can like it or we can not like it, but it's just math,'' said Brooks, speaking to a crowd at the Las Vegas IT conference. ''It's nothing but math.''

Mitchell Levy, president and CEO of ECnow.com, a management consulting firm based in Cupertino, Calif., says IT jobs are largely going to India and Russia. But increasingly they're starting to head to China, the Phillippines and Canada. And once they're offshore, the jobs most likely are not coming back.

During the dot-com boom, it was cool to be a programmer. They were the pony tail, black t-shirt crowd who worked late at night and played foosball in the office. It's not so cool to be a programmer today.

Industry watchers agree that programming is one of the first jobs to be offshored.

''Those programmers have to grow up... If you code for a living, you need to reinvent yourself,'' says Brooks. ''There will be fewer of those jobs, and companies will pay less for it. Does that sound like a good long-term job?''

But analysts also say that not every IT job is heading offshore. Upper-level and management jobs are the ones to have right now.

''This doesn't mean there won't be technical people onshore,'' says Brooks. ''But the ones onshore will be on the higher end. They'll be architect oriented, program managers and business oriented... Now there's a lot less artistry. It's about managing what we have. The new artistic stuff being handled somewhere else.''

Great Geographic Size and Diversity of Peoples Tied for Canada's Greatest Historic Challenge Say Canadians: ACS Year-End Survey
MONTREAL, Dec. 29 /CNW Telbec/ - When asked about Canada's Greatest Historic Challenge some 2000 Canadians were split between the country's Great Geographic Size (31%) and Diversity of its Peoples (30%). These results emerge from an October 2003 Environics survey commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies findings. While men were slightly more inclined to say the principal challenge was geography women opted more for diversity. While older Canadians felt that geography (38% and diversity 28%) was the main historic challenge the younger generation was far more inclined to say it was diversity (33% and geography 19%). But equally important gaps in opinion were between the most educated and highest income earners 39% believing our geographic size is Canada's greatest historic Challenge and the lowest income and least educated that feel that it is the diversity of our peoples (30% Diversity, 17% geography). ACS Executive Director Jack Jedwab declared that: "in future the geographic distance between Canadians is likely to be seen as less of a challenge than the distance created by varying expressions of identity". For full details of the survey see the Association web site for October 31st History poll at www.acs-aec.ca Poll results are accurate to within plus or minus 3.5%, 19 times out of 20.

Association for Canadian Studies - Minority of Canadians Admit to Past Prejudice - Anti-Aboriginal and anti-Black Prejudice Most Widely Acknowledged
MONTREAL, April 22 /CNW Telbec/ - Only 30% of Canadians admit to having held racial/ethnic/religious or linguistic prejudices when they were children. Still, among the Canadians who do acknowledge past prejudice, it is most often directed at two groups - aboriginals (24%) and blacks (20%). On the basis of age, acknowledged prejudice against Arabs is highest among the youngest cohort (18 to 29). Other results: English-speaking Canadians cite Aboriginal and black prejudice most often, while French-speaking Canadians cite Arab and black prejudice most often. Western Canadians cite Aboriginal prejudice far higher than any other prejudice. Anti-black prejudice is highest in Atlantic Canada and in Ontario. Higher educated Canadians reported more prejudice against Aboriginals, blacks and Jews than did more poorly educated Canadians.
Very little prejudice on the basis of language was acknowledged. Virtually no prejudice against homosexuals was reported.
This is the second in a series of three polls. The ACS will release an analysis of what Canadians consider most important to their identity on Wednesday (April 23). The survey was carried out by telephone from March 15-23, 2003. Results are accurate to within plus or minus 3,5%, 19 times out of 20.
The analyses of these public opinion polls are being released in conjunction with two important conferences to be held later this week at the Niagara Hilton Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario. A conference examining new challenges for Canadian Diversity will take place Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26, while the first in a series of Canadian-American Research
Symposiums focusing on immigration will take place on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27. Leading voices in their fields from both sides of the border - including Hon. Jean Augustine, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) and Stephen R. Kelly, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Unites States Embassy in Canada - will be taking part in dynamic panel discussions throughout the weekend.
More polling results (une version française est aussi disponible) broken down by region, language and age are available on the ACS web site at www.acs-aec.ca

Canada's 50 Best Employers Announced Report on Business magazine publishes fifth annual ranking
TORONTO, Dec. 29 /CNW/ - Today, Report on Business magazine released the fifth annual list of The 50 Best Employers in Canada. The full results of the ranking are published in the January 2004 issue of Report on Business magazine, Also in this issue: profiles of Victor Li, Hong Kong businessman and son of legendary billionaire Li Ka-shing, and Robert Lantos, arguably Canada's most flamboyant, and perhaps only film mogul.
This year's 50 Best is a diverse group of companies in a wide variety of industries that range in size from 300 to more than 3,000 employees.
Diverse as they may be, the 50 Best have a lot in common, including strong, accessible leaders, employees that have a keen desire to go to work each day, and perks and benefits that really hit home. The top five spots go to:

1. BC Biomedical Laboratories Ltd. of Surrey, BC, a testing service for blood and other medical needs, with 399 employees. Also ranked number one last year, the company is known for its focus on employees' work-life balance and high quality workplace resources, including a computer purchase plan. The voluntary turnover rate is just 0.5 per cent annually.

2. Flight Centre North America of Vancouver, with 486 employees and revenues of $245 million. Number three in the 2002 rankings, this energetic travel retailer got top marks this year for supportive managers, good career advancement opportunities, and average employee
training of 178 hours - or more than four weeks - each year.

3. Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. of Toronto, with 788 employees and $575 million in revenue. This tobacco company scored at the top based on how well their benefits meet the needs of employees and their families. The company also reimburses employees for gym memberships and daycare costs, and has a voluntary turnover rate of 1.6 per cent annually.

4. Cintas Canada Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario, with 1,396 employees. This industrial laundry service company got high honours in providing supportive management, giving out service awards every five years, and granting staff the day off on their birthday.

5. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario, with 388 employees and $316 million in revenue. New to the list this year, this pharmaceutical company scored top honours in offering the best physical work environment, and giving extra days off on long weekends for head office staff.

Rounding out the top ten: EllisDon Corp., PCL Construction Group, Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc., and L'Union Canadienne. The 50 Best Companies to Work For in Canada survey is conducted by Report on Business magazine and Hewitt Associates, a global human-resources consulting firm. The final rankings were determined by a combination of employee opinion surveys (worth 70%) and leadership and human resources surveys for top executives (worth 30% combined). More than 1,200 Canadian leaders at 129 organizations completed the entry requirements.

Conservative Party of Canada: Bridgebuilding
By: Meena Bhandari - Staff WriterCommunuty News
Date Published: 12/26/2003
From: http://www.canindia.com
Mississauga: "Conservative party of Canada invites Canadians from all cultural background to be part of new Conservative movement in political history of our great country Canada,' said John Reynolds, MP and Official Opposition House Leader. He said it is very important that all Canadians get involved in the creation of the new political party in Canada. Conservative party of Canada needs you to be part of nation building through policy development and be part of the democratic process of this country he added.
John Reynolds was speaking at a Conservative party of Canada's Bridgebuilding luncheon in Mississauga.
"Canada's diverse cultural communities are ready to join newly formed conservative party of Canada," said Zubair Choudhry, National Co-Chair of Conservative party of Canada Bridgebuilding campaign. Liberals have always taken ethnic votes for granted, Conservative Party of Canada is now the obvious choice of Canada's ethnically diverse communities to play active part in Canadian political scene, Zubair added.
Conservative party of Canada's Bridgebuilding campaign is part of Stephen Harper and Peter McKay's commitment to get all Canadians equally involved in building and shaping up this new party.
"Chinese Canadians strongly support the creation of new Conservative Party of Canada,' said Eric Wen, Leader of Chinese Canadian conservative Association and riding president of federal PC Association. "It is very important fro Chinese community to participate in the Canadian democratic system," he added.
"One united conservative party of Canada is the best alternative to Paul Martin's arrogant Liberal government," said Danny Varaich for candidate of PC Party in Bramlea-Gore-Malton-Sprindale riding. "South Asian Canadian community would like to see the strong family values be part of the Conservative party of Canada," he added.
GTA's Chinese Canadian community is backing newly created conservative Party of Canada and would like to elect their first MP from Conservative Party of Canada," said Joe LI a former federal PC candidate from Scarborough.
"Immigrants build Canada and we would like to see that Canadian immigration policies reflect the needs and requirements of our country, "said Munish Chandra a former Alliance candidate from Toronto. "Liberal immigration policy is a failure and not doing any good fro the country," he added.

US clamps down on visitors
from:http://www.theage.com.au/
January 6, 2004 - 10:50AM
Summary
The United States today began taking photographs and fingerprints of most arriving foreigners as part of a heightened anti-terrorist campaign but its demand for armed sky marshals on flights stirred new international controversy.
Visitors arriving at US airports seemed resigned to the new measures but they have been opposed by some countries, such as Brazil, which has ordered that US visitors also give fingerprints and have pictures taken.
But Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge insisted the precautions were essential.
The United States wants to ensure that "our borders remain open to visitors but closed to terrorists," he said at Atlanta airport, one of 115 across the country where the so-called "biometric" defences were introduced. Fourteen ports are also involved.
An estimated 23 million people from countries where visas are required for US visits will this year have to give a digital fingerprint and have a photograph taken under the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, or US-VISIT.
Only 28 countries are exempt, mainly European countries, Japan and Australia.