Program puts valley students a step ahead

When Gilberto Martin starts work as a system administrator Monday, he'll be the first in his family to work in an office. At 19, he'll earn more than his father does.

``People in my family work in the fields, they wash dishes,'' said Martin. ``This job is a big step up for me -- and my family too.''

Martin and 27 other Evergreen Valley College students, many with backgrounds very similar to his, will graduate Friday from an intensive summer boot camp designed to train young Silicon Valley residents from poor communities to do high-tech jobs that would ordinarily go to foreign workers.

The summer boot camp, funded by a U.S. Department of Labor grant, will expand to other community colleges and training centers in the next few months to train local residents on welfare-to-work programs, workers whose companies have left the area and those already in the industry who want to seek more technical positions.

The program was conceived to meet the information technology industry's shortage of workers -- estimated at up to 400,000 -- by training U.S. workers. By year's end, the Labor Department will award nearly $80 million to train approximately 5,000 U.S. workers for jobs that otherwise might go to foreign workers. A portion of the funds comes from the $500 fee that companies pay for each visa under the H-1B program.

The program at Evergreen Valley College brought together government, educators, industry and community organizations. The boot camp was administrated by Nova Workforce Board, a governmental agency focusing on workforce issues. Evergreen college instructors, along with Sun Microsystems Inc., developed the criteria.

The students were trained to work as system administrators -- the techies who manage a company's computer network.

``We don't have a worker shortage. We have a skill shortage,'' said Henry Estrada, one of the instructors who taught at the Evergreen boot camp. ``Part of the answer to that is right here in Silicon Valley. We have a lot of very capable people in our communities who just need an opportunity to learn the skills the high-tech industry needs.''

To walk into the computer lab where Martin and his classmates have spent six hours a day for the last eight weeks is like cruising the neighborhoods of South San Jose. Among the 28 students are 15 Latinos, three African-Americans, three Filipinos, four Vietnamese-Americans and three whites. They range in age from 18 to 40, though most of them are college age. Nearly half are women.

Experience not key

Though many had experience with computers, a few were novices. The most important criterion for being picked was each student's commitment to the program. One woman drove to classes each day from Alameda County. The students voluntarily met in the evenings and on weekends to study together. A chat board set up especially for the class was often filled with questions about the study material.

Over the course of the program, a definite esprit de corps developed among the students, instructors said. ``What they all shared was that most of them saw this as a way to make a difference with their lives,'' said instructor Henry Gee.

It was a turning point for Cathy Hong, a recent graduate of the University of California-Davis who just finished her first year as a teacher. She loved to teach but was making less than $30,000. Hong, a Vietnamese immigrant, was thinking of switching careers when she learned of the program while taking a database class with instructor Estrada.

``This is just the first step to get into the computer field,'' said Hong, who wants to be a database or networking manager. ``I don't just want to be a system administrator for the rest of my life.''

It's estimated the high-tech industry will create more than 5 million jobs between 1998 and 2008, though many tech executives worry there won't be enough workers to fill those jobs. The industry has lobbied hard for legislation to significantly increase the number of foreign workers from countries such as India, China and Canada.

This year's allotment of 115,000 H-1B visas was reached in March, six months before the end of the fiscal year. Current proposals in Congress would nearly double that allotment to 200,000 a year over the next three years.

Those who oppose the importation of foreign workers argue that the labor gap could be filled with U.S. workers, particularly with training.

Companies like Cisco Systems Inc. and Sun say programs like the one at Evergreen are part of the answer. At several schools, including Evergreen, Sun paid for half the cost of the computer labs, equipping them with Unix servers and computer systems. Sun also helped develop the courses.

``We're in this for ourselves because we have this need for workers,'' said Leslie Bowers, the program manager for the training program. ``We're filling a void.''

Bowers said the program would also help Sun's customers and partners, who often have to pay high rates for contract work because of vacancies. Sun, for example, consistently has 30 unfilled system administrator positions. In fact, Sun managers will be at the Evergreen graduation ceremony Friday and plan to interview the graduates in the next few weeks. Bowers doesn't think the students will have trouble finding jobs.

After the program is finished next spring, it will have trained 202 workers. Though that's an insignificant number compared with the hundreds of thousands of workers needed, the program has serves an additional purpose: ``We're hoping to show that there is success with people who aren't in the technology sector,'' said Ruben Barrales of the non-profit Joint Venture: Silicon Valley, who will be at Friday's graduation ceremony.

Like 22-year-old Alicia Rocero. Originally from Fresno, Rocero moved to San Jose to live with her aunt and uncle last year ``to get serious with my life,'' she said. Though Rocero had no prior computer experience, she discussed the idea of taking computer classes with a guidance counselor, who steered her to the program.

Study sessions

The first several weeks were rough, Rocero said. ``I almost thought I wouldn't make it.'' Her classmates and the extra study sessions pulled her through. ``They kept telling me I could do it and told me not to give up. I'm glad I didn't.''

She said she was also driven by the fact that she'd be among the few Latinas in the tech industry. Rocero's plans to get a systems administrator job and continue to take more computer classes. She's also sending her friends a message: ``If I can do it, they can do it too.'

© Copyright 2000 The San Jose Mercury News