Growing demand for technology workers with the skills needed to build out the software that supports emerging technologies is going to help drive up wages, Genesis10 CEO Harley Lippman said recently on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaking to Pimm Fox, Co-Anchor of the morning show, Bloomberg Markets AM, Lippman said that to realize the benefits of such emerging technologies as Artificial Intelligence, companies will need to hire workers trained in Java and Python programming. Demand for these technology professionals, coupled with a turnover in workers, is going to help raise wages that have been flat for many years as companies have been leveraging volume discounts negotiated with vendors that provide them with large numbers of the tech professionals.
“Change is coming,” Lippman told Fox. “There will always be a need for IT professionals. Just keep an eye on emerging technologies.”
Listen to Harley Lippman on Bloomberg Markets AM.
Asked about employer use of H1-B visas, Lippman said that while they have helped to keep wages low, companies now are contracting with fewer of these workers because of growing uncertainty about the government issuing and renewing the visas. “It is a serious issue,” he said. “In technology, companies need consistency and stability above all. They have deadlines and have to get work done.”
In the interview, Lippman also addressed worker training, describing a gap between the technology skills companies need and the training programs they eliminated during the Great Recession. The gap, he said, presents a real opportunity for people who want to get into the tech sector. “If they can get the training on their own or from a vendor that provides it like Genesis10, they can get very good jobs.”
And to a question about whether technology talent is concentrated in cities along the U.S. coasts, Lippman replied that tech talent exists all over the U.S. and the world. “Technology moves at such speed,” he said. “It is needed everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you are. That’s the beauty of technology.”
Still, companies are looking to have work done in low-cost areas such as the Midwest which is rich in technology talent, he said. “There’s a bit of a blend. Companies are having some work done onshore, but offsite, and some done at headquarters which may be in a big city” where it may be more costly.
Harley’s leadership extends beyond business. He serves on the boards of leading business, academic, and policy institutions. His appointments include the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Partnership for Peace Advisory Board, where he helps advance efforts to foster trust and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. He has also served, by presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, on the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad under multiple administrations.
He sits on the boards or advisory councils of Yale University’s School of Management, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, the Brookings Institution, The Washington Institute, the Middle East Forum, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), where he serves on the Political Leadership Council and Executive Committee.
Previously, Harley served as public director of the New York Mercantile Exchange and held leadership positions with the American Jewish Congress and the America-Israel Friendship League.
A committed philanthropist, Harley is the sole financial supporter of an orphanage in Cambodia, where he has helped dozens of children access education and opportunity, including funding college tuition for many. He has also led efforts to identify and memorialize unmarked Holocaust mass graves in Eastern Europe, helping preserve the memory of those lost. His documentary, Safeguarding Memory, aired on PBS and received two awards for its impact and storytelling.
Harley continues to combine business leadership with civic responsibility, making lasting contributions to the fields of technology, education, diplomacy, and remembrance.