Not a Question of Demand, But a Question of Why

Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Katherine Archuleta

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stated that increasing the population of younger workers in the Federal sector is a challenge with part of the problem being demand.  Consultant groups support Director Archuleta’s assertion by stating that students’ interest in working for the federal government has declined over the last four years.  That being said removes us from the issue of supply and demand.  The demand for young people particularly in the digital field is high.  I have not read any literature to suggest the contrary for supply.  Students continue to major in information technology and all things digital.  Therefore, the demand for such jobs is there and the supply is there.  The jobs are not being created which is quite different from the demand for jobs.

Therefore, we come back to the question of why jobs are not being created when we have such a need to stay current and competitive on the world stage with digital technology.  Jobs are there but they are housed in other countries.  If you contact a Call Center for tech support, the 1-800 number may be anywhere but within the continental United States.  Students are not adverse to working in the Federal government.  Young students need jobs when they come out of school.  They cannot find them because they are on the other side of the moon and not available to them.  The few positions that are available in America are somehow given to young people from other countries, many who do not intend to reside in America.

The United States should be the leader in promoting diversity across all venues.  That diversity should not exclude American-born and raised young adults and graduates.  There is something devastatingly wrong and it has to do with business enterprises refusing to share the profits with the workforce.  It is not hard to see what is happening in America and it is to the detriment of the country’s forward movement as a model for other nations.  There are a number of business concerns where there is no person in the day-to-day establishment who can speak translatable English.  You cannot communicate with the persons you are doing business with.  That is abuse on both ends.

The customer is being abused by the business because they cannot communicate with the persons representing the business.  It is abuse of the person representing the business because they cannot adequately communicate with their customers.  The entire discourse becomes frustrating and counterproductive.  It is solely my opinion that these workers are being employed because they are being paid far less than what they should be paid.  If they cannot understand and communicate the official language of the United States (English) then they cannot understand the pay protocol in the country.  That is just common sense.  Our country should not be in a position where we seemingly support taking advantage of a person’s inability to communicate sufficiently in the language of a nation.

When I travel to other countries, I have never expected for that country to change their language to accommodate me.  I had to learn to communicate in the language of my host country.  Luckily, I was always able to find someone who spoke fluent English.  I also made certain I knew enough of the language to distinguish what was being said through a translator.  The bottom line is that no person who cannot speak the official language of a nation should be put in the position of serving customers they cannot adequately serve.  The basis of serving any customer is to be able to communicate.  Unfortunately, although our nation looks like the United Nations (UN) and we are proud of that part of our embracing diversity, we do not on a day-to-day basis have the technology of the UN to translate language to the benefit of the whole assembly.

Once again, the question to Director Archuleta is not one of Demand but one of Why.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

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