High-Tech In The Hub
     The conference, titled "Massachusetts and New Hampshire: How to Win in the New Economy," offered plenty of point-by-point instructions for gaining success in the technology-driven economic boom. And most of those suggestions had little to do with business structure, money management or corporate tax strategy. Rather, legislators and business representatives were urged to take part in public policy decisions that directly affect their success in the new economy. And in an industry fueled by intellectual capital, that means taking an active role in producing better workers.
     But increasingly, attracting qualified employees has meant obtaining more H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. David Wetherell, the CEO of CMGI, said his company has gone to India to facilitate some of its workforce needs.
     "We have to go where the brains are because there aren't enough here, and they're too expensive here," he said.
     The problem is that they are in New England, where institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Dartmouth University produce hundreds of skilled workers every year. But getting students interested in high-tech careers, and prompting them to stay in the area is half of the battle.
     David Weinstein, the chief of administration and government affairs at Fidelity Investments, said the reason his company is headquartered in Boston and produces its Internet content in Massachusetts' Merrimack Valley is because 75 percent of its employees have college degrees — and many of those degrees come from area institutions. Fidelity has written course curriculums for a mutual fund class that began at the University of Massachusetts and now is offered in 15 colleges nationwide. It offers part-time employment and internships to current students and encourages its employees to teach college courses.
     "These policies work without a lot of government intervention; they rely on individual efforts," Weinstein said. "[New England] is a magnet for college students, and we need to keep them in the region."
     Weinstein offered suggestions for public policy, such as tax credits for students who remain in the state after they graduate, but many other panelists pointed to the high quality of life that draws so many residents to locate in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. With accessible cultural and recreational facilities so close to the high-tech hubs in Boston, Portsmouth, NH, and the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, companies should play up their region in order to attract workers, panelists said.
     And New Hampshire Gov. Shaheen pointed to additional policies that high-tech workers should support in order to keep those lures a reality. Environmental issues should be important to the industry, she said, because policies that help preserve natural resources ultimately benefit companies looking to attract workers who want to be near such amenities.
     "People who can work anywhere come here because of the unique quality of life," Shaheen said. "The challenge we face is balancing protecting the environment with the growth we're experiencing…The needs of business and government aren't so different any more."

Teach Your Children Well
     One of the most pressing challenges is educating today's youth so that future generations don't face the worker shortage the industry is currently experiencing. And that need brings education to the forefront of every technology policy discussion.
     Elizabeth Moss Kanter, a professor at Harvard Business School, called efforts to wire schools or bring computers into classrooms without larger structural changes "spare change." She urged the business leaders to focus on using their innovation and technology to build "real change" in schools.
     "It's our higher education that's made Massachusetts the capital of the knowledge economy," she noted. "It's not our K-12 system."
     Her suggestions ranged from using schools as 24-hour learning centers to creating programs helping teachers learn to use computers in their instruction, and many of those comments were reiterated throughout the day. Speakers also advocated school choice programs and the end of social promotion, keeping the focus on student achievement and holding students responsible for their education.
     Sen. Kerry said that programs ranging from keeping schools open after hours to wiring classrooms all need to be considered in an effort to improve student performance.
     "We shouldn't move so slowly," Kerry said. "We've got to start kicking some butts."
- by Stephanie Lash