Introduction

The Information Technology Association of America predicted in April 2000 that roughly half of the 1.6 million IT jobs expected to be generated during the year would go unfilled.

Many states report more than 15 percent vacancy rates for their IT positions, according to a National Association of State Information Resource Executives (NASIRE) report issued in November (www.nasire.org). It's a huge problem that few IT shops are immune from. But some organizations have decided not to take it lying down.

The state of Texas and Tucson, Ariz., have come up with creative solutions to the technology workforce dilemma. Here's what they're doing.