‘Pride and Prejudice’: The Increasing Competitiveness of Foreign Students
Many thanks to entrepreneur.com for publishing my latest Op Ed on the increasing quality of non-American students looking to work in the US. The original post is here and an abstract follows below.
Greg
Foreign grads are hungrier than ever for coveted U.S. employment positions. With the issuance of both student and work visas now at an all-time high, entrepreneurs looking to hire talent have an abundance of choices. This past week, I again witnessed firsthand the increasing quality of non-U.S. students, even as their American counterparts face challenges in a competitive job market now, more than ever before.
For over a decade, I have taught week-long international entrepreneurship courses at different French universities. The class sizes are large and even more heterogeneous by nationality than are most similar cohorts in the United States. This year’s group of 60 was particularly well prepared and on their game regarding the competitive strategies of the companies and nations where they operate.
Here is some additional content from entrepreneur.com which goes with the article:
Is the U.S. Too Hungry for Foreign Workers?
Companies may be overstating their need to tap foreign workers for specialized jobs in the United States.
There are 1.34 qualified domestic workers for every one position where a company has indicated an intent to hire a foreign worker through the H-1B visa program, according to data from employment site Bright.com. In some fields, like financial analysis, there are as many as 12 qualified American candidates for every job a company claims they need to fill with an H-1B worker.
The Startup Visa: a Boost for Small Business?
Two years ago, Brad Feld, managing director of Boulder, Colo.-based venture capital firm The Foundry Group, was working with two companies whose teams included foreign entrepreneurs from Europe and Canada. While the businesses were promising, Feld and his team could not find any applicable visa categories that would allow the entrepreneurs to stay and start their businesses. “The last thing in the world they could do was delay [their launches]and spend a bunch of money trying to jump through a bunch of hoops just to be able to stay here and start their businesses,” he says.
