Resources for Expanding St. Louis’ Tech Workforce
You may have recently seen or heard news of the 120,000 tech workers across the country that were laid off in the past few weeks. Of that group, it is estimated over 10,000 are international tech talents with an H-1B visa.
When these workers are laid off, they have only 60 days to get a new job, go through the difficult challenge of switching their visa to a different type, or leave the U.S. What is not well known or understood is that it is relatively easy to switch the worker’s H-1B visa from the old employer/sponsor to a new employer/sponsor for a suitable job.
With the growth of sectors like geospatial, agtech, fintech, biosciences, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing, the St. Louis metro has many open tech jobs, and the St. Louis Mosaic Project, TechSTL, and others have compiled assets to help St. Louis companies meet their talent needs by helping them find, interview, and hire these talented international tech workers that have been laid off elsewhere. There are additional plans being considered to attract more of the 120,000+ laid-off tech workers to St. Louis, but in the short term, we wanted to share with you three key tools that you or your hiring managers might find helpful in filling tech positions with skilled H-1B workers.
1. Search the St. Louis region’s many open tech jobs alongside remote options in a database developed by TechSTL.
2. View the resumes of international workers impacted by recent layoffs.
3. Learn more about the straightforward process of transferring the H-1B visa from the old employer/sponsor to a new employer/sponsor in a two-page fact sheet developed by local immigration lawyer Nalini Mahadevan. St. Louis Mosaic Project can suggest a roster of immigration attorneys for your consideration if needed.
Expanding our tech workforce is an important part of the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, and we hope you will find these tools useful in finding tech talent and driving growth in the metro. |
