Training ranks high

"Technical people have a much stronger affiliation with their profession than their company," said Tim Walsh, vice president of research for Blessing/White, a human resources firm. "When you ask them what they do, they'll say, 'I'm a systems engineer,' and who they work for is kind of irrelevant."

Because of the emphasis technical people put on self-reliance and the speed with which technology changes, offering training ranks high when it comes to recruiting technology employees.

"Technical people have this very strong fear of obsolescence, they always feel that they have to be up to date," Walsh said. "If they feel that they are working on a technology that's getting old and they aren't getting opportunities to hone their skills, they're going to move."

By Jonathan Gaw, Minneapolis Star Tribune

source: NH Sunday News, Manchester, NH January 18, 1998 page 3D