Join Us For "Making Mandatory HR Training Fun" January 19
Transition Board Meeting
Embry Rucker Shelter Donations Update
Chapter Discussion Group
YRCI's John Jaeger Announces Donation To Chapter Scholarship Fund
Board Meeting Minutes
Dulles SHRM 2004-2005 Annual Scholarship Program
Welcome To New Members
"HR Today - Facing The Challenges Of Tomorrow, Now"
HRA-NCA To Sponsor Spring 2005 PHR/SPHR Exam Preperation Sessions
Mark Your Calendar
Article: Congress Expands H-1B Visa Program
Join Us For "Making Mandatory HR Training Fun - How To Turn 'Prisoners' Into Learners" January 19, 2005
For Details on the Program: Click Here
Transition Board Meeting
As is our tradition at the Dulles Chapter, a Transition Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 15 at 6 p.m. at the Washington Dulles Marriott Suites, the location of our monthly meetings. Attendees will include the outgoing 2004 Board as well as the new 2005 Board members.
The purpose of the meeting is to transfer responsibilities and to begin planning priorities and initiatives for 2005. Chapter 2005 President Kurt Cowles will chair the business meeting. The buffet meal will include all meal preferences. If you are an incoming or outgoing Board member, be sure to contact Cindy Loison (cgloison@aol.com or 703-265-7520) by Monday, December 13 to let her know whether or not you will be attending.
Embry Rucker Shelter Donations Update
Members who attended the November dinner meeting donated $40 for the Embry Rucker Shelter. Donations were used to purchase Giant Food gift certificates for the homeless. Embry Rucker Shelter Chief Executive Officer Kerrie Wilson extends her sincere appreciation.
YRCI President John Jaeger Announces Donation To Chapter Scholarship Fund
YRCI President John Jaeger has announced a first-ever donation to the annual Dulles Chapter Scholarship Program [see article below] by making a $250 contribution to the 2004-2005 scholarship fund. In making this generous contribution to the Program, John explained that he “supports the development of HR professionals and is pleased to be a part of the Dulles Chapter’s Scholarship Program.”
Chapter members extend our sincere thanks to John and his organization.
Board Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the Board meetings are available on our web site - please take a few minutes to review them in full. Click Here to View.
Dulles SHRM 2004-2005 Annual Scholarship Program
The Dulles SHRM chapter is pleased to announce our third Annual Scholarship Program - up to two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded!
As part of its mission to promote professional development and to raise the standard of performance in human resources management, the chapter is offering chapter members, sons and daughters of chapter members, and students in the local area the opportunity to apply. To qualify for consideration, applicants must be:
- A chapter member in good standing, a son or daughter of a chapter member in good standing, or a member of a local student SHRM chapter during the time of application and receipt of the award; AND
- Enrolled in a full-time or part-time program earning a degree in human resources or in a human resources-related field at an undergraduate college-level or graduate program.
Applications will be available at upcoming chapter meetings and may also be downloaded. Click Here for Download (Word Doc 199KB). Please send completed applications no later than Monday, January 31, 2005 to:
Dulles SHRM
Scholarship Committee
P.O. Box 1249
Herndon, VA 20172
For more information, please contact Maggie Chan at Maggie.chan@sodexhousa.com or (301) 987-4353.
Welcome To New Members
Membership Director Bonnie Little reports that Chapter membership has surged to a new high of 203 members. We welcome the following members who have recently joined the Dulles Chapter:
Michelle Arena, Manager, Resource Management, Acumen Solutions
Jennifer Bizub, HR Specialist, YRCI
Susan Edwards, Controller & HR Manager, Red River Computer Co.
Bryan Gingrich, Nextel Communications
Rebekah Hanlon, Employment Consultant, BB&T
Kurby Hodges, Administrative Assistant, Northrop Grumman
Lisa Jacobs, Human Resources Director
Lisa Luzier, Account Executive, RemX Office Staff
Christopher Schaffer, Benefits Lead, Computer Sciences Corp.
William Sparks, National Director, Human Resources, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Geneva Sullivan, HR Manager, Reston Limousine Service & Travel
David Vernon, Senior HR Applications Specialist, Oracle Corporation
Susan Waltz, Regional HR Manager, Nissan North America
"HR Today - Facing The Challenges Of Tomorrow, Now"
Begin 2005 by attending the HRA-NCA (DC SHRM) conference. Attend a full day of learning with a choice of 15 educational sessions on Managing Legal Issues, Building HR Competencies, and Professional and Personal Growth and Development.
Be there for a lively conference kick-off with Mark Gorkin, the “Stress Doc.” Wrap up the day with a network reception and Vendor Expo. Register to win a door prize, including a trip to the SHRM Conference in San Diego in June 2005. Take advantage of the early registration price before December 15. Register online at
www.hra-nca.org or call HRA-NCA at (703) 241-0229.
Where:
Cafritz Conference Center
George Washington University Campus, Washington, D.C.
When:
Friday, January 28, 2005
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
HRA-NCA To Sponsor Spring 2005 PHR/SPHR Exam Preperation Sessions
Strengthen your human resources knowledge by participating in a comprehensive review of the HR functions while preparing for either the PHR or SPHR exam. This course provides 34 hours of instructor-led facilitation by Paul Shibelski, SPHR. Dates and times for the course follow. Participants are expected to attend all the sessions.
- Orientation: Friday, February 18 from 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.
- Session 1: Friday, March 4 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Session 2: Saturday, March 5 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Session 3: Friday, March 18 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Session 4: Saturday, March 19 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Review: Friday, April 8 from 8:00 - 12:00 p.m.
The seminar cost is $1,125 for HRA-NCA members and $1,200 for non-members. This price includes all sessions and the SHRM learning system. Breakfast is provided. The registration deadline is Friday, February 4, 2005.
Sessions will be held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. The location is accessible via the Metro Red Line. Parking is available in local garages and on the street. Visit www.hra-nca.org/event for more information and to enroll.
Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming SHRM Conferences and Seminars
2005 Conferences
- March 14-16 - Annual Employment Law & Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C.
- April 20-22 - Annual EMA Conference & Exposition, Dallas, TX
- May 22-25 - WorldatWork Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, LA
- June 19-22 - SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition, San Diego, CA
2004 Chapter Dinner Meetings
- December 15 - Transition Board Meeting
2005 Chapter Dinner Meetings
- January 19 (Dinner Meeting) - “Making Mandatory HR Training Fun - How to Turn ‘Prisoners’ Into Learners” with Wendy Mack, T3 Consulting
- February 16 (Dinner Meeting) - To Be Announced
- March 16 (Dinner Meeting) - “Dealing With Difficult Situations and People” with Cornelia Gamlem, GEMS Group
- April 20 (Breakfast Meeting) - To be announced
- May 18 (Dinner Meeting) - To be announced
- June 15 (Dinner Meeting) - To be announced
- July 20 (Breakfast Meeting) - To be announced
- August 17 (Dinner Meeting) - To be announced
- September 21 (Dinner Meeting) - To be announced
- October 19 (Breakfast Meeting) - To be announced
- November 16 (Dinner Meeting) - To be announced
- December 7 (Dinner Meeting) - Holiday Party
- December 14 (Dinner Meeting) - Transition Board Meeting
Article: Congress Expands H-1B Visa Program
By Hector Velez, Executive Vice President, HireStrategy
(Contributed by Diversity/Workforce Director Evelyn Kaiser)
Congress has taken action to address what many Washington-area high-tech employers regard as a serious problem: a shortage of qualified U.S. workers and deficiencies in the nation’s mathematics, science, and engineering education programs.
Under a measure enacted [in late November], Congress will allow employers to hire 20,000 more foreign high-tech workers under a special visa program after businesses reached the annual ceiling on the first day of the government’s fiscal year.
With the economy on the rebound, we can expect to see the job market for high-tech professionals heat up considerably. That means more opportunities for U.S. job seekers - and for foreign workers who meet the requirements for “H-1B” visas. HireStrategy recruiters are seeing a marked increase in job orders from area technology firms.
Foreign Workers With Graduate Degrees
The H-1B visas will be granted to foreign workers who have graduate degrees from a U.S. university in specialty fields such as architecture, engineering, medicine, biotechnology, and computer programming. Under the program, foreign workers must have a job offer from a U.S. company, and the company must show that qualified U.S. workers are not being passed over.
Businesses have been limited to hiring no more than 65,000 workers annually through the H-1B program. But they reached that figure in just one day, October 1, and at once began warning that they would lose talented university graduates and potential employees to competitors overseas. In response, Congress has decided to exempt some 20,000 foreign students with master’s degrees or better, earned from U.S. universities, from this limit.
The use of H-1B visas soared dramatically during the dot.com boom, when there weren’t enough technology workers to go around. According to USA Today, the number of H-1B visas jumped from 65,000 in 1998 to 195,000 in 2001.
“A Critical Talent Pool”
“This is a critical talent pool that American taxpayers have helped to educate,” argues Sandra Boyd, who chairs Compete America, a coalition of high-tech companies that lobbied for the exemptions. “It’s counterproductive to educate these students and then force them abroad to compete against us.” The coalition includes companies such as Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola.
“We don’t want to turn away the best and the brightest,” says Harris Miller, president of the Arlington-based Information Technology Association of America. Harris says that forcing foreign student to leave the U.S. after earning graduate degrees from U.S. universities “is cutting of our nose to spite our face.”
Elissa McGovern, an attorney in the Tysons Corner office of Greenberg Traurig and a member of the Workforce Committee of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, welcomes the Congressional move: “This will be of significant benefit to those who were shut out this year or taken by surprise by this year’s early reaching of the 65,000 annual numerical limit. It will benefit now and in the future those who have attained a U.S. master’s of higher degree, enabling U.S. employers to reap the benefit of those who obtain advanced degrees here.”
Critics say the program allows businesses to fill jobs with cheaper foreign labor, but employers who use the program say they cannot find enough Americans with the necessary math, science, and engineering skills.
That’s all for this month unless you have any ideas or suggestions? This is your chapter - let us know what’s on your mind!
Cindy Loison
President
Dulles SHRM
cloisonhr@aol.com
