The weekend news on Afghanistan weighs heavily on everyone’s minds, but especially for those who have invested years in order to bring about change. The withdrawal decision was not surprising to most; however, implementation and the fallout that has ensued has been saddening and discouraging. While many have opinions on the whys and the hows of it all, the bottom line is that many lives were impacted this weekend. It’s a good time to check in on those who have served in different ways in Afghanistan – both veterans and contractors. As the constant news cycle hits everyone differently, it’s important to be mindful and check in on employees.
Layoffs Impacting the Cleared Industry
| Rackspace | Leading end-to-end multi-cloud technology services company, Rackspace, recently announced plans to layoff 10% of its workforce. The company’s headquarters are in Windcrest, TC, but they have 7,200 employees worldwide. Rackspace has plans to backfill the positions with offshore service centers, as well as grow internal training for current employees on cloud engineering, data engineering, and cloud native software engineering.
“The initiatives announced will enable Rackspace Technology to take full advantage of current market trends, drive significant earnings leverage as revenue continues to grow, and compete even more effectively with other cloud service providers,” said CEO Kevin Jones. “In addition, we are more closely aligning our Rackers with next-generation service offerings that offer more compelling growth potential both for them and the company.” |
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Hiring impacting the Cleared Industry
| Saab |
Saab has plans to add new jobs in East Syracuse, NY, following its U.S. Navy radar contract win. The Navy picked Saab to produce its MK-9 tracker illuminator systems, ship-based radars. The contract value is $32.3 million and delivery is set for August 2023; however, if contract options are exercised, the contract ceiling would be $104.8 million with a period of performance ending in 2030. Saab has 674 employees currently in the U.S. and currently, they are in the works of adding 25 positions in New York for engineers, finance, customer service, IT and manufacturing. As the program continues, Saab indicates that more open positions could follow. “This is a new line of business for us in Syracuse that will require significant job growth, both in engineering and manufacturing disciplines,” said Erik Smith, president and CEO of Saab, Inc. |
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Cleared Employer at Work: Frontier Technology, Inc
FTI embraces change, encourages out-of-the-box thinking, and empowers employees to help shape the future. Join their team.
Opportunity to Watch
While hiring more tech workers is important, an often overlooked strategy is reskilling current employees. It means not always hiring the perfect candidate for a job, but hiring tech-ready candidates who can be trained and skilled to fit future roles. Recruiting skilled workers is challenging, and some organizations find it’s a better strategy to hire continuous learners who are willing to grow and adjust to fit the required jobs.
According to Neil Duggan, director of tech talent acquisition at Liberty Mutual, “Continuous learners have the ability and the willingness to pursue different technologies and different skillsets that might be out of their original comfort zone. I think that’s really helping us in that regard.”
As hiring demands for tech jobs grow and expand, having an agile workforce can take an organization farther. The time to think about reskilling isn’t when you have specific contract billets to fill on a short timeline. It’s important to look ahead at future trends and find employees who have the ability to pivot and grow.
