Today's Ottawa Citizen on the CDN federal gov't needs for resources in the Ottawa area to
help with Year2000 remediation. The government is simply not going to be able to find the
2,000 bodies to do this work.
As mentioned in an earlier post, LGS staff has been working with Treasury Board (CIO for the Canadian public service) in the initial planning for Year2000 so further contracts would seem very likely.
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Year 2000 fix means 2,000 high-tech jobs
Monday 13 October 1997
Government needs top talent, millennium project boss says
by Kathryn May, The Ottawa Citizen
The federal government must hire about 2,000 technology specialists to ensure its
computers will continue working when the new millennium arrives, says the man in charge
of the project that is supposed to make sure they do.
Paul Rummell, who heads the Year 2000 project, said the government has assured him
the project is a priority and departments will have the money and manpower to meet the
deadline.
"I believe we're taking a leading position with the Year 2000 issue," said Mr. Rummell.
"It's a No. 1 priority for us, and there's strong recognition by ministers and deputies and
we've been assured of adequate resources to deal with this issue."
The Year 2000 project is a massive government program to update its
computer systems to prevent them from falling victim to what is often called "the
millennium bug:" most computer software uses two digits, not four, to denote years.
Hence, when 2000 arrives, the two-digit year in many computers will become "00."
To ensure that computers will be able to tell the difference between the years 2000 and
1900, they will need expensive and labour-intensive rewriting of software codes.
Without reprogramming, computers will function erratically, resulting in errors, failures and
even system shutdowns.
That could spell chaos for a range of government services, including
emergency search-and-rescue and air-traffic control. Customs officers couldn't clear cargo
at the border. Elevators may not work, federal workers and suppliers may not get paid and
the employment-insurance system may not get payments to Canadians.
Fixing the problem is expected to cost about $1 billion.
But the government's need to recruit computer specialists comes as the
high-tech industry is facing a talent shortage that is expected to become acute as 2000
approaches. And the federal talent hunt -- which amounts to a 25-per-cent increase in staff
-- is expected to further drive up the cost of these skilled workers. Last year, the Treasury
Board had about 8,100 computer specialists on its payroll.
"The government is facing a critical shortage of time and skilled personnel, and if they
don't pick up the pace, they'll have to hire even more people when resources are scarcer.
And that means paying more for those people," said Ray Hession, who recently chaired a
symposium of industry and government officials on the millennium date problem.
Last week, Auditor General Denis Desautels rapped the government for
dragging its heels on what he called the Year 2000 "crisis." He concluded the government
is perilously close to missing the deadline unless it picks up the pace of conversion and
reprogramming.
Mr. Desautels warned the biggest obstacle in the government's race against the clock is
the shortage of manpower. Even if departments can fix the problem, Mr. Desautels said,
most haven't left enough time to test their systems and few have backup plans should their
conversions fail.
For the government, the stakes are high. Unless the bug is fixed, the operation of some
departments could grind to a halt, putting the health and safety of Canadians at risk.
Mr. Desautels' audit of nine departments and a survey of another 70
departments and agencies shows most were still in the planning stage at the end of April.
He argued most systems should be converted by April 1998 to allow for testing to ensure
the problem has been solved.
Mr. Rummell said the government has compiled a list of about 40 "mission critical"
systems that will be given priority. These are the systems considered key to government
operations.
He said the government hopes to have its systems reprogrammed by 1998. He said most
departments have completed their plans on what needs to be done and are now working
on their systems.
About 1,500 of the new recruits would repair or replace the computers of the 15 largest
departments, he said.
Mr. Rummell said the government is looking at ways to loosen its rigid staffing and
procurement rules to speed up hiring. Few of the jobs are expected to be full time. Most
will be part-time, term and contract jobs.
Compounding the problem, the government is losing its own specialists to the private
sector. The government typically pays its computer specialists less than they can earn in
the private sector, but the salary gap has widened because of the six-year wage freeze
imposed on all public servants.
So far, the government isn't putting money on the table to keep and attract these
specialists. At its first round of contract talks, the Treasury Board offered them an annual
raise of one to two per cent.
Funding for the Year 2000 project is coming from the government's information technology
budget, which means some long-planned computer projects could be delayed.
The government spends up to $4 billion a year on technology. Many
departments have been relying on new technology in their business plans to meet the
government's downsizing targets and improve service. Mr. Rummell said many
departments are using the Year 2000 conversion as an opportunity to replace or update
older systems.
Copyright 1997 The Ottawa Citizen |
