Knuth Offers Up Alternative Solution To Information Technology Outsourcing
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 5/22/08 @ 7:35 pm - Filed Under Local Politics
Well that didn’t take long. County council candidate Kevin Knuth has issued a press release condemning the city’s decision to “outsource” local government’s IT work.
“Sending taxpayer dollars from Allen County to overseas companies makes no sense, especially in our current economic situation,” said Knuth. “It makes more sense to keep the $25 Million here in Allen County- where it will bolster our local economy.”
Knuth also introduces an alternative plan which he calls the “Earn and Learn” program. This program would have the city manage students from our local universities who would ultimately handle the day-to-day operations for the city and county IT department:
The “Earn and Learn” program would require the City/County to hire a small information management staff who would oversee paid interns drawn from local colleges that offer information technology degrees. “My idea is to create a training facility within city/county government. The big obstacle facing graduates is lack of experience. The opportunity for these students to learn the ins and outs of large computer networks would leave them better prepared for future employment,” said Knuth.
This sounds like a much better option than sending the work to a foreign company. There are plenty of students at our local universities that are capable of handling the city’s IT needs. This reminds me of a comment made by councilman Mitch Harper who said that local government needs to better utilize the community’s collective intelligence to solve government problems. Mayor Tom Henry has also called for an eduction summit where employers and universities can get together and discuss the community’s vocational needs.
It appears Knuth’s solution is in line with that train of thought and at the very least should be seriously considered before any contracts are awarded…
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2 Responses to “Knuth Offers Up Alternative Solution To Information Technology Outsourcing”
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I hope this idea gets explored…
I am a Senior Account Representative with Technology Integration Group. TIG is a MBE based out of San Diego. I work out of our Indianapolis office and come to Fort Wayne very often. TIG is also a sub for ACS under the current contract with the City of Fort Wayne/Allen County.
ACS is already giving local college students from the Fort Wayne market jobs today. TIG has 15 contractors onsite with ACS currently. That number has been as high as 24, and all of those contractors have come from the Fort Wayne market.
The majority of them have come from the local colleges. ITT and Ivy Tech students have worked as contractors to ACS. ACS has gone on to hire some of these students as full-time openings become available. ACS even has members of its team who are onsite at the City-County building serving as advisory board members for some of the local schools.
Kevin’s plan is already being carried out to a certain degree as part of the current contract that is going away.