Comcast executive says high-tech focus leaves some students behind.

• Author: Cote, Mike
• Position: TELECOM

YOU'D THINK THE EXXCUTIVE VICE PRESIENT OF A COMPANY THAT EMPLOYS 6,000 engineers would like nothing more than for educators to focus on the skill sets needed to prepares students for advantage technology jobs.

That certainly would help David Cohen of Comcast Corp., which has about 5,000 vacant jobs right now, most of which he noted require skills. But technology jobs are not for everyone, Cohen told a group of business leaders gathered in late October for an Urban League breakfast in Denver.

With so many students failing to graduate high school or enter college, it's simply not realistic to expect that a large percentage of them will ever possess the skill needed to become engineers or take on other advanced technology jobs, he said.

"To be a truly competitive nation, to truly be best economy in the world and to preserve our status as a world leader across the spectrum, we need to do more than just invest in and generate super high-skilled technology jobs," Cohen said.

While Comcast employs about 1,500 engineers in Colorado, many of the position the company fills are for technicians. They don't necessarily required a college degree, thought the skills required have grown more complex with improvements in technology, he said.

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"To be a Comcast technician today, you have to be able to do more than climb on a ladder, drill a hole though the wall, run a coaxial cable and screw it into the back of a television...