MINING FOR HIGH-TECH HELP.

• Author: BORT, JULIE

TECHNOLOGY WORKERS ARE MORE RARE, MORE PRECIOUS AND MORE SOUGHT-AFTER THAN GOLD. HERE'S HOW TO HELP YOUR COMPANY FIND -- AND KEEP -- THAT MOTHER LODE.

Like a cog railway train heading for a rickety bridge, Colorado is barreling into a perilous high-tech talent shortage. More than 12,000 information technology jobs are vacant in Colorado, recruiters say, a number that is only expected to grow.

"There will be 95,000 new (high-tech) jobs created every year nationwide between now and 2007, but we are only graduating about 45,000 into the tech space," said Bill Sebra, president of Knowledge Workers Inc., a nationwide recruiting company that recently relocated its headquarters from Virginia to Englewood, in part because of the state's dire need for tech workers.

The shortfall means one in every dozen jobs in the U.S. economy will be vacant, according to the Arlington, Va.-based Information Technology Association of America. The ITAA calculates the United States will need about 1.6 million IT workers by

Through Internet sourcing, you can pan for applicants who are actively looking for new jobs, as well as those who are merely passively receptive to the idea. In the last two years, Bob Bandy, president of Bandy and Associates in Aurora, has been both types of job searcher. Prior to forming his own consulting company as an Internet marketing specialist, Bandy posted his resume on various job boards. Currently, he goes online to scan for potential contract work, with a passive eye ever open for a great full-time gig.

"The Internet works several different ways. You can have robots working for you to alert you to jobs. You can check associations, which often have job boards," he explained.

Flexible requirements

Even with tools like the Internet, finding someone with the experience you're looking for won't be easy.

"Six months ago, you could find a Java person and place them into a position. But today, employers want people with a minimum of two years' experience. You won't find that locally," Gonsalves warns.

Other hot skills difficult to fill in Colorado include Microsoft Active Server Pages and all things e-commerce, said Rudy Lacovara, COO of JustComputerJobs.com.

And when you do find someone who appears to fit the bill, Gonsalves said you've still got to be wary -- you may have caught a job hopper ready to dash to the next higher-paying position, leaving your projects in the lurch.

Instead, focus on candidates with broad experience and aptitude...