U.S. Startups Struggle to Find Talent Needed to Grow
25 Feb, 2013
Silicon Valley Bank, financial partner to technology, life science and cleantech companies worldwide, found that while the vast majority (87 percent) of startups are hiring, equal numbers are struggling to find enough people with the skills they need to grow. The report is derived from anecdotes from numerous startup companies and the results of Silicon Valley Bank’s fourth annual Startup Outlook study, a survey of startup companies nationwide.
“We need to create a tech-savvy, highly skilled American workforce — the more people with skills that are in demand, the better for all of us,” says Greg Becker, president and CEO, Silicon Valley Bank. “When it comes to immigration policy, we believe that Congress is well aware of the issues facing the technology industry, so the time to act is now.”
High growth small companies, while few in number, have an outsized impact on the U.S. economy. They consume roughly 0.1-0.2 percent of U.S. GDP in invested capital, but create roughly 11 percent of U.S. private sector employment and 21 percent of U.S. GDP – or roughly 12 million jobs and more than $3 trillion in annual revenues.
“With this report, and the Startup Outlook survey at large, we are trying to bring facts to the table in the hope that better data will help lead to better policies for our country,” says Mary Dent, head of Silicon Valley Bank’s government relations group and General Counsel.
View the report.
Follow the conversation at Twitter at @SVB_Financial #StartupOutlook.
Illustration by jscreationzs at Free Digital Photos.net
Compiled from Silicon Valley Bank news release.
