TPT March 2018

G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E

with the US. (“As Trump Tightens Legal Immigration, Canada Woos Tech Firms,” 19 December) While much has been published about President Trump’s policies cracking down on illegal immigration, Liz Robbins of the Times noted that the administration’s moves to restrict legal immigration, as well, especially disadvantage the tech industry, which draws many workers from abroad. Last April, Mr Trump issued the executive order “Buy American and Hire American”, which included requests to reform the H-1B visa programme. By means of a lottery, the H-1B programme awards 85,000 temporary visas annually to high-skilled foreign workers in “speciality” occupations. Between application and legal fees, applying for a single H-1B visa could cost a company up to $6,000, and take months. “It is also as uncertain as roulette,” wrote Ms Robbins, “with hundreds of thousands of applicants for the spots.” Late last year, the Department of Homeland Security published a set of proposed rule changes that would make the visas even harder to qualify for, to help ensure that only “the best and brightest” foreign workers are selected. It also sought to eliminate work permits for the spouses of some visa holders. In contrast, Ms Robbins reported, Canada’s immigration agency in June 2017 started the Global Skills Strategy for high-skilled workers from abroad. It facilitates their obtaining work permits in as little two weeks. › Hubert Bolduc, the CEO of Montreal International, a public-private partnership that recruits foreign companies to move to Canada and offers support on their arrival, told the Times , “We’ve been loving government on this because we know it’s a talent game.” In light of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, Sunil Hirani, the co-founder of trueEx, a New York-based electronic global interest rates exchange, struck a very different note. “We’re almost saying, ‘Don’t come,’” said Mr Hirani, who came to the US as a child 40 years ago, from India. “How can you have a ‘Come to New York City’ program if the people of New York City are going to get kicked out? How do you sell that?”

have surpassed ‘baby boomers’ as the nation’s largest living generation. And the American millennial generation continues to grow, as young immigrants expand its ranks. In Mr Lowery’s view, the commonly expressed objections to this considerable cohort are actually those that could make millennials the ideal supply chain managers of the future. Specifically: • “They’re always on their phones.” Yes, and a good thing, too, for the needs of the global supply chain. Their entire lives revolve around smartphones, wearables and cutting-edge technology. Always connected and always on , they bring connectivity and accessibility to their jobs, to the benefit of their employers. To millennials, technology is something they accept as a constant, even as it constantly changes. In an industry increasingly dependent on the newest technology, people who are not only adept at using that technology but also not intimidated by change are extremely valuable. • “They’re always on social media.” This is seen as another plus. Having grown up in a collaborative culture, millennials would prefer to work in a collegial work culture rather than one based on competition with colleagues. This uniquely positions them for a role in the global supply chain, as their strengths lie in creating and maintaining partnerships that could be crucial to the success of their organisations. • “They want a trophy for everything they do.” Mr Lowery conceded that this generation grew up “getting lots of positive reinforcement,” leading them to expect much from life. Millennials want jobs that engage them and in which they can take pride. They want jobs that are both rewarding and mission-driven – that seek to make the world a better place. With higher than average self-esteem, many millennials are emboldened to improve their skills and challenge the status quo. They demonstrate confidence beyond the ordinary in their ability to analyse and act on data. They are willing to take risks and adopt new ideas, implementing technology to get the desired results. › Summing up, Mr Lowery of Global Trade described millennials as a generation that expects to find answers with just a few clicks on a smartphone, conducing to quick, well-informed decisions. He recommends that supply chain organisations, needing to enhance their operational effectiveness, take notice. US immigr at ion ‘It’s a talent game.’ And Canada is winning it “It’s becoming less and less sexy to be going to the United States,” Tim Delisle, a founder of the start-up Datalogue, which uses artificial intelligence to prepare and synthesise data for other businesses, told the New York Times . He asserted that skilled foreign workers crave the greater stability that he said immigrants have in Canada compared

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MARCH 2018