Microsoft’s Ballmer jumps on productivity bandwagon
Computer giant gives $4.5 million for training, education China, India graduating more computer scientists, CEO says
OTTAWA— Improving education systems is crucial if Canada wants to boost its productivity to make the country more prosperous, says the chief executive of U. S. software giant Microsoft Corp.
China and India are producing more computer scientists than employers can find graduating from North American schools, where the numbers of students in those disciplines is actually declining, Steve Ballmer told an Ottawa conference on innovation yesterday.
That can make those countries more appealing locations for setting up operations, perhaps to the detriment of Canada and the United States.
“ I think that the key thing almost everywhere . . . is to say, ‘ how are our educational institutions doing,’ ” Ballmer said during a question- and-answer session after his speech.
“ Are we investing enough and does that lead to a good strong base of educated talent?”
His comments come as Canada debates ways to improve its lagging productivity.
It has become a key concern for federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, who is talking more and more about slipping prosperity and what is needed for Canadians to improve their living standards while making the economy more productive for the future.
Policy makers are especially worried about the demographic bubble that’s coming as baby boomers prepare to retire and begin to withdraw more money from social services than they’ll be putting in.
In last month’s federal minibudget, Goodale pledged about $40 billion in tax cuts with a bit of new education spending in a multi- year program that hinges on the Liberals being re- elected in the Jan. 23 federal election.
Productivity in corporate Canada is linked to several things — from university, college and job training to the adoption of new labour-saving machinery and equipment by companies to the size of Canadian factories. Some analysts say that Canada’s living standards have been essentially flat for more than a decade.
In contrast, the U. S. labour department said yesterday that the productivity of American workers improved at the quickest pace in two years during the July- September quarter.
Besides the public- sector efforts, companies must also become more willing to innovate and take risks to boost their productivity, Ballmer told the conference on improving Canada’s competitiveness.
“ The challenge for businesses in Canada and the United States — and for economic policy makers in our two nations — is to find or create competitive advantages,” he said. North American’s biggest potential advantage is the ability of companies in Canada and the U. S. to innovate, he added.
Meanwhile, to help improve education and life- long learning, Ballmer announced that Microsoft Canada will offer $ 4.5 million over the next three years to provide software training and tools to Canadian schools and community organizations.