Beyond the Hard Hat: Stimulus Hiring for White Collar Jobs Heats Up

Author: Brendan Courtney, President of The Mergis Group

Employers who anticipate a need for skilled white-collar professionals, including accountants, finance professionals, banking and mortgage specialists, engineers and attorneys, among others, may want to begin staffing up now. The stimulus, which is expected to save or create roughly 3.5 million jobs, will generate jobs in healthcare, alternative energy and infrastructure, among other sectors. 

While the initial focus of the $787 billion stimulus has been on “shovel ready” products, employers looking to expand must look beyond the hard hat. In fact, many of the expected jobs call for professional skills and education. More than a third -- 37 percent -- of the jobs created by the stimulus package will require an associate degree or greater, according to a study by Georgetown University’s Center for Education and the Workforce. 

Employers who anticipate a need for skilled white-collar professionals, including accountants, finance professionals, banking and mortgage specialists, engineers and attorneys, among others, may want to begin staffing up now. The stimulus, which is expected to save and create roughly 3.5 million jobs, will generate jobs in healthcare, alternative energy and infrastructure, among other sectors. 

It is also expected to stimulate job growth in three other ways. First, every large public-works project will require financial management and administration. In addition, the stimulus will also generate jobs overseeing federal spending, requiring accountants, auditors, regulators, compliance specialists and attorneys, among others. The plan calls for $330.5 million to ensure transparency and accountability.

Finally, federal departments as diverse as the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Defense will be stimulus recipients, opening up jobs at those and dozens of other agencies. Of course, filling all those jobs with the right people could also be challenging, opening up opportunities for people across the human resources spectrum, from recruiters to trainers. 

While job creation is good news for today’s economy, the number of well-qualified candidates could diminish significantly as the money starts flowing. Here are some expected growth areas to help employers stay ahead of the evolving economy:  

Healthcare: A central goal of both the stimulus and the Obama Administration is the computerization of medical records to help increase efficiency, reduce costs and minimize medical errors. The goal is to link much of the U.S. medical system, including hospitals. That’s obviously a huge undertaking and one that will require an army of accounting and finance professionals, such as accountants to monitor and administer project spending, as well as bookkeepers, controllers and auditors.  

Alternative Energy: While this sector had been struggling as a result of the economic downturn, an influx of loan guarantees and direct spending is expected to provide a major boost. Companies that specialize in alternative energy, from manufacturers of wind turbines to fuel cell developers, will need electrical, electronic, environmental and mechanical engineers as well as attorneys and conservation specialists, among others.