06:25 PM PST on Wednesday, February 18, 2004

By ROBERT MAK / KING 5 News

KING American companies are sending more software engineering more high-tech jobs to India.

SEATTLE - It's a trend that has a lot of workers feeling a bit uneasy. American companies are sending more software engineering more high-tech jobs to India.

It was big news when it was revealed that even the state health care authority had some programming work subcontracted to India.

The governor's office has surveyed state agencies and it turns out a number of departments have tried this. Ecology spent more than $800,000 on computer application development. Sixty to 65 percent of the work was done in India. Even fish and wildlife and the Department of Social and Health Services had small contracts with work done overseas.

"It's a way to build business, and keep costs down and compete, and there's an element of truth to that, and there's other people who are absolutely panicked about losing jobs," said Frank Coker, of the Society of Information Management.

In Tukwila on Wednesday, computer industry leaders tackled the off-shoring issue, and many of them see both sides.

Yes, U.S. companies can save a lot. A software engineer in India makes just about $10,000 a year. But many companies have found the quality of work and communication can be big problems.

"So you put geography, and language and a whole lot of other things in the middle of it, well, it just gets to be a more complicated conversation," said Steve Brilling of Seattle University.

Can government really try to stop this trend?

State lawmakers are now considering a bill to at least prohibit state contracts from going overseas, but it may not be that clear cut.

Would you stop the attorney general from contracting with a Canadian attorney to assist the state in a Canadian court? The Department of Natural Resources turned to Canadians for their expertise on geoduck aquaculture.

Congressman Adam Smith says maybe the answer is for us to improve education to have a more competitive workforce.

"I truly do believe that a rising tide lifts all boats. And that it is a mistake from a public policy standpoint to say if jobs are created in India that is by definition a problem for us. I don't think that's true," he said.

Smith is proposing a federal law to give assistance to high-tech workers who lose their jobs to outshoring.

Meanwhile, the Society of Information Managers and Raytech, a couple non-profit groups, are beginning a study to find out just how many companies, governments and schools may be doing this and what the impact might be.